Staff Counselor (Type B Consultant)

Job Description

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants. 

IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.

IOM invites candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process when required. Learn more about IOM’s workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Project Context and Scope

IOM provides essential services to Afghan nationals residing in Camp As Sayliyah through the provision of psychological counselling and specialised mental health services, protection, non-food item distribution, education, and community engagement. The Staff Counsellor will be responsible and accountable for implementing staff welfare activities within the mission. The position is expected to operate on a schedule of two working days per week.
 

Responsibilities

a) Direct mental health service delivery

• Provide in-person and online psychological counselling and support, confidential one-to-one and group sessions, to staff members and dependents.

• Provide psychological and counselling support to staff members in post critical incidents and other emergencies. 

• Identify and liaise with local and regional mental health resources that can be used for referrals or in times of crisis; refer staff members, who are in crisis, and require emergency psychological and/psychiatric support to appropriate external providers.

b) Capacity building and prevention

• Develop and provide training to all staff on relevant topics including stress management, emotional processing, dealing with critical incidents, wellbeing; provide targeted training to Managers/ Heads of Units to increase their knowledge and skills to create a supportive working environment and increase awareness on mental health issues.

• Work with the Managers/ Heads of Units to develop preventative initiatives (e.g. preparing for critical incidents). 

• Participate in Staff Welfare team meetings and activities (monthly group supervision, team coordination meetings, team retreats, etc.)

c) Organizational wellbeing 

• Facilitate addressing issues highlighted through the psychosocial risk assessments in the workplace.

• Offer consultations to the Managers/Heads of Units to address specific needs on request and/or to explore avenues for enhancing humanitarian staff wellbeing and mental health in accordance with the UN Mental Health Strategy.

d) Monitoring, reporting and compliance

• Ensure the adherence to the professional standards of the United Nations Stress and Staff Counsellors Group (UNSSCG) as well as the Code of Ethics for UN Staff Counsellors.

• Ensure that reports and other administrative duties are carried out to a professional standard

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

• Offer at least 10 individual and/or group counselling session slots per month, with actual attendance dependent on staff demand.

• Respond to 100% of critical incidents and emergency psychosocial support requests within agreed organizational response timelines and provide post-intervention recommendations where applicable. 

• Deliver a minimum of 1 staff wellbeing training session per month on topics such as stress management, resilience, emotional processing, or critical incident response. 

• Deliver a minimum of 1 manager-focused capacity-building session per quarter on mental health, staff wellbeing, and supportive leadership practices. 

• Conduct consultations with managers and Heads of Units as requested and provide written recommendations for 100% of consultations conducted. 

• Submit a final end-of-contract report summarizing activities, outputs, trends, challenges, recommendations, and service delivery statistics.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education & Experience

• Master’s degree in clinical psychology, Counselling, or Psychiatry or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or, University degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience.

• Must possess an active license or certification or demonstrate registered membership in a legitimate professional organization in the field most relevant to their degree, including psychiatry (medicine or nursing), psychology, counselling, marriage and family therapy, or social work.

• Minimum of four years of relevant counselling experience post licensure/certification/registration, with experience in a similar setting such as an international and/or humanitarian organization is preferred;

• Experience with counselling and psychosocial interventions;

• Experience of working with other UN Agencies, International Humanitarian Organizations or Employee Assistant Programmes is preferred;

• Demonstrated familiarity with the impact of working conditions of humanitarian workers on their well-being;

• Excellent communication and writing skills;

• Familiarity with diversity and its implementation

Languages

• Fluency in English is required. 

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments. 

Required Competencies

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five values:

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.
• Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.
• Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.
• Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators

• Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.
• Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.
• Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.
• Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work.
• Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

Notes

IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work. 

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment system (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies

Required Skills

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