Emergency Senior Mental Health and Psycho-social Support Advisor (f/m)

SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organization for the global federation of SOS Children’s Villages. As a non-governmental social development organization we support children without parental care and families in difficult living conditions through services in care, education, health and emergency relief, and we advocate for the rights of children and young people, in alliance with a great diversity of partners. We work in 135 countries and territories, reaching over one million children, young people, families and caregivers each year. 

Following the war in Ukraine and the immense humanitarian needs resulting from it, we are looking for an experienced and committed Emergency Senior Mental Health and Psycho-social Support Advisor (f/m)

• Position title: Emergency Senior Mental Health and Psycho-social Support (MHPSS) Advisor
• Duration: until December 2023 with the possibility of extension
• Working location: Austria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine or another European country with frequent travels to the region 
• International/Regional Office/Country: Ukraine ERP

Objective

Being present in Ukraine and neighboring countries, we aim to respond to the immense needs arising from the war in Ukraine – especially with regards to mental health and psycho-social support. Hence, the Consultant will support these efforts through remote guidance and virtual training – with a focus on the key member associations Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, and Romania.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Strategy development & Program technical support (20%): 

• Support the design and implementation of projects in its portfolio, ensuring that they are consistent with the association's mandate and professional positions

• Advise on the orientation of the project and explore possible adaptation based on the observations and needs expressed by the teams 

• Support MHPSS assessment and collect information related to MHPSS situation analysis in the different countries

• Feed the MHPSS component of the overall SOS humanitarian strategy in the region. 

• Conduct regular support visits

2. Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and learning (20%)

• Support the development of the necessary tools to assess the MHPSS needs, monitor the outcomes of activities.

• Support the teams in identifying MHPSS practices from which the organizations want to draw key learnings.

• Support the teams in setting up mechanisms to collect information related to the MHPSS practices to analyze

• Support the teams in the analysis of the learnings and the dissemination of the content.

3. Capacity building: To develop and promote the individual and collective skills and know-how (40%)

• Support the teams in identifying training needs and the development of training plans.

• Connect the Members Associations to training opportunities and coordinate with the potential trainers and key resource persons.

• Develop and deliver training that falls within the expertise and competence of the senior MHPSS technical advisor.

• Establish a community of practices across the countries to nurture the knowledge and know-how of the MHPSS teams.

• Ensure that clinical supervision is established in the different countries

4. Human resources and staff care strategies (5%)

• Support teams in defining the Job description of staff involved in MHPSS programs. 

• Support with the recruitment of key MHPSS staff in the countries responding to the Ukraine countries.

• Support the human resources and program managers in the development of staff care strategies for the teams for effective implementation of the duty of care. 

5. Networking and representation (5%)

• Represent SOS in key coordination meetings and working groups

• Cooperate with child safeguarding structures

• Attend relevant workshops

6. Communication and Reporting (10%)

• Communication on regular basis with SOS MHPSS and operations counterparts from the global and regional level as well as Member association counterparts at the country level.  

• Share monthly report 

Requirements:

• Master’s Degree in Psychology, social work, or public health or any area relevant to the scope of work

• More than 5 years of experience in MHPSS or in a similar role with at least one experience at the international level and minimum 2 years in an emergency response or recovery context

• Experience in implementing MHPSS activities such as PFA, PM+, Child-Friendly spaces et. 

• Familiar with all IASC MHPSS guideline

• Familiar with humanitarian coordination in emergencies

• Strong coordination and networking skills, and ability to represent SOS CV and its work in external meetings

• Experience in training and supervising others and in training/mentoring/coaching on the job

• Flexibility, excellent organizational and improvisational skills 

• Ability to work under pressure, in a challenging environment and to handle stress 

• Politically and culturally sensitive, awareness of gender issues, with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy

• Fluency in English; Ukrainian or Russian is an asset 

• Willingness to potentially work in a volatile security environment and to travel to field locations 

We offer:

• A diverse and international working environment

• Remuneration that will be commensurate with experience and qualification

This job is screened and recruited on a rolling basis, hence please submit your application as soon as possible.

In accordance with the organisation’s child protection policy, all employment is subject to applicable background checks, including criminal record checks