Senior Technical Advisor on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support - MHPSS GIZ

Salary band:

4

Senior Technical Advisor on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

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4T

Job Profile

1. Required qualifications, competences and experience

Qualifications:

• University degree in Psychology
• Master's degree in relevant discipline

Professional experience

• At least 5 years of experience working in development cooperation and/or humanitarian aid
• At least 5 years of experience in project management
• At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of MHPSS
• At least 5 years of professional experience in capacity development and trainings
• Strong practical work experience in cooperating with governments and multilateral actors on MHPSS
• Strong practical experience in conference and workshop organization and facilitation
• Work experience in the field of gender and prevention of gender-based violence is a strong plus
• Practical experience with online learning and mobile applications is a strong plus

Knowledge

• Excellent oversight over current developments in the field of MHPSS with regards to new and evidence-based approaches
• Excellent knowledge on MHPSS actors and structures in Lebanon
• Knowledge on monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms in development cooperation
• Excellent knowledge of the political and legal characteristics of the Lebanese context
• Knowledge on GBV and gender mainstreaming in project work

Competences

• Fluent in English and Arabic (C2)
• Good working knowledge of ITC technologies and computer applications, especially MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, MS Teams)
• Proven skills in systematizing, summarizing and structuring information in English are a must
• High degree of perspective-taking competence
• Detail-orientation and conscientious elaboration of documents in form and writing
• Meticulousness in administrative tasks
• Excellent personal work organization and reliability
• MHPSS training skills
• Good communication skills
• High tolerance for frustration
• Ability to work in a multicultural team in a largely remote work-setting

Attitude

• High identification with a human rights-based approach to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
• Commitment to work independently on detailed and sometimes tedious administrative tasks
• Sensitivity to power dynamics
• Critical thinking about trends in development cooperation and MHPSS
• Non-judgmental, non-discriminatory with others
• Eye-level communication with team members and partners
• Gender-sensitivity

1. Tasks

Assume a leading role in enhancing the sustainability of MHPSS knowledge management in development cooperation, including:

• Developing manuals for trainings of trainers on selected topics, delivering the ToTs, online and in person, and handing the contents over to partners
• Building strategic alliances with regional organizations and institutions that are interested in continuing the regional MHPSS knowledge management work initiated by the Regional Project

Assume a leading role in the development of an online certificate that compiles knowledge acquired by the regional MHPSS project on the integration of MHPSS in development cooperation programming, including:

• Developing scripts for e-learning modules on MHPSS for professionals in different sectors of humanitarian aid and development cooperation on the basis of the knowledge products developed by the regional project MHPSS and the knowledge gained by its team members throughout the project’s duration

• Cooperate with team members of the regional project MHPSS in editing and finetuning the online course contents
• Cooperate closely with the American University of Beirut (Department of Psychology and AUB Online) on the development of the online course on the basis of the scripts. AUB Online provides instructional designers who are responsible for transforming the contents into e-learning format. The technical oversight for the course lies with the Department of Psychology.

Assume responsibility with regard to project management, administration and evaluation as well as liaison with the Lebanese country office  

• Administration: Support the proper storing of all documents in the document management system, support the processing of invoices and take on different logistical and administrative tasks
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Support the regional team in results-based monitoring and the documentation of the progress in the achievement of outcomes and outputs
• Translation: Assist with the revision and translation of project documents including knowledge products and reports to and from Arabic
• Establishing consultancies: Draft tender documents (such as Terms of Reference, Technical Assessment Grids) for local and international short-term experts and consultants, support recruitment of the former and prepare consulting missions technically and logistically, including translation services for international experts
• Regional exchange: Participate in meetings of the Lebanon and regional team
• Liaison with country office: Cooperate with the country office portfolio management unit in responding to information and exchange requests
• Assume focal person roles upon request, for instance PR (with communications department at HQ and country office, contributing project contents to all media channels and assure fulfillment of GIZ guidelines in the elaboration of products with partners) and Security Focal person (represent the RP in meetings on security organized by the Risk Management Office, assure the compliance with security regulations, respond to security-related requests by the country office)

Moreover, assume responsibility for tasks within the following processes:

Provide technical support for development cooperation actors of different sectors for the integration of MHPSS approaches into their work

• Raise awareness of development cooperation actors in different sectors on the benefits of MHPSS-integration into their work
• Establish cooperation relationships with other projects interested in MHPSS-integration and enhance knowledge management on a regional level between projects which are interested in MHPSS-integration
• Strengthen MHPSS-capacities of development cooperation actors, including local partner organizations, through advisory, trainings and workshops
• Document capacity development processes and discuss lessons learned with the regional team and in technical exchanges for the improvement of MHPSS work
• Develop practical tools (guidelines, videos, media content), which facilitate the integration of MHPSS into different sectors of development cooperation  

Organize technical exchanges between local, regional and international actors on the application of MHPSS-approaches into their work

• Organize logistically, developing content, and coordinate technical exchanges (or conferences) that bring together local, regional and international actors to discuss regional learnings, successful approaches and innovative knowledge products through different exchange formats including workshops and seminars
• Provide active inputs in Inter-Agency Standing Committee working groups, regional working groups and national technical working groups, amongst others to introduce knowledge products developed by the RP, provide information on the local context and stay up to date with the work in the field

Foster innovation in MHPSS-approaches and knowledge products on the contextualization and application of MHPSS-approaches with regional relevance

• Look for strategic partnerships to jointly bring the field of MHPSS forward
• Pilot innovative MHPSS-approaches together with local actors, document their impact and develop knowledge products to disseminate the piloted approaches on the regional and international level
• Disseminate the newly developed knowledge products and organize activities in which they are being discussed with other actors
• Replicate and adapt the MHPSS-approaches with other actors or in different contexts

Enhance MHPSS in GBV prevention and response in Lebanon

• • Prepare and accompany an assessment to identify locations of implementation
  • Collaborate in setting up a steering committee with all governmental partners involved
  • Identify international consultancies providing GBV prevention trainings, prepare and accompany the tender
  • Collaborate in the identification of needs assessments of future partners and the development of implementation roadmaps
  • Collaborate in organizational assessments of civil-society partners and primary health care centers, to identify capacity development needs
  • Collaborate in the development of an action plan to improve the supervision and training of psychologists in internship and support its implementation
  • Collaborate in identifying suitable international researchers to accompany the implementation
  • Provide other forms of support upon demand

Contribute to the development of a mobile and web application for MHPSS in disaster risk management

• Partner management with global MHPSS actors to increase ownership and prepare future use of the app
• Collaborate in the compilation of resources to be made available in the app through liaison with MHPSS organizations
• Collaborate in testing and piloting the app with future users

Parameters of the position:

• Senior advisor, optional part-time position (70-100%)
• Contract start: 01.08.2024
• Contract end: 31.10.2025

The Regional Project “MHPSS in the Middle East” operates in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and Jordan in support of the professional and methodological knowledge of actors working in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). It enables the application of context-, trauma- and gender-sensitive approaches for psychosocially distressed people in the Middle East through piloting of MHPSS approaches, impact assessments, organization of technical exchange formats, and advisory on MHPSS integration in different sectors of development cooperation. Moreover, Lebanon-specific, GIZ aims to enhance the MHPSS support for survivors of gender-based violence and the strengthening of MHPSS-informed prevention approaches

D.  Tasks To be completed:

Candidate must complete the required tasks by following the below: 

1. You are requested to write an essay of 500- 600 words long on " What is staff care and why is it important for persons working in development cooperation in fragile contexts?  

    

    

    

Please reply to this question on the basis of the “REST Introductory Guide” https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2019-en-REST-introductory-guide-staff-care-in-fragile-contexts.pdf  and the “Recommendation Paper on developing a staff care concept as a feminist NGO”. https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2023-en-developing-a-staff-care-concept-as-a-local-feminist-NGO-in-KRI.pdf 

Please submit your answers as pdf document with your application.