Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer 54 views

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 14th November 1980 in Rome, Italy. Currently, JRS operates over 56 countries worldwide. JRS has been working in Ethiopia since 1982. Currently JRS Ethiopia operates in Addis Ababa, 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) Officers based in Addis Ababa.

Job Summary

MHPSS Officers will mainly be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of JRS urban MHPSS activities and services with supervision of MHPSS Coordinator. The position holders are also expected to provide individual and group counseling and PFA for refugees and other groups; provide supervision, technical assistance and capacity building to staffs, oversee and provide technical assistance to incentives, volunteers and social workers to ensure smooth delivery of MHPSS service. They also organize and deliver various capacity building trainings and workshops and awareness arising events; participate in various assessments and studies. The MHPSS officers compile weekly and monthly data related to counselling and PFA and MHPSS and share to MHPSS coordinator and/or project director.

Major duties and responsibilities of MHPSS Officer include:

• Provide individual and group counselling, psychosocial support for urban refugees and host community members in need of the service
• Support MHPSS coordinator with the integration of mental health and psychosocial support into different sectors and projects
• Facilitate community-based MHPSS activities, such as support groups and community dialogues with refugee and host community.
• Participate in recruitment and training of MHPSS Refugee Outreach Volunteers and host youth volunteers
• Supervise MHPSS Refugee Outreach Volunteers and host youth volunteers and hold general and one on one meetings with the volunteers and social workers
• Together with volunteers, social workers conduct home visits to follow-up clients of JRS urban MHPSS services
• Develop culturally, age and gender appropriate psychosocial activities for urban refugee communities and host communities
• Provide consultation and appropriate case management for urban refugees and hosts with psychosocial problems and mental illness
• Collaborate with urban refugee community leaders and representatives and existing refugee community-based structure and groups to ensure protection of refugees suffering mental illness.
• Organize awareness raising and sensitization event, workshop, campaign on mental health topics for urban refugee communities and host communities targeting various age groups
• Organize and conduct PFA training for volunteers, refugee community leaders and representatives of refugee structures
• In collaboration with Psychologists, Social Workers and Child Protection Case Workers organize and conduct life skills trainings for refugee and host children, youth and women, etc.
• In collaboration with MHPSS Coordinator and other staff, improve referral linkage and collaboration with relevant partners and collaborators on MHPSS service and management of cases with mental illness and GBV
• Participate in development various training manuals and urban MHPSS project implementation guidelines
• Provide on job training for urban health extension workers and other health professional working at partner public health centers
• Participate in various assessments and surveys including institutional readiness assessment, MHPSS needs and KAP survey; client service satisfaction survey etc.
• Prepare periodical reports and submit to MHPSS Coordinator and/or project director
• Participate in annual project plan and report preparation and periodical project review exercise
• Participate in MHPSS coordination meetings for information sharing, collaboration with partners, referral mechanisms, and advocacy for best practices and IASC MHPSS guidelines
• Report to: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Coordinator
• Required No.: 1
• Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Level: Five (6)
• Employment: 6 months (February to July 2025 ) , with the possibility of extension depending on availability of funding and performance
• Salary: As per the scale of JRS Ethiopia
• Starting date: Immediate

Minimum Qualification and Requirements

• MA/MSc or BA/BSc in Clinical and Community Mental Health, Psychiatry, Psychiatric Nurse, Clinical Nurse, Public Health Officer, Counselling Psychology or a combination of these or other related fields.
• A minimum of 3 years for MA/MSc or 7 years for BA/BSc holder professional experiences in a mental health and psychosocial support projects and provision of MHPSS services for refugees and other vulnerable groups
• Proven experience in providing individual and group counselling; and PFA support
• Knowledgeable in and experience following IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergencies and international best practices on the integration of MHPSS into primary health care settings
• Demonstrable technical expertise in the assessment, design, and delivery of responses to pre-existing and emergency induced MHPSS needs
• Training experience required; capacity and proven track record in national staff and partner training and capacity-building
• Honest, hard-working, and self-motivated
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work within different cultural environments
• Ability to work within a team structure or independently, flexible, and can cope with stressful workload
• An excellent command of verbal and written English and the relevant local language
• Excellent organization, time and general management skills
• Knowledge of Ethiopian refugee strategies and the national mental health policy
• High degree of competency using Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and e-mail communication
• Commitment to high level of confidentiality with sensitive information