Experience Inc. Jobs

Requisition ID: req52613

Job Title: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Specialist

Sector: Health

Employment Category: Regular

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Libya

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

The Mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) specialist will be responsible for supporting the integration of mental health into primary health care service delivery in the PHCC’s, urban settlements and community outreach in line with WHO mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guidelines. Develop SOPs for internal and external referral pathways. Furthermore, conduct rapid need assessment and service mapping in the East in coordination with the National Libyan Mental Health Authority and Psychosocial Support Committee. Lead coordination with other actors such as WHO, UNICEF, IOM, MSF, ICRC, members of the National Libyan Mental Health Authority and Psychosocial Support Committee and Flood Response Coordination Forum will enable proper referrals to persons in need of complementary services. The position requires strong emphasis in training and developing the capacity of national staff, Community Health Workers (CHWs) and partners; the successful candidate should therefore have experience in training, on the job supervision and mentoring, coordination and in building referral links to the other formal service providers. The selected candidate will work in close coordination with existing health teams including General Practitioners, nurses, psychologist and CHW’s. In addition, s/he will work towards building the capacity of medical staff in particular providing them with training, supervision on mhGAP, integration of mental health into primary health care and provide/coordinate training on WHO Problem Management (PM+) targeting PHCC staff and Psychological First Aid (PFA) for CHWs This position will be based in Shahhat, Libya with frequent travels to Derna, Soussa, Shahat, Albayda, Alsahel and Banghazi and report to Health Coordinator.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead the setting up of the mental health PHC integration program in line with WHO mhGAP HIG and IASC MHPSS guidelines and IRC Outcome and Evidence Framework (OEF)together with the national IRC psychiatrist supervisors.

Assess the current MHPSS programming, both for protection and health, identify gaps, duplications, challenges and best practices.

Based on the internal assessment findings; in the first month, develop a 6-month feasible work plan clarifying roles and responsibilities of all relevant parties including sector leads, health managers, psychiatrist supervisors, GP’s and CHW’s

Provide clinical mental health and psychosocial program supervision to project staff (re: Psychiatrist, Psychologist, General Practitioners, CHWs, Protection and GBV case workers) inclusive of ongoing capacity building, professional development, technical support, and performance reviews.

Conduct field visits to monitor and support MHPSS activities and interventions provided and support technical quality of programming by providing feedback and mentorship.

Lead and facilitate monthly team meetings with program staff and share minutes of the meetings with the health coordinator.

Facilitate training and workshops, including organizing logistics, collaborating with co-trainer/s, and documenting program indicators.

Track budgets, procurement plans, and work plans to ensure proper personnel, facilities, and supplies are available to meet grant deliverables.

Participate in rapid needs assessments with other IRC sectors and external agencies as required.

Actively participate in coordination mechanisms, represent the IRC in the MHPSS Technical-working group and ensure the implementation of IASC MHPSS guidelines where relevant.

Lead the development and implementation of data collection, M&E and quality control measures (e.g. on the job supervision checklists, impact measurement tools, client satisfaction measures mhGAP training reports) for mental health services, and community-based psycho-social activities.

Support the development of referral pathways to strengthen links to available services for MHPSS.

Lead the development of appropriate IEC materials on MHPSS, to build awareness of services and promote key messages.

Develop a community MHPSS awareness package in coordination with integrated protection coordinator.

Support with team building, performance review and professional development of staff.

Participate in the development/review of mentorship plans and other activity plans on quarterly basis

Documentation and Reporting:

Ensure disaggregated and cumulative tracking of clients/beneficiaries and documentation of all activities and outcomes.

Participate in preparation of internal and external reports, including submission of weekly reports to Health Coordinator

Take responsibility for collection and reporting of mental health project data including HMIS reporting and patient outcomes (e.g. functioning scale, client satisfaction surveys). Support project staff to maintain program records and documentation as per project management minimum standards, including maintaining the confidentiality and security of MHPSS client data.

Promote the culture of learning and documentation so that lessons learned, and good practices are documented and shared for institutional memory and learning as well as to advocate on behalf of the communities with which we work.

Support the development of mental health and psychosocial monitoring and evaluation tools and related activities for improving performance.

Working on donors’ reporting and contribute to proposal development.

Ensure proper documentation of all trainings, completion, and analysis of pre and post knowledge tests and on the job supervision checklists as well as mental health PHC integration checklists. Sharing copies with MHPSS team data management, M&E, and reporting. Perform other duties as assigned by the Health Coordinator

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

Psychiatrist (preferably) or psychologist with minimum three years of experience working on MHPSS programs, preferably in humanitarian settings.

Sound knowledge and experience on implementing IASC MHPSS guidelines in emergency settings.

mhGAP training and supervision experience including IG, HIG and operational manual.

PM+ training and supervision experience is an advantage.

Training experience on Psychological First Aid,

Capacity building/ curriculum development experience in community based MHPSS approach

Fluency in English. Native Arabic

EXPERIENCE:

Previous NGO experience in a conflict-affected setting in MHPSS management capacity

Management, training and supervision experience required.

Strong organizational and supervisory skills and interpersonal skills with the ability to work within different cultural environment.

Ability to work within a team structure or in isolation, flexible, and can cope with stressful workloads and working with limited resources.

Experience in mental health and protection work with displaced persons, refugees, returnees and migrants.

Excellent command of the use of Microsoft Office especially Outlook, Work, Excel and Power Point

Good communication, teamwork skills and ability to work independently.