Community Wellbeing Initiative (CWI) Psychologist

Organizational Description:

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic well-being and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. The IRC is committed to a culture of results-oriented leadership, innovation, creative partnerships, and client responsiveness and accountability to all those we serve. In Ethiopia, the IRC’s Community Wellbeing Initiative (CWI) program is an authority in providing holistic, grassroots gender-based violence (GBV) programming in humanitarian and emergency contexts. The CWI approach includes GBV response and prevention interventions and has a strong capacity-building and coordination component. In Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, the IRC’s CWI in currently operational in five refugee camps and two host communities and Assosa town.

Scope of Work/ Job Purpose:

Under the direct supervision of the CWI Manager in Assosa and technical supervisors in Addis Ababa, the CWI Psychologist will provide relevant training, guidance, mentoring, and direct counseling services to improve the quality of counseling and psychosocial support provided to GBV survivors. The CWI Psychologist will provide direct mental health counseling for very difficult cases to support CWI clients to heal from trauma and will carry out to the IRC CWI’s survivor-centered approach and GBV guiding principles. The role will also require support for capacity-building, including but not limited to, improving staff expertise in psychological first aid, trauma counseling, and self-care for secondary trauma and stress management. The CWI Psychologist will support other CWI staff in training for implementing partners from the health, protection, and legal sectors, and will support the design and roll-out of psychosocial programming in safe spaces to support the healing, resilience, and empowerment of refugee women and adolescent girls.

Detailed Responsibilities and Tasks:

ØProvide direct counseling support in difficult cases of trauma and/or PTSD, closely adhering to GBV guiding principles and the IRC’s survivor-centered approach to GBV case management.

ØProvide guidance and technical support to CWI assistants, social workers at the one stop center and safe house and CWI response officers in handling cases of trauma, to ensure mental health standard methodologies are followed for optimal recovery and healing.

ØProvide mentoring, coaching and on the job training for CWI assistants and social workers at the one stop center to ensure effective case management and psychosocial support service for GBV survivors

ØWork with organized committees and school clubs at Assosa Town to strengthen their capacity to prevent and efficiently respond to GBV

ØTravel to five refugee camps and support CWI Response Officers and refugee Social Workers, staying overnight in IRC guesthouses as the need arises

ØDevelop and deliver training as requested by CWI and other relevant IRC staff on the most pertinent mental health and trauma topics to build internal knowledge and enable the best quality of services to beneficiaries.

ØDevelop guidelines and tools as requested on specific areas of mental health, trauma, and stress management.

ØBuild positive working relationships with relevant GBV program partners and support CWI Response Officers and CWI assistants as requested in conducting training and mentoring sessions for service providers in the camp and for government actors in the local community.

ØWork with CWI assistants for GBV safety audit activity and ensure consistency of its implementation, and ensure the recommendation are followed and effective through coordination mechanism and community solution.

ØWork with CWI management to advice on and support the development of safe house and safe space programming that responds to the mental health and psychosocial support needs of refugee women and adolescent girls.

ØContribute to the development of CWI IEC/BCC materials to ensure that mental health and trauma topics are well-presented for raising community awareness.

ØWork with CWI Assistants, one stop center Social Workers and CWI response officers to support their wellbeing and management of secondary trauma, and lead group activities and workshops as requested/needed.

ØAny other duties and responsibilities that can be given by immediate and technical supervisors