External consultant for seminar program material development

Job Summary

Job Title:             External consultant for seminar program material development

Country:              Iraq

Location:             Dohuk

Start Date:          asap – to be concluded within 1 month after signing

Reports to:         Capacity Building Program – Jiyan Foundation: d.mosa@jiyan.org, m.wachowski@jiyan.org

General Description of the Agreement:

In Iraq, the increasing need for professional psychological and psychotherapeutic support coincides with a precarious shortage of specialists in these health professions. Although the subject of psychology and, to a lesser extent, clinical psychology is taught at universities, graduates have no experience in the therapeutic field and have little knowledge of mental disorders and their psychotherapeutic treatment. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, there are only 138 psychiatrists in the entire country, for a population of over 38 million people. There is also a shortage of qualified clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, trauma therapists, and supervisors, both for adults and for children and adolescents. The few exceptions for qualification opportunities, including the master’s program in psychotherapy and psych traumatology at the University of Duhok, the continuing education project of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf together with the association Children of Baghdad e.g., and the training activities of the Jiyan Foundation, function only through international funding and fall far short of meeting the need.

The public health system is chronically overburdened, and treatment in private practices remains unaffordable for most people. In addition, there is also no professional interest group such as that of a psychotherapists’ chamber, and only a few research projects involving local universities and academics. In order to sustainably improve the deficits in the state health sector in the long term, local professionals must be trained and structures must be created to enable the integration of expertise into the public health system.

Jiyan Foundation therefore wants to focus on strengthening capacities of local professionals and non-professionals. On the one hand to build on the skills of Jiyan staff but mostly to equip external professional with knowledge and skills for the MHPSS field. For this reason, Jiyan initiated its Seminar program several years ago.

The target group includes professionals from non-government or public institutions and organizations who may engage, directly or indirectly, with survivors of torture, war and organized violence, self-directed and interpersonal violence, and other human rights violations. This can be professionals from schools, health facilities, police stations, correctional facilities, or social welfare facilities as well as other local organizations or institutions.

The Seminar Program was designed to spread awareness and knowledge among a wide range of actors in Iraq. To achieve this, psychotherapists of Jiyan Foundation facilitate MHPSS awareness raising seminars, MHPSS technical trainings and self-care trainings to external professionals. The program targets non-MHPSS professionals with the awareness raising seminars with the goal to raise their awareness of MHPSS issues and available care and further to be able to identify and appropriately respond to survivors with MHPSS needs. Further, MHPSS (para-) professionals are targeted with the technical trainings to gain technical knowledge (e.g. in common psychological

problems, trauma, causes and effects of violence) and needs and to be able to address MHPSS needs appropriately

The self-care training is targeted at MHPSS professionals who engage with survivors and may be affected directly or vicariously by exposure to traumatic accounts. The goal of the self-care trainings is that these non-, para- and professionals learn to be better able to cope with challenges in their work.

The seminars are implemented various Centers of Jiyan Foundation in KRI / Iraq.

Current Status of Seminars:

Over the years Jiyan Foundation has produced various materials for the Seminars they are offering. Due to the mainly individualized approach and production of the material, these are incoherent, although many of the topics and materials are overlapping. Jiyan Foundation will provide the external consultant with the existing material and also with the list of seminar topics that will be offered in the future.

Overview of the role:

The External consultant will revise and standardize training materials for the (further) qualification of external experts and non-professionals

This includes:

• Revising existing material according to current status of research and good practice

• Allocate material to the seminar topics as given by Jiyan Foundation

• Develop a unified seminar outline for all seminars

• Develop training materials for the trainers to conduct the seminars, including presentations to be uses in the seminars

• Develop training materials for the participant, including agendas and short introductory and guidance text tool.

• Compile additional material and resources for the seminar participants’ further studies

• Provision of content and material in a modular way that allows to use it to non-, para- and full-professionals,

e.g. introductory modules for non-professionals to be taught in short (half-day) sessions, and a variety of modules covering the topic more in depth to be taught in up to two days long seminars.

• Identify at least two learning objectives for each seminar topic (applicable for professionals and non- professionals)

• Develop a unified seminar outline for each of the three categories that are allocated relevant material to align with Jiyan Foundation’s seminar topics.

• create English versions for the three topics in the three specified categories.

• Mental health

  • Psychological first aid

• Social Topics

  • Violence (definition, types, causes, effects, and prevention)

• Self-care

  • Work-related stress and Burnout prevention

The process is planned to be implemented by a highly qualified local expert in the field. The revision process will be carried out in close cooperation with the Jiyan trainers and Capacity Building-staff. The goal is that standardized presentations are developed based on the existing material but with the results and recommendations of the external consultancy on program design in mind. For example, presentations should make a difference between the purposes of the training which might be awareness-raising, technical training, or self-care seminars. The training will be a combination of theory and practical exercises.

• After the final presentation to Jiyan Foundation and Capacity Building-staff, the external consultant will present the material to the Jiyan trainers and onboard them on the use and correct app

Timeline:

• The contract shall be completed within one months after signing the TOR.

• We will commence with an initial introductory meeting, followed by weekly gatherings to discuss the progress in the assigned tasks, encompassing the producing of three designated topics.

• Meeting after first week:

  • Presentation of roadmap in which the external consultant displays the milestones to complete the

  • Presentation of outline for the structure of the material for the three topics

• Meeting after second week

  • Presentation of revised roadmap and structure for the material – if agreed upon in the first meeting

  • Presentation of first topic

• Meeting after third week

  • Presentation of second topic

• Meeting after fourth week

  • Final Presentation, including third topic

• All meetings can, but not must, happen

• All material must be sent at least one day prior to the meeting.

Payment:

• A first installment of payment of 30% will be released after a successful meeting after the second week

• Remaining 70% of payment will be transferred after completion of the tasks

Requirements:

• University degree in a related field, specifically Psych traumatology and Psychotherapy other related degree Human Rights, Social Work,

• Experience in conducting trainings or mentoring to direct services support staff

• Demonstrated ability to write concise, analytical and well-argued reports

• Must be able to work independently while being a strong team player

• Excellent facilitation and/or teaching experience with adult

• The ideal candidates will respectively come from the geographic areas targeted and be a respected member of the community.

• Very good English skills

How to Apply:

Please submit, in English:

·         Cover letter outlining your motivation to work with Jiyan in this particular position

·         CV detailing your previous work experience

·         Reference letters or reference contacts

via this form: [APPLY HERE]

Please note that applications that do not meet the requirements or that are incomplete will not be considered. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.