Staff Counsellor - SSA10- WAE- Gaza

Overview

Provide psychological support to WFP national staff and their dependents.

You have:

• Advanced university degree (Doctorate, Masters or equivalent) in Psychology, Psychiatry or equivalent studies.
• Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible professional post graduate experience relevant to the field is required.
• Fluency in Arabic is required.
• Good working knowledge of English language is desirable.
• Experience working in hardship location or providing counselling services to staff in insecure environments is an asset.
• Ability to provide an environment where others can talk confidentially and act without fear of repercussions.
• Broad knowledge of all facets of the field of counselling.
• Excellent communication skills (oral, written and presentations).

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

27 July 2026-23:59-GMT+02:00 Israel Time (Jerusalem)WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

📌 Type of Contract: Special Service Agreement – When Actually Employed

➡️ Unit / Division: Staff Counselling Unit / WFP Palestine

📍 Duty Station: Gaza

➡️ Duration: 11 months (Renewable)

➡️ Job Type: Part Time (8-10 days per month)

The position is only open to nationals or residents with a legal permit/ID to work in Gaza.

❗You are required to fill in all mandatory fields on Workday in English and upload your English CV as an attachment. Your application would be otherwise disqualified.

What will you do in this position?

The main role of the Staff Counsellor is to provide efficient and effective psychological support to WFP national staff and their official dependents. The psychological impact and the effects of living in and through the ongoing crises, is continuously increasing and only beginning to be understood. With mental health services under strain, and at times inaccessible, employees and their families are increasingly looking to the Staff Counselling team for psychosocial support, as they seek to address and manage their mental health conditions. A large emphasis is placed on extensive engagement with staff and promotion of staff wellbeing in times of crisis.

Why work with WFP Palestine?

For decades, Palestine has been facing a protracted and complex protection and humanitarian crisis. The humanitarian situation worsened alarmingly after an upsurge in violence from October 2023.

WFP, through our dual mandate in humanitarian and development, provides life-saving food assistance to the most vulnerable and food insecure non-refugee Palestinians.

WFP provides logistics support to humanitarian and development partners, allowing them to reach more people faster, and at a lower cost to donors and the environment. By offering our cash-based transfer platform to the wider humanitarian and development community, coordinating logistics, and developing an inter-agency common feedback mechanism, WFP contributes to wider humanitarian efforts.

At WFP Palestine, we offer a wide range of benefits and entitlements for Special Service Agreement WAE Contract holders . Some of them are:

✅ Competitive salaries per job level

✅ Medical insurance with the possibility to enroll eligible dependents

✅ Applicable danger pay (reviewed on quarterly basis)

✅ Learning & development opportunities

How can you make a difference?

The Staff Counsellor will be based in Gaza and will be expected to travel at times in Gaza to support Staff and families. This position will report functionally and administratively to the Staff Counsellor for Palestine, based in Jerusalem. The Staff Counsellor will be responsible for performing the following duties:

• Support the Staff Counsellor in identifying psychosocial hazards by assessing the needs, including ongoing and anticipated needs.
• Provide culturally sensitive and trauma informed individual and/or group counselling for WFP employees and direct dependents.
• Participate in crisis response, provide crisis counselling to individuals and/or groups during emergencies and after critical incidents, and ensure follow up support.
• Provide active psychological support including during emergencies and/or after critical incidents to ensure continued staff well-being and that managers & staff are provided with the effective support to manage change.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to create events and initiatives designed to promote staff wellness.
• Contribute to the design of guidelines, as well as information materials to increase awareness and promote staff wellness in times of crisis.
• Contribute to building a mental health referral network of professionals to facilitate culturally appropriate psychosocial support for WFP employees. Refer to external mental health professionals and relevant services when needed.
• Maintain at all times the highest ethical standards related to the provision of psychological services consistent with the Wellness Division Ethical Guidelines and Standards of Practice.
• Complete administrative duties, such as maintaining statistics on implemented activities and completing reporting requirements as per requirements of the Wellness Division. Providing comprehensive report at end of assignment.
• Other as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced university degree (Doctorate, Masters or equivalent) in Psychology, Psychiatry or demonstrably equivalent studies from a recognized institution. The candidate should be licensed/registered or equivalent with a governing body as a mental health professional if possible. Additional training or certification in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, mediation, trauma etc. will be an advantage.

Experience:

Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible professional post graduate experience relevant to the field is required. Experience either working in a hardship location or providing counselling services to staff working under very difficult and insecure environments is an asset.

Knowledge & Skills:

Broad knowledge of all facets of the field of counselling and ability to provide an environment in which others can talk confidentially and act without fear or repercussions within a climate of established trust. Excellent communication skills (oral, written and presentations) including the ability to defend and explain difficult issues and positions to staff at all levels. Ability to identify clients' needs and suggest appropriate solutions. Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with clients. Very good working knowledge of technology tools such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word. Ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Languages:

Fluency in Arabic is required. Good working knowledge of English language is desirable.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [email protected]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at [email protected]. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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Potential interview questions

Added 8 hours ago - Updated 8 hours ago - Source: wfp.org