Staff Counsellor

Volunteering Teaching & Training Medical & Health IT & Telecom

Overview

Provide psychosocial support to staff in the Ebola Virus Disease response.

You have:

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience, including three years at the international level, in psychological counselling and training skills, with a special emphasis on managing critical incident stress.
• Additional training experience in a broad range of related fields such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress, cross-cultural communication, and change management is an asset.
• Work experience developing and delivering online and face-to-face workshops and webinars on a range of well-being and mental health topics is desirable.
• Experience either working in a hardship location or providing counselling services to staff working in very difficult and insecure environments is an asset.
• Experience in the United Nations (UN) System or the international development/humanitarian aid sector is desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment.
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills; accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing.
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Sound security awareness.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet.

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo officially declared a new outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) affecting the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, including the health zones of Mongbwalu, Rwampara, Bunia, and additional areas in North Kivu. National authorities, with the support of humanitarian partners, have activated emergency coordination and response mechanisms to contain the outbreak. The epidemic is unfolding in a highly complex humanitarian context marked by insecurity, armed conflict, population displacement, and limited access to essential services. High population mobility, overcrowded living conditions, and weak WASH infrastructure significantly increase the risk of healthcare-associated and community transmission. The current outbreak involves a strain of Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine is currently available. As a result, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) interventions represent one of the most critical pillars of the response, requiring rapid operational scale-up, strong coordination, and robust monitoring systems across all affected provinces. In this context, UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health and the national IPC coordination mechanisms to strengthen the overall response.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the In-country Staff Counsellor or his designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor will be able to provide:

A. Preventive and protective psychosocial support: • Facilitate the provision of effective psychosocial support to all staff, prioritizing emergency locations with the aim of mitigating stress and increasing protective factors during the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD ) response. • Provide a safe and confidential environment where staff members can address professional and personal problems, either individually or in groups (modality: assessment, short-term intervention, referral). • Provide support and advice to the leadership and managers in offices on healthy work practices and approaches to effectively support staff and encourage resilience. Recommend suitable staff support strategies to managers during and following emergencies and other crises. • Deliver preventive psychoeducational programmes/training to address systemic issues and recurrent problems within teams and offices; develop and deliver tailored workshops and webinars for staff; raise awareness on common mental health themes and act as an advocate for anti-stigma programming; deliver training aimed at managing changes. • Provide pre/post-deployment briefings to new staff. • Develop a creative system to build a network of external mental health providers available to provide services to staff. • Contribute to promoting and enhancing duty of care and a positive work environment. • Coordinate the Peer Support Volunteer (PSV) Programme for the country’s office.

B. Provide Critical Incident Stress Management to groups and/or individual staff following critical incidents. A holistic approach to critical incident management is used and may include services such as practical support, psychoeducation, psychological first aid, strategic advice to leadership, family support, and individual or group interventions. The Staff Counsellor will be responsible for: • Contacting the affected staff member(s) and offering information about typical stress reactions, support, and referral information. • Facilitating appropriate traumatic stress interventions following a critical incident or traumatic event. • Recommending and arranging individual and/or group follow-up support to staff and their dependents. • Regular follow-up contact and visits to staff in field offices. • Coordinating with UNDSS counsellors, agency counsellors, and PSVs to ensure the provision of adequate psychosocial support during emergencies.

C. Monitoring and oversight: • Providing, on a regular basis, data, statistics, and trends on issues related to staff well-being while maintaining confidentiality. Alert the In-country Staff Counsellor and/or Country Office management team on trends that may be of concern in offices requiring targeted support or managerial intervention. Capture lessons learned and best practices for dissemination as appropriate.

D. Other tasks: • Undertake regular travel to the regions and duty stations under coverage as per the regional wellbeing strategy and demands from the country offices. • Identify and recommend prevention measures for systemic issues and trends. • Facilitate interface with the various services and resources of the organization. • Ensure adherence to the professional standards of the UN Staff Counsellor's Global Services Committee (UNSSCG ) as well as the Code of Ethics for UN Staff Counsellors.

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEFin daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNICEF’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience, including three years at the international level, in psychological counselling and training skills, with a special emphasis on managing critical incident stress. • Additional training experience in a broad range of related fields such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress, cross-cultural communication, and change management is an asset. • Work experience developing and delivering online and face-to-face workshops and webinars on a range of well-being and mental health topics is desirable. • Experience either working in a hardship location or providing counselling services to staff working in very difficult and insecure environments is an asset. • Experience in the United Nations (UN) System or the international development/humanitarian aid sector is desirable. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills; accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing. • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work under tight deadlines. • Sound security awareness. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet.

Democratic Republic of Congo is a unique country, and Bunia is a unique (humanitarian) operation. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment, but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more stamina and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in harsh and potentially hazardous conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential.

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Added 11 days ago - Updated 4 days ago - Source: unv.org