Mental Health and Psychological. Individual Consultant

CANDIDATES MUST BE LEGALLY PRESENT IN COSTA RICA AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION, RECRUITMENT, AND HIRING.
- Professional in Psychology incorporated to the respective Professional Association and be up to date with their obligations.
- At least one year of experience in community psychoeducational processes.
- Work experience of at least three years in gender issues, women's rights, self-care, stress management, mental health.
- Experience working with refugees, asylum seekers, migratory processes or people in vulnerable situations.
- Experience in creating communication material
- Skills in digital tools as Facebook Lives. Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel


Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
Concise and detailed description of activities, including measurable outputs and delivery dates, impact indicators (what qualitative and quantitative results would be achieved upon completion of
individual contract), performance indicators (timelines, value of the service rendered in relation to the cost, timeliness) and work plan:

Products and services to be contracted:
¿ Four (4) awareness and empowerment sessions for women, carried out through Facebook Live of the UNHCR information page in Costa Rica @RefugioCR. The following topics are suggested, which contemplate the prevention of gender violence as a cross-cutting theme:
- 1st session: Introductory session, managing emotions, self-care practices.
- 2nd session: Stress situations (socioeconomic situations such as lack of employment, food, education, etc.).
- 3rd session: Shared responsibility (distribution of housework, care work, etc.).
- 4th session: Closing, questions, and answers.

These topics are suggested and may be modified at the discretion of the consultant.

¿ Content for a digital guide consisting of basic self-care tips: The psychologist will work on the development of content that incorporates self-care and mental health tips for a digital guide. The
use of simple, everyday language that is easy to understand should be considered. UNHCR will be in charge of the layout and printing of the guide. This will be shared by the CBP Unit with PoC, host communities, community groups, among others. UNHCR will recognize the consultant¿s copyright of the guide.
¿ Final report on the findings identified through the Facebook Live.

Timeline
¿ Sessions will be held one day a week, for a period of four weeks during the month of October.
¿ Each session will last approximately 45 minutes each.
¿ After the sessions, the consultant will have 15 days to deliver the first draft of the self-care guide. If there are comments from UNHCR, there will be a period of 5 working days to send a new draft. The final guide should be delivered on the latest December 4th.

Expected results
¿ Empowerment and sensitization of women who would be attending the sessions.
¿ Have a significant impact, including the participation of PoC and the host community. The time that the information will remain public on the @RefugioCR Facebook page will be agreed with the
consultant.
¿ Promotion of mental health and emotional well-being for women.

Required level, qualifications and work experience: Level of responsibilities required (mark as appropriate) for individual contractors and fellows: The assignment is for an Individual Consultant.

Qualification and experience required (degree required, years of work experience, field of expertise, language required):
- Professional in Psychology incorporated to the respective Professional Association and be up to date with their obligations.
- At least one year of experience in community psychoeducational processes.
- Work experience of at least three years in gender issues, women's rights, self-care, stress management, mental health.
- Experience working with refugees, asylum seekers, migratory processes or people in vulnerable situations.
- Experience in creating communication material
- Skills in digital tools as Facebook Lives.

Monitoring and Progress Controls (report requirements, periodicity, format, deadlines):
a. The final product (e.g. survey completed, data collected, workshop conducted, research documents produced specify):
- The consultant will send a brief report of their experience and feedback on the activities; likewise, recommendations will be given on the areas that should be addressed with greater
specificity according to the feedback and comments made by the Facebook Live participants.
- The development of content that incorporates self-care and mental health tips for a digital guide.

Work on the basis of time employed: Yes

If it is to result in a written product specify:
a. Number of pages: Not specified
b. Language(s): Spanish
c. Number of copies: 1 Spanish: C2
English: B1
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
======================================================================================================== The political crisis in Nicaragua in April 2018 resulted in heightened levels of persecution and has since been responsible for a particularly sharp increase in the number of Nicaraguan asylum-seekers in Costa Rica. While only 78 Nicaraguans were registered as in need of international protection in Dec. 2017, by June 2021 the number had grown to 82,642. This figure represents 86% of the total number of asylum seekers (95,392) in the country, including Venezuelans, Cubans, Colombians, and persons from Northern Central America. These figures include a significant number of vulnerable persons, over a quarter of the total number, who also require humanitarian assistance. While the number of arrivals slowed to a trickle in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by early 2021 monthly arrivals reached pre-pandemic arrival levels (4,300). As the date for Nicaraguan presidential election nears (7 Nov. 2021), a further increase in asylum seeker arrivals is anticipated, requiring heightened operational needs in protection and assistance responses for a larger number of persons of concern, including emergency management.

In addition to asylum seekers, Costa Rica has 10,003 recognized refugees, persons at risk of statelessness and is host to a fluctuating but significant number of persons, from the region and beyond, who transit though the national territory in mixed movements. Some persons from the latter group apply for asylum.

General Background of Project or Assignment:

UNHCR has developed the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) approach, which consists of "any type of local or external support that aims to protect psychological well-being and /
or prevent or treat mental illnesses." This approach translates into providing a humanitarian response for the psychosocial well-being of PoC.

Likewise, during the participatory assessment carried out in November 2020, the issue of mental health was a concern expressed by PoC who stated that some risks related to this aspect had
worsened or increased during the COVID-19 Pandemic and consider that the existence of initiatives for the promotion of mental health is fundamental. In addition to this, mental health problems have been identified in women who have been exposed to risky situations and have traumas due to events that affected them both physically and emotionally.

Within the direct implementation activities, CBP has considered different initiatives focused on gender and self-care issues and, for this reason, it is considered essential to provide women with
tools for their empowerment and promotion of their mental health; for which, it is proposed to hire a professional in psychology to provide four training sessions on these topics: recognition and
management of emotions, self-care, stressful situations, and shared responsibility at home. Duration and dates of the assignment:

From: November 1, 2021 To: December 31, 2021

Work 100% (fulltime) during above-mentioned period: No The time of the consultant will be oriented to the fulfilment of the objectives

Working Hours (X) Not Applicable

Total amount of days/weeks/months to be worked: 9 weeks

Location(s) (specify if working from home: working from home with an adapted space for the virtual sessions.

Assignment and/or Mission travel applicable No

Suggested fee (daily/weekly/monthly/lump sum) and currency:
Total budgetary amount allocated for individual contract (incl. travel and DSA etc.): Payment schedule: When all final products are delivered and approved. HOW TO APPLY


- Candidates must submit their application through UNHCR's official application site: www.unhcr.org/careers.html
- click on Vacancies
- Look for Costa Rica
- To apply you must register in the upper right part of the page
Click on position you are interested  and follow the instructions


(In case of technical problems, please login with a different browser).

For any technical problems encountered during the online application, please contact the Global Service Desk (hqussd@unhcr.org) prior to the deadline to allow sufficient time to resolve the issues. For any questions regarding the selection process, please contact Human Resources (cossarrhh@unhcr.org).

CVs will NOT be accepted by email. ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS SENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM WILL BE CONSIDERED.

We are committed to maintaining diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and culture.  Persons belonging to minority groups, persons with special abilities, men and women, are encouraged to apply for vacancies. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

We do not confirm receipt of applications or report on the status of the process. Only qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview and possibly a written test.

CLOSING DATE:
Closing date for submissions or applications is  on October 3, 2021, (midnight Geneva time) 16:00 hours (Costa Rica time).

No late applications will be accepted.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing or any other fees).