Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Coordinator | Addis Ababa

Background:

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organization with a mission to accompany, serve and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced people. It was founded by the Society of Jesus on 14^th November 1980 in Rome, Italy.  Currently, JRS operates in over 56 countries worldwide. JRS has been working in Ethiopia since 1982. Currently, JRS Ethiopia operates in Addis Ababa and the Somali region (Melkadida, Kobe, and Bokolomayo refugee camps). JRS Ethiopia’s main areas of interventions are education, livelihoods, child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, emergency assistance, and reconciliation and social cohesion.

JRS Ethiopia wants to hire qualified Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Coordinator.

Job Summary

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Coordinator will oversee all MHPSS programming for JRS urban MHPSS response, will manage the MHPSS team, and maintain JRS-Ethiopia’s partnership with government agencies, UN agencies, NGOs and relevant service providers, refugee community structures and other stakeholders for the implementation of MHPSS interventions in Addis Ababa. He/she will lead and coordinate MHPSS interventions, ensuring assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of MHPSS activities in Addis Ababa. He/she reports to the project director.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

• Coordinate JRS’s MHPSS programming in Addis Ababa including strategic development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning of multiple projects.
• Ensure the MHPSS project activities align with JRS’s MHPSS global Strategic Framework, JRS’s AAP Framework, and global MHPSS standards and guidelines.
• Closely coordinate with JRS’s global and regional technical unit for the development and review of training and implementation materials and reports.
• Oversee the collection, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of all relevant project data according to internal procedures, and donor requirements.
• Manage an interdisciplinary MHPSS team of staff and volunteers, comprised of MHPSS officers, social workers, child psychologists, and MHPSS Refugee Outreach Volunteers (ROVs) through recruitment, team building, supervision, professional development, and performance reviews.
• Ensure the provision of MHPSS through the development of IEC materials, awareness-raising events (ex. World Mental Health Day), provision of Community Capacity Enhancement through Community Conversation sessions, development of individual and group-based sessions and curriculum, and supervision of service implementation.
• Prepare and implement training for and Training of Trainers (ToT) for staff, incentive workers, community leaders, volunteers, MHPSS ROVs on Psychological First Aid, basic individual and group counseling, and other relevant topics to develop capacity and improve the quality of services delivered to the beneficiaries.
• Conduct capacity needs and provide regular technical guidance, support, and supervision for all staff and volunteers implementing MHPSS activities and create a peer supervisory network built on foundations of knowledge exchange.
• Conduct MHPSS service readiness assessment of target public health facilities, develop, and implement a MhGAP training plan as part of national trainers to roll out strategy and follow-up on the provision of training of government public health staff and capacity building support for public health centers.
• Design training programs for leaders and members of host community-based organizations (CBOs), Refugee Central Committee (RCC), refugee women association, and refugee youth association to improve their role in MHPSS activities.
• Support the development and/or improvement of urban MHPSS referral pathways with partner NGO(s) and external service providers to strengthen links to available MHPSS and Protection-related services.
• Mainstream MHPSS within JRS across sectors, and with partners and service providers
• Lead development of SOP for JRS urban MHPSS programming
• Participate in needs assessments, support research, identify strategies to promote mental health psychosocial support as the coordinator’s level, and design an operational plan to enhance access to mental health and psychosocial services.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Mandatory Reporting

• Lead knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey, risks, and needs assessment, and MHPSS project baseline and end-line survey in collaboration with Country Program Officer, and Program Quality Assurance & M&E Officer
• Develop and oversee monitoring and evaluation of MHPSS programming including development of relevant tools, collection procedures, and analysis of project data in alignment with JRS and IASC MHPSS M&E Frameworks.
• Ensure to have relevant data or statistics for the purpose of generating the progress of regular reports and lessons learned.
• Report regularly for the Project Director (PD) on the status of the MHPSS project activities, challenges faced, and actions taken related to the implementation of the project.
• Oversee and render technical support for the on-going  MHPSS works and services at JRS main centers and satellite offices/centers in Addis Ababa
• Document best practices and MHPSS interventions to contribute to project, country, and global learning.
• Regularly report on MHPSS activities in collaboration with the Country and Project Finance Officer, to administer the project’s finances, guaranteeing a proper accounting of all project expenses and project expenses always match the approved budget.
• Prepare annual budgets for JRS and PRM in collaboration with the Country program officer and Finance officer.
• Draft timely periodical (monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, and annual) project reports, in collaboration with project team members for the JRS Ethiopia country office, government agencies as well as donors

Collaboration

• Meet regularly with the Country program officer Program Quality Assurance, M&E Officer, and JRS/USA to report on operational progress, developments, needs, or identified problems.
• Liaise with other departments to support program administration and the logistical implementation of activities.
• Develop a mainstreaming approach through regular cross-sectoral coordination resulting in integrated MHPSS considerations.
• Participate in monthly and periodic coordinators meetings and participatory periodical project progress review exercises.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between JRS-Ethiopia, donors, government and UNHCR, and local partners involved in MHPSS and represent JRS in MHPSS and protection thematic working groups, meetings, forums, and workshops.
• Closely work with NGO partners, relevant government agencies, and refugee community structures for the implementation and monitoring of MHPSS projects
• In collaboration with local partners, engage community leaders, community-based organizations, and other service providers in supporting beneficiaries to access MHPSS services as well as ensuring their feedback for quality monitoring and accountability.
• Participate in MHPSS coordination meetings for information sharing, collaboration with partners, referral mechanisms, and advocacy for best practices and IASC MHPSS guidelines.

Required No.: One (1)

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Level: VII

Employment: 12 months, possibility of extension depending on the availability of funding and performance

Salary: As per the scale of JRS Ethiopia

Starting date: Immediate

Minimum Requirements

• MA or MSc degree with 6+ years of relevant and progressive experience working in mental health-related fields, including a minimum of 4 years of professional experience coordinating MHPSS projects in humanitarian settings. An equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• The qualified candidate will be a mental health professional (who has MA or MSc degree in psychology, counseling psychology, clinical or psychiatric social work, psychiatry, or psychiatric nurse) with experience in MHPSS program coordination.
• Knowledgeable in and experienced following IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergencies and international best practices on the integration of MHPSS into primary health care settings; Ethiopian national mental health policy and issues affecting youth, especially women.
• Demonstrable technical expertise in the assessment, design, and delivery of responses to pre-existing and emergency induced MHPSS needs.
• Experience in supervising individual and group counseling for diverse groups
• Training experience required in Psychological First Aid and MhGAP, capacity, and proven track record in national staff and partner training and capacity-building.
• Strong organizational and supervisory skills
• Honest, hard-working, and self-motivated
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work within different cultural environments.
• Strong written and communication and presentation skills in English and the relevant local language
• Ability to work within a team structure or independently, flexible, and can cope with a stressful workload.
• Leveraging the resources of JRS-Ethiopia and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships
• Knowledge of project cycle management and sphere standards.
• Demonstrated experience and capacity in conducting data analysis and interpretation.
• Excellent organization, time, and general management skills
• Critical thinking, strong analytical skills, and objective judgments.
•  High degree of competency using MS Office, MS Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and e-mail communication

• Commitment to high level of confidentiality with sensitive information.