Re-advertisement: Staff Counsellor, (P-3), Fixed-Term, Damascus, Syria, #110693

Under the supervision of the Representative and the technical guidance/supervision of the UNICEF Regional Counsellor, the Staff Counsellor will develop and implement a stress management programme aimed at attending to the psychological needs of UNICEF staff management in Syria. The work will be done from the preventive and curative perspective at the individual, team and organizational levels.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a Chance.

Due to the ongoing armed conflict in Syria and huge humanitarian crisis it has created, UNICEF staff members are frequently exposed to high levels of day to day, cumulative stress, including those stressors related to their workload as well as the demands related to living and working in highly unstable and insecure environments. 

Under the supervision of the Representative and the technical guidance/supervision of the UNICEF Regional Counsellor, the Staff Counsellor will develop and implement a stress management programme aimed at attending to the psychological needs of UNICEF staff management in Syria.  The work will be done from the preventive and curative perspective at the individual, team and organizational levels. 

The main objective of the stress management programme is to mitigate the impact of chronic stress on staff, to raise awareness about trauma, stress and stress management, to facilitate the provision of assistance to staff/family experiencing trauma and/or work related and/or personal problems, to facilitate the provision of immediate support following a traumatic incident, to promote social support and other strategies aimed at improving the overall well-being of UNICEF staff in Syria. 

The Staff Counsellor will work in close coordination with Country Management Teams, Emergency Coordinators, HR, Staff Association, Peer Support Volunteers (PSVs), the UN Medical Clinic and UN Staff Counsellors.  Frequent field missions within Syria are required.

How can you make a difference?

1. Under the guidance of the Regional Staff Counsellor and in collaboration with the Country Management Team and HR, facilitate the development, implementation of a Stress Management Programme addressing the psychosocial needs identified with an aim of improving Staff Well-Being in Syria:

• Assist in developing the programme framework;
• Develop strategies for implementing the framework;
• Monitor the impact of the framework on the country level;
• Lobby and provide input for improvement.

2. Facilitate the provision of effective psycho-social support to staff leadership, managers and individual staff prioritizing emergency locations with the aim to mitigating stress and boost protective factors by:

• Providing support and advice to the leadership and managers in offices on healthy work practices and approaches on how to effectively support staff and encourage resilience. Recommend suitable staff support strategies to managers during and following emergencies and other crises.
• Providing staff with individual and/or group counselling as needed (i.e. assessment, short-term intervention, referral);
• Contributing to identification of creative ways of building a network of external mental health providers available to provide services to staff.
• Coordinating the Peer Support Volunteers (PSVs) Programme for Syria office.
• Coordinate with UNDSS, agency counsellors and PSVs, to ensure the provision of adequate psychosocial support during emergencies.
• Assess and monitor psycho-social needs and issues affecting the wellbeing of staff.
• Design and provide training and awareness raising activities for staff and managers on trauma as well as strengthening healthy workplace practices to the extent possible.

3. Provide Critical Incident Stress Management to groups- and/or individual staff following critical incidents. A holistic approach to critical incident management is used and may include services such as practical support, psycho-education, psychological first aid, strategic advice to leadership, family support and individual or group interventions. The Staff Counsellor will be responsible for:

• Contacting the affected staff member(s) and offering information about typical stress reactions, support- and referral information;
• Facilitating appropriate traumatic stress interventions, following a critical incident or  traumatic event;
• Recommending and arranging for individual and/or group follow-up support to staff and their dependents.
• Regular Reaching out and visits to staff in field offices.
• Provide pre and post-deployment briefings/debriefings to new staff.

4. Monitoring and oversight:  Providing on a regular basis statistics and trends on issues related to staff well-being, whilst maintaining confidentiality. Alert the HR Manager on trends that may be of concern in offices or offices requiring targeted support or Managerial intervention. Capture lessons learnt and best practices for dissemination as appropriate.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in counselling, clinical psychology or related mental health profession.  Additional training or certification in Trauma and Stress Management is an added advantage.
  *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in staff support, mental health, cross cultural communications, counselling and related areas preferably gained within the UN system or international development/humanitarian aid sector.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge or understanding of Arabic is desired, although not a requirement.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are:

Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability

Core competencies

• Communication [II]
• Working with People [II]
• Drive for Results [III]

Functional Competencies

• Leading and Supervising [II]
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts [II]
• Analyzing [II]
• Applying Technical Expertise [II]
• Planning and Organizing [III]

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Please note that this is a non-family duty station.