Field Staff Counsellor

Finance & Economy

Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5.8 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA's services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. UNRWA seeks the services of a qualified staff counsellor to provide counselling services to staff in the field office under the project “Towards a sustainable staff care system at UNRWA”.

Responsibilities

In accordance with Agency policy and procedures, the incumbent: • With technical supervision from Staff Care team, work closely with the Field Offices in integrating staff care and wellbeing into field office workplans. • Provides Psychosocial Support during emergencies and Critical Incidents to groups and/or individual staff members and their dependents; This Psychosocial Support includes but is not limited to psycho-education, psychological first aid, family support and coordination of services for individual or group interventions; facilitates appropriate traumatic stress interventions, following a critical incident or traumatic event; recommends and arranges for individual and/or group follow up support to staff and their dependents. • Under the guidance of HQA, supports in responding to critical and security incidents by conducting assessment on the impact of the event, suggesting appropriate interventions with technical advice from staff care team; makes recommendations for follow-up or referral purposes; coordinates with Peer Helpers and the staff care team (HQ) to ensure the provision of adequate psychosocial support during emergencies and ongoing collaboration with all well-being stakeholders. • Supports in delivering field relevant psychoeducation materials, assists in implementation of resilience building programs in the field and aids in strengthening referral mechanism and mental health networks for seeking psychosocial support on ground; in line with Relief and Social Services (RSS) Staff Care Plan and the global mental health strategy plan; contributes to the development and implementation of training and educational materials and provides continuous psychosocial status and needs assessments; carries out briefing sessions on staff care and related issues and provides group support sessions for staff. • Provides inputs on stress mitigating strategies and activities to enhance the welfare, resilience and wellbeing of UNRWA personnel; provides support and advice on healthy work environment and culture. • Collaborates on an area-level with Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) teams and focal points for an integrative approach with UNRWA staff whereby integrative framework is implemented to ensure culturally sensitive psychosocial support related symptoms or syndromes. • Maintains detailed records and data base of psychosocial activities and provides comprehensive reports on monthly basis or as required; provides statistics and trends analysis on issues related to staff wellbeing whilst maintaining confidentiality; prepares ad-hoc and special reports as required; captures lessons learnt and best practices and disseminates, as appropriate. • Supports in building capacities of peer support groups in collaboration with focal points based on established models and provides continuous guidance to the group coordinators on further capacity building initiatives. • Performs other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor and the director of the department.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default: • Demonstrate UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. • Ability to develop clear goals consistent with agreed strategies, capability to develop, monitor and adjust plans and actions as necessary. • Acts in accordance with the profession's ethics and values respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. • Ability to prepare, coordinate and conduct meetings and workshops. • Excellent communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills. • Ability to present data and information in a clear and constructive way; and • Ability to work under pressure. For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://hr.un. org/page/prepare-competency-based-interview

Education

• A university degree from an accredited educational institution in Counselling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Clinical/ Psychiatric, Social Work or other Mental Health related profession. • Additional training or certification in traumatic / critical incident stress as well as a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, family counselling, training, stress management is strongly desired. • Certification or country specific licensure authorizing the incumbent to deliver mental health services is mandatory.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

You are required to have three to four years of relevant experience providing professional counselling services. You are required to have experience in management and/or coordination of mental health and psychosocial support programmes and activities, as well as experience in preparing and conducting relevant training in humanitarian settings, in a large governmental or international organization is an asset. You are required to have background on or familiarity with emergency or hardship duty station. Are you currently residing in Duty Station. It is required that you specify your current location.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken Arabic. Command of spoken English is an asset. Please list all languages that you know including your mother tongue and indicate your proficiency level from the drop-down list provided in the system considering the below: If you possess a very good to excellent level of proficiency in English language, kindly indicate this as "Fluent" in your application. If you possess a good level of proficiency in English language, kindly indicate this as "Confident" in your application. If you possess a basic level of proficiency in English language, kindly indicate this as "Basic" in your application.

Assessment

During the assessment, the applications will be given preference based on the following desirable qualifications: • Master’s degree or postgraduate qualification in relevant field. • Familiarity with the historical and geopolitical context of the region and specifically UNRWA mandate. • Experience in social work and case work interventions. • Training experience in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse. • Stress management, critical incident stress and cross-cultural communication The shortlisted candidates will be afterward evaluated based on: •Technical Test •Competency-based Interview

Special Notice

Contract Status: Limited Duration Contract for six (6) months with the possibility of further extension, subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory performance and continuing need. Benefits: LDC Band "F" Monthly Salary JD 1,057.000 Other benefits include medical insurance. Dependency allowance is subject to eligibility. Department/Office: Programme Relief & Social Services - Headquarters Amman - Jordan Duty Station: Jordan Field Office. Additional Benefits: - 2 days of sick leave for each completed month of service. - 14 weeks of maternity leave. - 2 weeks of paternity leave. Department/Office: UNRWA - Programme Education - Jordan Duty Station: JFO Other Information: • Possession of a valid driving license. Equivalency: Equivalency may apply for this post. NB: Work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination. General Information: •This vacancy notice is open to internal and external candidates. Only candidates residing in Jordan, and within commuting distance of the duty station with authorization to work in the duty station at the time of application are eligible to apply. •The Agency will not assume responsibility or accountability to support or facilitate the issuance of work permit in Jordan, and without a valid work permit, the appointment may be rescinded. •Since the Vacancy is an Area Staff post, the Agency will not provide coverage for relocation costs. •Preference will be given to registered Palestine refugees and candidates assisting the Agency to meet its commitment to gender parity. UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities. •UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced women. •A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and that successful candidates may be appointed to the same post. In the case of multiple or recurring posts, that a roster will be created from which the candidates will be selected for appointment. •Only applications that have been fully completed in UNRWA's online e-recruitment system Inspira will be considered and no late applications will be accepted. The PHP should be completed with full relevant work experience under the experience tabs as per the requirements in the Job Opening. All acquired university degrees must also be stated, if applicable. Applicants applying to positions for Grades 12 to 20 must submit a cover letter/motivational statement in order to be considered. Additionally, providing incorrect or misleading information on an application will result in the immediate disqualification of a candidate. •Applicants will be disqualified when it becomes apparent that he or she provided incorrect, incomplete or misleading information on his or her personal history profile or during the recruitment process. If the applicant is also a staff member, the provision of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information in the personal history profile may also amount to misconduct. The Agency may indefinitely refuse to accept applications from an applicant who has previously provided incorrect, incomplete or misleading information on his or her personal history profile or during a recruitment process or committed plagiarism. •For UNRWA internal staff, they are required to specify and include their current UNRWA grade level. To do so applicants should select under "Category" RLG, scroll down to see all categories, then select their local grade. •Advertisements published only in English will only accept applications in English, and Arabic submissions will not be considered. •The Agency may disqualify applicants whose name appears on the UN Sanctions List or a UN database of staff separated for reason of misconduct or of staff who separated whilst misconduct processes were pending. •UNRWA shares investigation and misconduct information with other UN Agencies, and past and prospective employers, about staff members who have been separated for misconduct, or who have separated whilst an investigation and/or disciplinary process for misconduct is underway; and such persons may be prohibited from employment with the United Nations. •The Agency will immediately disqualify applicants who are ineligible for any reason in accordance with the Agency regulatory framework. •UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live. •Applications from UNRWA staff member who had been demoted with deferred eligibility for promotion will not be considered. •Applications from Staff members who were recipients under the Early Voluntary Retirement or Exceptional Voluntary Separation Schemes will not be considered. •Applications from Internal candidates serving for less than one year in their current post will not be considered. •The Agency reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description or to change the contract Modality. •A candidate is not eligible for consideration if he or she was short-listed and found not suitable for the same post within the previous 12 months unless the post description has since been altered by 30% or more, as determined by ODCS. •UNRWA reserves the right to proceed only with internal candidates or proceed with the candidates of an under-represented gender for any vacancy announcement when it determines that the short-list for a single post at any grade level is excessively long.

United Nations Considerations

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her. UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups. At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. UNRWA Considerations UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment. Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST (UNRWA) DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE OR REQUEST MONEY FROM CANDIDATES AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING, ONBOARDING). UNRWA DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Added 1 day ago - Updated 8 hours ago - Source: careers.un.org