Duty Station:  Addis Ababa with frequent travel to Mekelle

Duration: For 4 Month (January -April,2025) 

Introduction:

The USAID Empowered Communities Activity, primed by Project HOPE in collaboration with JSI, Research and Training, Inc. and local implementing partners, aims to enhance health and nutrition outcomes by strengthening community systems and platforms. This involves bolstering health literacy at the community level, capacity building of non-state actors, and fostering accountability across health sector actors and systems. The project also focuses on improving service delivery skills and addressing the broader determinants of health to create sustainable solutions for better health outcomes. In terms of geographic scope, ECA is being implemented in 40 woredas of Amhara, Oromia, Central and South Ethiopia, and Afar regions as of January 18, 2024. Recently, ECA, in partnership with Tigray Development Association, has expanded its implementation into 6 woredas of Tigray region.

As part of its support to Tigray region, ECA has planned to implement a community-based mental health and psychosocial support (C-MHPSS) activity  based on  an  asset-based community  development  model, an integrated  and  multi-layered support  systems  to alleviate  existing  problems and  foster  community reconstruction and resilience. ECA aims at strengthening Non-State Actor managed health facilities and community-based organizations to provide MHPSS services and first-line psychosocial support and increasing access to integrated MHPSS/RNMCAH-N services.  This activity will leverage PH’s MHPSS experiences from Community HIV Care and Treatment (CHCT) project and adopt the “MHPSS in Emergency Settings Guidelines of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee” to develop, implement, and monitor community-based MHPSS interventions. The C-MHPSS interventions will include screening and identification of problems, individual and community level interventions, and follow-up and referral linkages. These MHPSS interventions will be implemented in six woredas of Tigray region. 

Therefore, Project HOPE would like to hire a short-term individual consultant to support the implementation of Mental Health and Psychosocial support activities in 6 woredas of Tigray region.

Scope of the consultancy work

The consultant will work closely with ECA central team to support the design and development of C-MHPSS guides, training materials, tools, and job aids. In addition, she/he is responsible to enhance the capacity of healthcare providers, HEWs, and community volunteers on C-MHPSS, and provide technical support in the implementation, and monitoring of C-MHPSS activities.     

Objectives

This consultancy work sets out to achieve the following objectives:

• Work closely with ECA central team to support the design/development of C-MHPSS guides, tools, and job aids

•  Enhance the capacity of healthcare providers, HEWs, religious leaders, and community volunteers on C-MHPSS through training, support systems, and performance reviews

•  Provide technical support in the implementation, monitoring, and follow-up of MHPSS at NSA managed health facilities and improved access to integrated MHPSS/RMNCAH-N services 

Key activities and tasks

• Design  advocacy strategies to advocate for the importance of MHPSS support for different stakeholders (community leaders, religious leaders and   health education workers and health leaders)

• Develop community-based MHPSS and GBV service mapping tool.

• Develop/Adopt different C-MHPSS training materials, supportive supervision, and follow-up, M&E tools.

• Provide a capacity building training for of HEWs, community volunteers, and informal social structures and networks on MHPSS. 

• Adopt/develop validated psychometrical tools for screening and identification of AGYW and women in the perinatal period, using through home-to-home visits by HEWs and community volunteers, and observations at health posts for women of reproductive age group.   

• Adopt/Develop/Contextualize Interpersonal Psychotherapy Group (IPT-G) to women with symptoms of perinatal depression training manual, job aids, assessment tools, M&E tools.

• Develop/Adopt strategies, manuals, job aids on community youth-led activities, including boys and girls to raise awareness on and prevent Gender-Based Violence, while providing linkages to age-appropriate services.       

• Design a strategies/ implementation modality, training and technical support guide for the integration of MHPSS activities into NSA-managed healthcare facilities and their RMNCAH-N services.   

KEY DELIVERABLES: the consultant will expect to deliver the below deliverables in the period of assignment.

S. No

Deliverables

Measurement  

Target  

Timeline  

Remark

1.Advocacy strategy document on MHPSS developed # of Document 01 

2GBV and MHPSS service mapping tool developed, and mapping, analysis and recommendations are made # of document01  

3C-MHPSS training manual for Health Care Providers, religious leaders and community volunteers is developed# of document01  

4Deliver the C-MHPSS training for NSA manage HF staffs, LIPs staffs, Health Care Providers and community volunteer.# trained individuals ??  

5Developed targeted GBV and MHPSS messages for different structures.# of messages developed 6  

6Psychometric tool for client screening developed # of tools 1  

7.IPT-G implementation guide and different tools developed #of tools and implementation guide 6  

8Develop Strategy, manuals and job aids on community youth-led activities, including boys and girls to raise awareness on and prevent Gender-Based Violence, while providing linkages to age-appropriate services.     # of strategies, manuals, Job aids3  

9Develop strategy to implement the integrated MHPSS activities into NSA-managed healthcare facilities and their RMNCAH-N services. # of strategies1  

10  Collaborate with relevant actor working in the area (Government, implementing partners, professional society, community groups, HCWS etc..)   in all the process of development, validation and dissemination of the MHPSS strategies, manual, guidelines, SOPs, tools, Job aids # of meetings, workshops, facilitated for validation5

Job Requirements

• MD, Psychiatry specialty, BSC degree in Psychiatry Nursing / MSC in ICCMH or psychology or other related fields with at least 10 years of experience in the field pf MHPSS.

• At least 5 years of mental health and psychosocial programming experience 

• In depth knowledge and experience of mental health and psychosocial programming in the humanitarian context essential.

• Familiarity with C-MHGAP, community based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and group based interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G).

• Experience in designing and developing MHPSS strategies, training manuals, job aids.

• Experience in organizing, facilitating trainings for different audiences (health care, non-health care and community volunteers)

• Honest, hardworking and a self-motivated person

• Having Tigrigna language competence is advantageous 

How to Apply

Interested applicants can send their CV and cover letter through THIS LINK ONLY on or before January 26, 2025, by 5:00 PM.

Qualified female applicants are highly encouraged to apply.

Due to the large number of inquiries, we receive, only candidates who have met the required experience & qualifications for this position will be considered. No phone calls please.

However, since we are active around the world in the field of public health, we may wish to retain your CV in our database for other/future opportunities, unless you direct us otherwise.

Thank you very much for your interest in Project HOPE.