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.

Results/expected outputs:

• 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; • The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment; • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

• Communication • Teamwork • Moving forward in a changing environment • Promoting innovation and organizational learning • Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

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 • 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 • Knowledge of other UN languages is desirable.

The Republic of Moldova lies in the central part of Europe in the north-eastern Balkans. Moldova occupies an area of 33,843.5 km2. The capital of Moldova is Chisinau. On the North, East and South Moldova is surrounded by Ukraine, and on the West it is separated from Romania by the Prut River. The landscape of Moldova consists of hilly plains with an average altitude of about 150 meters (495 feet) above sea level, which flatten gradually toward the southwest. Old forests called Codrii cover the central part of the country. Moldova is in an earthquake zone connected to the Carpathian Mountains. The last major earthquake occurred in 1989, although smaller scale earthquakes are common throughout the year. Moldova’s two major rivers are the Nistru and the Prut, and a short span of the Danube crosses the extreme southern part of the republic. There are more than 3,000 small rivers or tributaries, of which only seven are longer than 80 km (50 miles). Moldova has more than 50 natural lakes and is rich in mineral-water springs. The country has a temperate climate with four definite seasons. Summers are warm and humid, with an average high temperature in July of +26 degrees Celsius. Winters are cold, especially because of the high humidity. Temperatures can remain below -10 degrees Celsius for several days, and snowfalls are usually not extreme, and snow can remain on the ground for up to several weeks. Spring and autumn are usually beautiful with mild temperatures. Chisinau, the capital, offers a wide variety of cultural and entertainment possibilities, such as opera, ballet, theatre, circuses, and nightclubs. The options decrease, however, in proportion to the population of the community. There are also a growing number of cafes and bars in Moldova, which offer diversity of food and drinks. The computerization of Moldova is progressing rapidly, Internet service is very popular in Moldova at reasonable rates and wireless facilities are available in many locations, therefore using Internet is the common way to stay in contact with friends and family in the home country. The capital city is very green with a lot of parks, lakes and trees around, and it has developed network of cheap public transport, which includes trolleybuses, buses and minibuses. Taxi services are well developed and are quite price-accessible

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials

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