Stress Counselor – Retainer contract – 6 positions (Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern, Central Highlands and Central Regions)

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace, and security.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace, and Security. UN Women is present through its country office, based in Kabul, and five sub-offices, in Bamyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar.

Objective of the Assignment:

UN Women Afghanistan Country Office seeks to hire stress counselors to provide individual wellbeing services as well as training webinars on stress management to its female counterparts at subnational level.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of UN Women Head of Sub-Office and guidance from EVAW Programme Manager, the Consultant will carry on the below functions:

• Plan and facilitate preventative stress management trainings, adjusted to regional and provincial dynamics.
• Develop stress management strategy and coping mechanisms and activities that can be recommended to UN Women’s counterparts, adjusted to regional and provincial dynamics.
• Provide individual and critical incident wellbeing and stress management sessions to women with whom UN Women engages at subnational level.
• Identify referral mechanisms for critical stress and incidents requiring dedicated and specialized support.
• Identify and refer critical incident stress cases among UN Women’s counterparts using the referral pathways identified.

Deliverables

Timelines

Individual and critical incident sessions to UN Women’s counterparts at subnational level, as requested

Bimonthly

Develop stress management strategy and coping mechanisms and activities

Within one month of starting date

Identify referral mechanisms for critical stress and incidents requiring dedicated and specialized support

Within one month of starting date

Bimonthly webinar provided to UN Women’s counterparts at subnational level on stress management and coping mechanisms.

Twice a year

Final report on recommendations for engagement and support to women’s wellbeing, adjusted to regional and provincial specificities.

End of the Contract

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity.
• Integrity.
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues.
• Accountability.
• Creative Problem Solving.
• Effective Communication.
• Inclusive Collaboration.
• Stakeholder Engagement.
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Well-developed communication, leadership, and team building skills.
• 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 would be an asset.
• Previous experience working with United Nations System in the same field is distinct advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelors Degree in clinical psychology or Psychiatry;
• 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 would be an asset;

Experience:

• Minimum of five years of professional experience in psychological counseling, training skills, with special emphasis on managing critical incident stress.
• 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 would be an asset;
• Well-developed communication, leadership, and team building skills;
• Experience in United Nations System is desirable;

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, Dari and / or Pashto is required;

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Criteria 1: Advanced University Degree in clinical psychology or Psychiatry (20 Points)
• Criteria 2: Minimum of five years of professional experience in psychological counseling (20 Points)
• Criteria 3: Fluency in English, Dari and Pashto. (20 points)
• Criteria 4: Experience in United Nations System (10 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;

Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from Application and recruitment process | About us: Careers at UN Women | UN Women – Headquarters Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)