Technical Advisor: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Job Description

Job Overview:

The Technical Advisor (TA) for MHPSS supports MHPSS programming across RAI offices, with a focus on Europe. The TA sits within the Safety, Education & Wellness (SEW) team, which is a part of RAI Program Quality & Innovation (PQI) department. PQI provides thought and practice leadership and technical support that helps IRC and partners grow and sustain high quality, evidence-based, impactful, and cost-effective programs. The SEW team focuses on technical excellence in Education & Youth, Health Promotion, Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being, Child Protection, Women’s Protection & Empowerment, and Anti-Trafficking. The TA will partner with offices to enhance and grow their MHPSS programming portfolio; develop, disseminate, pilot and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate trauma-informed, evidence-based treatments services; and provide training and technical assistance to increase the capacity of staff to deliver high-quality services. The TA is expected to integrate strategies to overcome barriers that prevent many forcibly displaced community members from receiving, benefitting from, and responding to MHPSS services. The TA also helps coordinate and align RAI MHPSS program efforts, liaise with critical stakeholders, and robustly contributes to business development. The TA’s central responsibility is program quality and about 80% of time will be devoted to technical assistance, with 20% devoted to influence, advocacy, research, coordination, and liaising with stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Support

· In collaboration with partners and beneficiaries, develop and adapt culturally and linguistically appropriate trauma-informed, evidenced based services that are aligned with IRC’s MHPSS framework, Outcomes to Evidence framework, best and promising practices within the field, donor requirements and mandates.

· Develop, support, and maintain relationships with office teams and external service agencies to best support forcibly displaced individuals and families.

· Ensures that services and supports are responsive to client needs and preferences, congruent with the context, and based on a gender, equity, diversity and inclusion analysis.

· Support dissemination and replication of programming frameworks, methodologies and practices.

· Provide technical assistance to RAI and other service agencies on best and promising practices, including developing and disseminating staff- and community-facing materials and resources.

Strategy, Policy and Institutional Capacity

· Participate and advise on strategic initiatives and participate on joint initiatives with other IRC technical units

· Build a diverse workforce by contributing to hiring and mentoring of new staff and developing the capacity of staff to deliver MHPSS interventions and mainstream approaches.

· Identify where MHPSS efforts intersect and/or duplicates other protection efforts in an aim to explore where programming could create collective impact.

· Educate IRC leadership about trends, political consideration and traditional sources of funding to help shape IRC’s MHPSS approach, including strategic partnerships and alliances.

· Represent IRC in academic fora, donor meetings, inter-agency working groups, and various global/regional/transnational networks to share best practices, collectively advocate, increase visibility and establish relationships with partners working in the same sector.

Business Development

· Identify and pursue financial and technical resources towards the achievement of RAI MHPSS outcomes

· Cultivate partnerships that increase the reach and impact of IRC MHPSS programming

· Support business development efforts at the field-level and across RAI, including technical review proposals, proposal writing, creating M&E plans including selecting indicators, providing budgetary inputs, and liaising with donors.

· Provide guidance and support to programs and offices to effectively access funding and provide technical review of proposals

Assessment and Evaluation

· Coordinate tracking, compilation and analysis of key indicators and outcomes for MHPSS programming

· Provide ongoing analysis of program activities, including supporting monitoring and evaluation of efforts to determine and adjust approaches as needed.

· Build partnerships with academic institutions and other organizations to support research projects and overall, the MHPSS work

· Strengthen and expand partnerships to solicit and integrate feedback to continually inform efforts.

Job Requirements:

· Master’s degree in social work, psychology, or related mental health field; licensure for independent clinical practice preferred.

· At least five years of MHPSS-related work experience with forcibly displaced people.

· A strong understanding of European context as it relates to forcibly displaced peoples, with established relationships in the MHPSS sector.

· Experience in project design, proposal development and monitoring and evaluation with the ability to turn concepts and strategy into measurable action.

· Outstanding capacity to understand the country context, portfolio, and overall programmatic needs, and coordinate the relevant technical assistance needed to make a project successful including experience with training, coaching and/or workforce development.

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to turn complex topics into practical and understandable educational products.

· Expertise on the impacts of traumatic stress, toxic stress and forced displacement on individuals, families, and children, as well as related best and promising practices across differing contexts.

· Experience in strategy development and working across disciplines and sectors.

· Self-starter with excellent project management skills, including the proven ability to prioritize and effectively manage competing demands and complete project tasks on time.

· Ability to effectively communicate and work as a team member with collaborative partners, the community, and clients in a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary environment

· Computer proficiency, including MS Office, internet applications and case management databases

Language Skills****: English fluency and another European language where IRC offices are located required - German, Greek, Italian, Serbian.

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to: Senior Technical Advisor: Safety & Wellness

Position Directly Supervises: N/A

Other Internal/External Contacts:

· Internal: Regular collaboration with RAI teams implementing MHPSS programming, RAI’s Safety, Education and Wellness Technical Unit, communication with other members of PQI, RAI Europe leadership, CRRD

· External: Serve as IRC program representative in outside regional meetings and global meetings and academic forums with donors, non-governmental organizations, foundations, and inter-agency groups

Working Environment: Regular office environment. 20% to 40% travel.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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