Emergency Staff Counsellor

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies incident management system, at the country level, the incumbent will provide mental health and psychosocial services through the implementation of contextually and culturally relevant stress management programmes to staff members and consultants in the WHO country offices.

The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (“The Programme”) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, the incumbent will provide technical advice for all WHO strategic categories and related public health programmes.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Regional Staff Counsellor or his/her designated mandated representative(s), and under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager, the WHO Representative, the UN Volunteer will: • Perform ongoing psychosocial status and needs assessments to identify the major stressors experienced by WHO staff members and consultants during their deployment; • Provide culturally sensitive psychosocial support through individual and group counselling for Staff Members and their immediate family members; • Provide preventative and mitigating stress and crisis management training during the three phases of the mission: pre-deployment, during deployment and post-deployment; • Travel regularly to the field sites of the WCO in order to promote, plan and implement preventative and mitigating stress management activities; • Facilitate teambuilding and cohesion through formal and informal interventions; • Enhance social or peer support networks and assist with training and capacity building activities; • Respond to critical and security incidents by conducting assessment on the impact of the event, developing appropriate interventions, and make recommendations for follow-up or referral purposes; • Advice management on stress mitigating strategies and activities to enhance the welfare of staff members and consultants; • Maintain detailed records of activities and provide comprehensive reports on a monthly basis to the HQ and regional office; • Support the Regional Staff Counsellor and perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor; • During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UNV mandate within their assignment and promote volunteerism through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate part of their time to the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

• Communication • Teamwork • Moving forward in a changing environment: is open to, and proposes, new approaches and ideas. Adapts and responds positively to change. • Promoting innovation and organizational learning: invigorates the Organization by building a culture which encourages learning and development. Sponsors innovative approaches and solutions. • Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

the area of mental health and psychosocial support services; some of which gained in outbreak and health emergencies context, is required; • Additional training or experience in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress and cross-cultural communication; • Prior relevant work experience in WHO/UN system, health cluster partners, relevant nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations, is desirable; • Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications. Functional Knowledge and Skills: • Good knowledge of MHPSS during emergency situations; • Proven ability to accurately assess psychosocial or mental health needs, risks and protective factors; • Advance knowledge in provision of psychosocial support and counselling services in a professional and confidential manner; • Demonstrated knowledge in designing and delivering contextually and culturally appropriate trainings and information sessions on a wide range of stress-related issues; • Ability to manage crisis situations involving diverse actors and stakeholders; • Ability to effectively work in multi-cultural environments under stressful conditions.

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate, and an area of 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi), with a population of around 19 million. Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe, and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, and other major urban areas include Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Brașov, and Galați.

UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances: The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos) and use the entitlement calculator (https://app.unv.org/calculator) for the most up to date information