Mission and objectives
WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that was established in July 1946 and whose objective is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. WHO’s primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations system. WHO’s main areas of work are health systems; health through the life-course; noncommunicable and communicable diseases; preparedness, surveillance and response; and corporate services.
Context
In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies incident management system, at the country level, the incumbent will provide mental health and psychosocial services through the implementation of contextually and culturally relevant stress management programmes to staff members and consultants in the WHO country offices. The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (“The Programme”) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, the incumbent will provide technical advice for all WHO strategic categories and related public health programmes.
Task description
Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Regional Staff Counsellor or his/her designated mandated representative(s), and under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager, the WHO Representative, the UN Volunteer will: • Perform ongoing psychosocial status and needs assessments to identify the major stressors experienced by WHO staff members and consultants during their deployment; • Provide culturally sensitive psychosocial support through individual and group counselling for Staff Members and their immediate family members; • Provide preventative and mitigating stress and crisis management training during the three phases of the mission: pre-deployment, during deployment and post-deployment; • Travel regularly to the field sites of the WCO in order to promote, plan and implement preventative and mitigating stress management activities; • Facilitate teambuilding and cohesion through formal and informal interventions; • Enhance social or peer support networks and assist with training and capacity building activities; • Respond to critical and security incidents by conducting assessment on the impact of the event, developing appropriate interventions, and make recommendations for follow-up or referral purposes; • Advice management on stress mitigating strategies and activities to enhance the welfare of staff members and consultants; • Maintain detailed records of activities and provide comprehensive reports on a monthly basis to the HQ and regional office; • Support the Regional Staff Counsellor and perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor; • During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme. Results/expected outputs: • The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies; • The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment; • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.
Eligibility criteria
Age
27 – 80
Nationality
Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.
Requirements
Required experience
3 years of experience in area of mental health and psychosocial support services; some of which gained in outbreak and health emergencies context, is required; • Additional training or experience in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress and cross-cultural communication; • Prior relevant work experience in WHO/UN system, health cluster partners, relevant nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations, is desirable; • Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications • Good knowledge of MHPSS during emergency situations; • Proven ability to accurately assess psychosocial or mental health needs, risks and protective factors; • Advance knowledge in provision of psychosocial support and counselling services in a professional and confidential manner; • Demonstrated knowledge in designing and delivering contextually and culturally appropriate trainings and information sessions on a wide range of stress-related issues; • Ability to manage crisis situations involving diverse actors and stakeholders; • Ability to effectively work in multi-cultural environments under stressful conditions