مطلوب MHPSS Clerk – Beirut لدى NGO

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading humanitarian relief and development organizations. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people survive, recover and regain control over their lives. Working in more than 40 countries, the IRC is helping to restore hope and opportunity to millions of people. The health technical unit (HU) is organized in three sectors: Health (integrating general primary healthcare including sexual and reproductive health, child health, chronic care, mental health & Psycho-Social Support), environmental health and nutrition.

Background on MHPSS Health Work: The IRC is committed to bringing mental health out of the shadows and making it more visible and supported across humanitarian crises. We are committed to addressing the mental health treatment gap by integrating mental health into primary health care within all countries where we implement health programs by adopting evidence-based interventions and adapting them to the local context. Nearly 80 million people worldwide are affected by conflict and displacement. At the same time, an estimated 15 million people around the world are living with a mental health condition. This staggering number is likely an underestimate with conditions like suicide, self-harm, chronic & toxic stress, and other psychological distress not counted. Conflict and forced migration have a profoundly negative impact on mental health and wellbeing, and unsurprisingly, mental disorders tend to double in the acute phase of an emergency. Sharing figures from World Health Organization, that an estimated 22% of people living through conflict or war will experience mental health challenges, most commonly anxiety, post-traumatic stress and depressive disorders. Globally, about 14% of adolescents live with a mental disorder, and suicide is a leading cause of death among young people. Emergencies situations have demonstrated immense need and opportunities for strengthening mental health systems, service delivery and funding.

One of the most effective ways of closing the global treatment gap is to integrate mental health care into primary health care across the humanitarian development nexus. This past year of MHPSS work at the IRC included the expansion of MHPSS within primary health care programs, integrated into emergency responses in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and continued support in 20 other countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Yemen.  Additionally, there has been technical assistance provided to a handful of country programs in the Latin America region (Mexico, Colombia, etc) who are starting to grow and establish their MHPSS programming linked with Health.

Strategic Actions: Mental health is rarely considered a priority within humanitarian settings. Even when the need is recognized, it can be perceived as too difficult or too expensive to implement. At the IRC, we believe it is a human right and is a critical piece of improving overall health for those affected by conflict. We know that ignoring mental health can have profound consequences on a person’s ability to regain control of their lives after conflict and displacement, and so we want to bring mental health out of the shadows and make it more visible and supported across humanitarian crises. We are committed to closing the mental health treatment gap within our health programs by integrating mental health into primary care through adoption of evidence-based interventions and adapting them to the local context. Since 2021, a core group of MHPSS Technical Advisors have supported country programs, the health unit and global stakeholders in strengthening critical IRC functions and capacity linked with MHPSS Health. Within the last year key strategic actions have included:

• IRC MHPSS Framework disseminated across regions and country programs through online orientation sessions, development of landing page with access to blog, recordings of orientation sessions, guidance and the framework itself – all items available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
• Inclusion and piloting of mental health integration checklist within Health Quality Improvement Tool Package. The tool is used to assess the quality and gaps within integration of MHPSS services into the general Primary Health Care services.
• Strengthened capacity of IRC Health Technical Advisors to support mental health and psychosocial support programming in humanitarian settings strengthened through a 3-month virtual training series
• Adaptation of IRC MHPSS training content to develop e-learning, eventually making it available to all IRC staff in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
• Focused capacity strengthening of health and mental health leadership through an in-person workshop and follow-up mentorship.

The MHPSS Health Program Clerk will provide support with roll out of the IRC initiative entitled  Catalyzing Resilience in Emergencies Project. Which will initially run for one year, it is designed to strengthen IRC’s MHPSS Health capacity and quality of integrated services. Key objectives of the project include: Boosting essential MHPSS staffing, expanding access to technical assistance, and strategically improving the quality of integrated services.

The MHPSS Health Program Clerk will work directly with the MHPSS Technical Advisor(s) responsible for the above mentioned project. The clerk will collaborate directly with IRC health and mental health country focal points engaged in the project.

Scope of work and Deliverables

• Support in reviewing documentation related to MHPSS programs in supported country programs.
• Support the overall communication and follow up with country Health and MHPSS focal point.
• Participate in related meetings as well as documentation/ such as developing briefs /communication bulletins and success stories.
• Support in the management of project as agreed with and in close coordination with the MHPSS TA supporting the project.
• Capacity building; support to country programs to complete learning of IRC MHPSS frame work and 11 module MHPSS e-learning course to facilitate cascading to relevant country programs.
• Support in developing visibility material regarding project in close collaboration with country programs.
• Ad hoc support for technical support to MHPSS country programs

Key Working Relationships:

• The Service Provider will be reporting to IRC’s Mental Health Technical Advisor
• Mental Health Technical Advisors, Primary Health Care Technical Advisors, MHPSS leads within health programs.

Job Qualifications:

• Education: Degree in Psychology, public health, community health or other relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Work Experience: Some work in the mental health field preferred

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Interest in emergency & development programs.
• Interest or experience in working on global mental health and psychosocial projects.
• Desire to pursue a career in the field of global MHPSS.
• Very good knowledge of mental health and psychosocial subject areas and best practices in humanitarian and development settings (e.g. IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings).
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Very good analytical and conceptual skills.
• Very good interpersonal and team working skills.
• Excellent computer, writing and communication skills.
• Motivation to learn.
• Ability to work independently.

Language Skills:  English fluency required.

Working Environment: Remote work and supervision

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, Equality, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.