National consultant to support implementation of mental health and disability project funded by AICS

1. Purpose of consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to “Strengthen community mental health and disability services for vulnerable populations” which is part of the implementation of specific activities within the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)-funded project and WHO Director General’s Special Initiative for Mental Health Jordan Logical Framework for Jordan.

2. Background

In Jordan, mental health services are limited. The Ministry of Health, Royal Medical Services, UNRWA, universities, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector provide mental health services. However, the public mental health system is traditionally centralized at the tertiary level of healthcare, relying on hospital-based biomedical model of care. Accordingly, limited financial and human resources are concentrated in institutions like the National Center for Mental Health and associated psychiatric hospitals. The availability of cost-effective primary healthcare services is limited, and community-based interventions are not systematically implemented or sustained.

In addition, the added burden on health services in Jordan due to the influx of Syrian refugees extends to mental health (MH) services. Exposure to severely distressing events related to conflict, violence or displacement may undermine the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of refugees. In addition, many are suffering from pre-existing mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions that require treatment and care. As such, that the majority of displaced Syrians reside in host communities has further strained the limited mental health services.

Therefore, WHO Jordan Country Office received support from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) to implement the project Strengthening community mental health and disability services for vulnerable populations”. The general objective of this project is to improve the mental well-being of vulnerable populations (Jordanians and Syrian refugees), with the specific objective of improving the mental health and disability services for these populations.

The project is aligned with the newly endorsed National Mental Health and Substance Use Action Plan (2022-2026), as well as the WHO Director General’s Special Initiative for Mental Health. The Special Initiative aims to ensure universal health coverage with access to quality and affordable mental health care to 100 million more people in 12 countries worldwide. Jordan was selected as one of the first 6 countries to implement the Special Initiative and the only country from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In collaboration with national stakeholders, WHO Jordan has developed a logical framework outlining specific outputs, activities, and indicators and targets for the Special Initiative. Through implementation of the logic model, the Special Initiative aims to strengthen mental health services and to complement and enhance the National Mental Health and Substance Use Action plan (2022-2026) through focused investment in key priority areas.

The project consists of four Outputs:

Output 1 Reorganize and improve the quality of the community mental health services in Ministry of Health

Output 2 Strengthen disability services for vulnerable children and youth through social inclusion programs

Planning and implementation of above-mentioned activities will be done in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) Head of Disabilities and Mental Health Directorate, WHO Jordan National Mental Health Officer, WHO/EMRO Regional Advisor for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

To enable project implementation, WHO Jordan is seeking to contract an expert consultant to lead the design and implementation of activities that aim to strengthen mental health services and build the capacity of mental health service providers.

3. Work to be performed

Output 1: Reorganize and improve the quality of the community mental health services in Ministry of Health (32 days)

Deliverable 1.1 (10 days): Establish a learning exchange initiative aimed at multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) at 5 community mental health centers (CMCHs) within Ministry of Health

• Develop a learning exchange initiative for MDTs with the goals of:

  • facilitating administrative supervision and support to CMHCs;
  • promoting the exchange of technical expertise and lessons learned between MDTs, while strengthening interdisciplinary coordination among MDT staff;
  • facilitating the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in routine practice through active dissemination of SOPs, behavior change techniques, and regular follow-up.
• The consultant will be responsible for coordinating with MOH focal point, preparing the program/agenda for monthly learning exchange meetings, sending invitations and encouraging attendance of MDTs, co-leading sessions, and following up on action items in a timely manner.
• Submission of the following documentation to WHO Jordan National Mental Health Officer: agenda, meeting minutes & action items.

Deliverable 1.2 (15 days): Strengthen mental health and substance use referral and back-referral systems across all levels of care

• Comprehensive mapping of clinical pathways for mental health and substance use services at all levels of care, including social services and community resources.
• Engage with multistakeholder task force for the identification of services and referral pathways and in the development of the comprehensive clinical pathway map.
• Draft MOH-specific clinical pathways covering all levels of care and integrating external resources from health and social sectors, including services for prevention (including suicide prevention), treatment, and rehabilitation; based on existing mappings (e.g. 4Ws).
• Develop a guide that outlines existing services and referral pathways (within and between ministries and other applicable sectors) for different target populations (adults, children and adolescents) based on the developed clinical pathways and in consultation with the task force; adding sections on basic principles of psychosocial support for people with mental health and substance use conditions, self-care and burnout management, and other relevant topics.
• Develop clear referral guidelines and referral forms to facilitate the utilization of the developed guides.
• Finalize referral guidelines, and referral forms at all levels of care.
• Develop case management guideline for MOH mental health facilities at levels of care.
• Conduct trainings on referral and back-referral using the developed guideline and forms.
• Submission of the following documentation to WHO Jordan National Mental Health Officer: final clinical pathway, guide for healthcare providers, referral guidelines, referral forms, training agenda and material.

Deliverable 1.3 (5 days): Capacity building of staff of two newly established rehabilitation programs within community mental health centers (CMHCs)

• Conduct 2-day training to multidisciplinary teams of two CMHCs, Al-Karama Hospital staff and rehabilitation staff at the National Center for Mental Health on disability, psychosocial rehabilitation, and deinstitutionalization.
• Submission of the following documentation to WHO Jordan National Mental Health Officer: training agenda and material.

Deliverable 1.4 (2 days): Reporting on Output 1

• Technical report providing summary of the completed consultation, achievements, challenges, and recommendations, including recommendations for sustained implementation and scale-up of initiatives.

Output 2: Strengthen disability services for vulnerable children and youth through social inclusion programs (12 days)

Deliverable 2.1: Support MOH Center for Diagnosis to enhance its services for children with disabilities, in collaboration with users’ association (10 days)

• Develop peer counseling program for persons with disabilities with training materials and peer counselor guides.
• Train 6 persons with disabilities on peer counseling using developed materials.
• Oversee the delivery of 6 peer counseling sessions (15 attendees per session).
• Submission of the following documentation to WHO Jordan National Mental Health Officer: peer counseling program material (training and guides), report on training and delivery of peer counseling sessions with recommendations for sustained implementation and scale-up.

Deliverable 2.2 (2 days): Reporting on Output 2

Technical report providing summary of the completed consultation, achievements, challenges, and recommendations, including recommendations for sustained implementation and scale-up of initiative.

4. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

University degree in Psychology, Counselling, Nursing or Social Work from recognized institution.;

Desirable: Qualifications in public health (e.g. certification, master’s degree, doctorate).

Experience A minimum of 7 years’ experience in in rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support

Skills/Technical skills and knowledge:

• Experience in providing training to general healthcare providers and multidisciplinary mental health professionals.
• Good knowledge in the public mental health approach, psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery, deinstitutionalization, prevention and treatment models in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), and case management.
• Good knowledge of and experience with the Jordanian public health system at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care, as well as related referrals system within health and social sectors;
• Experience in development of evidence-based training materials and implementing evidence-based behavior change strategies.
• Good report writing skills.
• Experience with the UN system or other international organizations is an advantage

Languages and level required:

Proficiency in Arabic and English is required.

5. Location

Amman, Jordan

6. Planned timelines

(44 working days – Dates are subject to confirmation)

Start date: 26 June 2022

End date: 8 January 2022

7. Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

8. Travel

The Consultant is not expected to travel.

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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