Staff Counsellor

Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change. If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. The Staff Counsellor reports to the Director of Relief and Social Services and works closely with the Senior Programme Manager Staff Care.

Responsibilities

Provides Psychosocial Support during emergencies and Critical Incidents to groups and/or individual staff members and their dependents; this Psychosocial Support includes but is not limited to psycho-education, psychological first aid, family support and coordination of services for individual or group interventions; facilitates appropriate traumatic stress interventions, following a critical incident or traumatic event; recommends and arranges for individual and/or group follow up support to staff and their dependents. Responds to critical and security incidents by conducting assessment on the impact of the event, developing appropriate interventions; makes recommendations for follow-up or referral purposes; coordinates with UNDSS, UN agencies counsellors and Peer Helpers to ensure the provision of adequate psychosocial support during emergencies and ongoing collaboration with all well-being stakeholders. Develops psychoeducation materials, implements resilience building programs and strengthens referral mechanism and mental health networks for seeking psychosocial support; in line with Relief and Social Services (RSS) Staff Care Plan and the global mental health strategy plan; contributes to the development and implementation of training and educational materials and provides continuous psychosocial status and needs assessments; carries out briefing sessions on staff care and related issues and leads group support sessions for staff. Advises management on stress mitigating strategies and activities to enhance the welfare, resilience and wellbeing of UNRWA personnel; provides support and advice on healthy work environment and culture. Assures, in conjunction with the Medical Services Division, a continuum of services (referral, short-term supportive intervention) to those staff members suffering from serious or chronic diseases or illnesses or drug and alcohol use; updates the referral mental health network system as appropriate and supports staff in utilizing external services when appropriate. Collaborates on an area-level with Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) teams and focal points with UNRWA staff whereby an integrative framework is implemented to ensure culturally sensitive psychosocial support and related symptoms or syndromes. Maintains detailed records and data base of psychosocial activities and provides comprehensive reports on monthly basis or as required; provides statistics and trends analysis on issues related to staff wellbeing whilst maintaining confidentiality; prepares ad-hoc and special reports as required; captures lessons learnt and best practices and disseminates, as appropriate. Supports in building capacities of peer support groups in collaboration with focal points based on established models and provides continuous guidance to the group coordinators on further capacity building initiatives.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply. Analyzing Applying Technical Expertise Following Instructions and Procedures Planning and Organizing Relating and Networking Ability to develop clear goals consistent with agreed strategies, capability to develop, monitor and adjust plans and actions as necessary. Ability to present data and information in a clear and constructive way. Ability to coach and guide staff. Team building skills. For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education

An advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in Counselling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Clinical/ Psychiatric, Social Work or other Mental Health related profession.

Job – Specific Qualification

Certification or country specific licensure authorizing the incumbent to deliver mental health services is required. Certification or additional training in traumatic / critical incident stress as well as a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, family counselling, training, stress management is desirable. Training experience in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress and cross-functional communication is desirable.

Work Experience

At least five years of relevant experience providing professional counselling services is required, Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, at least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or a national identity number is required. Experience in management and/or coordination of mental health and psychosocial support programmes and activities, as well as experience in preparing and conducting relevant training in humanitarian settings, in a large governmental or international organization is an asset is required. Background in or familiarity with emergency or hardship duty stations is required. An advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in Counselling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, Clinical/ Psychiatric, Social Work or other Mental Health related profession is required. Excellent command of written and spoken Arabic is required. Familiarity with the historical and geopolitical context of the region and UNRWA’s mandate specifically is desirable. Experience in social work and casework interventions is desirable.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Type of Contract and duration: 1 year project subject to funds availability, and may be extended subject to availability of funds, need and performance. Only applications that have been fully completed in UNRWA’s online e-recruitment system inspira will be considered and no late applications will be accepted. The Personal History Profile (PHP) should be completed with full work experience under the experience tabs as per the requirements in the Job Opening. UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities. A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post. Join our eco-friendly organization dedicated to environment sustainability and targeting to be plastic free by 2025. Equivalency: A first level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. NB: work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live. For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/

United Nations Considerations

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her. UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups. At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. UNRWA Considerations UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment. Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST (UNRWA) DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE OR REQUEST MONEY FROM CANDIDATES AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING, ONBOARDING). UNRWA DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.