National Professional Officer

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. Related to mental health, WHO Sri Lanka office aims to improve quality of life people in Sri Lanka by supporting the government in prevention and control of priority mental health, substance use and neurological disorders, preventing suicides, and promoting mental health, advocating for integrated mental health and social care services in PHC and community-based settings, preparing and responding to mental health and psychosocial issues during health emergencies and promoting the rights of people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

Under the direct supervision of Medical Officer (NCD) and the overall guidance of the WHO Representative and in close collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Health and partners, the incumbent will:

• Facilitate policy support as needed for enabling planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the essential components of the National Mental Health policy and plan;
• Support scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders via implementation of WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP);
• Provide technical tools, SOPs etc. to ensure provision of comprehensive, integrated mental health and social care services in primary care and community-based settings;
• Support implementation of strategies for mental health promotion and prevention especially in schools and workplaces and promote programs targeted at vulnerable groups, including children, elderly and people affected by conflicts and disasters (e.g. psycho-social interventions after disasters and during emergencies);
• Provide technical assistance to strengthen information systems and research to improve data on burden of mental and neurological disorders;
• Provide technical assistance to the country in developing mental health related tools and guidelines including LIVE LIFE: an implementation guide for suicide prevention;
• Support the country to update the mental health law taking into consideration regional and international human rights instruments;
• Provide support to improve mental health literacy, address stigma and discrimination and promote the rights, opportunities and care of individuals with mental disorders;
• Encourage using WHO Quality Rights toolkit to evaluate quality of mental health services;
• Increase awareness of disability issues, and promote the inclusion of disability as a component in national and sub-national health programmes;
• Facilitate collection and dissemination of disability-related data and information;
• Support the country to conduct the WHO/WB Model Disability Survey and/or WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO DAS 2.0);
• Represent WHO country office in the UN Disability Inclusion Inter-Agency Coordination mechanism at the country level, and contribute to reporting via the UNCT Accountability Scorecard on Disability Inclusion tool;
• Support proposal writing and donor reporting for Mental Health, Psycho-Social Support and Disability programs;
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor(s).

Required Qualifications :

Education

Essential:

• Bachelor degree in Medicine or public health

Experience:

Essential:

• At least two (2) years of professional work experience in the field of mental health, and/or psychiatry

Skills:

Essential:

• Sound understanding of principles of public health, to be able to provide quality technical inputs, and good problem-solving, analytical and negotiation

Language Skills:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of local language.