WFP: Staff Counsellor – CSTII – Sana”a CO – Yemen

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) is the world”s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. The core policies and strategies that govern WFP activities are: save lives in emergency situations; improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people; and to help build assets and promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through conditional food for work and training programmes.

The challenges of working in difficult conditions to bring much needed food and support to our recipients while inherently rewarding, can place a great deal of pressure and stress on WFP employees. As a part of a multidisciplinary team under the Wellness Service and through the implementation of the WFP Wellness Strategy 2025-2030, the Staff Counselling Unit is committed to the promotion of psychosocial and mental health in the broadest sense so employees can continue to function at high levels to meet the mandate of the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This role is based in one of the most complex WFP Country Office (CO), Yemen. The Staff Counsellor will be directly reporting to the Deputy Country Director (Enabling Services) and functionally to the Regional Staff Counsellor (Regional Office Cairo) and the Chief of Staff Counselling (Global HQ). The Staff Counsellor will be working closely with the Head of Human Resources and Medical Services. This role will require regular or on short notice travelling to the field where WFP is active in Yemen.

Being a part of a multidisciplinary team under the Staff Wellness division, the job holder will be required to exercise in-depth technical knowledge and experience required to identify, analyze and resolve complex work-related issues such as stress, interpersonal and cross-cultural dynamics, and impact of organizational realignments, as well as psychosocial coping in hazardous emergency contexts. S /he will be required to provide technical expertise, advice and solutions that support staff wellbeing and development of a healthy organization, demonstrating initiatives and formulating new strategies and technical approaches where appropriate.  A large emphasis will be placed on extensive engagement with all levels of staff internally and with external partners to enhance psychosocial support and access to staff counselling services.

THE ROLE

To design and coordinate the delivery of counselling services across WFP in Yemen and provide professional and effective counselling and stress management services that enable staff to maintain positive health, performance and outlook as well as supporting organizational effectiveness.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Contribute to the development of the Global Wellness & Culture Division Strategic Plan and implement the psychosocial wellbeing strategy for the region/country reflecting the global psychosocial wellbeing projects.
• Provide active psychological support and advice on strategic developments in the country involving the major implications on staff (i.e. emergency operations, critical incidents, office rightsizing) to ensure continued staff well-being and that managers and staff are provided with the effective support to manage change.
• Provide pre and post deployment briefings to employees deployed to hardship duty stations through briefings, counselling sessions and other activities to ensure proactive support is extended to staff.
• Provide culturally sensitive counselling services to individuals, groups of staff and/or their immediate family members across a broad range of issues, to ensure staff wellness.
• Design, develop and roll-out a range of general and context specific trainings related to resilience, conflict resolution, team-building and adjustment to organizational realignment and rightsizing.
• Partner with all the functions within WFP and also with institutions outside to address psychological risks at the individual, unit and organizational level and to ensure psychologically healthy workplace. Identify and liaise with high quality local and regional mental health resources that can be used for referrals and/or during times of crisis.
• Collaborate with fellow Country based Staff Counsellors in the region on common wellness related activities, projects and initiatives.
• Lead initiatives to promote a healthy workplace including partnering with Staff Counsellors at other UN agencies and provide expert guidance to managers within the region on staff well-being issues.
• Refer to external mental health professionals and relevant services when needed.
• Contribute to building the content of WFP Wellbeing App (Country pages & general resources).
• Support and maintain the WFP Wellness Support Volunteer (WSV) Network through training and supervision; disseminate training materials and related protocols.
• Design and maintain the content for the Wellbeing App.
• Contribute to the development of policies and guidelines, as well as written and visual materials to increase awareness regarding important themes and topics related to Staff Wellness.
• Maintain at all times, high standard of professional ethics and confidentiality consistent with the Wellness Division Ethical Guidelines and Standards of Practice, actively engage with management and staff, listen to their concerns, and stay approachable.
• Take responsibility for an equitable and inclusive workplace which incorporates all dimensions of the WFP diversity and inclusion framework.
• Keep record of all the activities and interventions delivered.
• Report to WFP Regional Staff Counsellor on all activities.
• Other as required

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Doctorate, Masters or equivalent) in Clinical or Counselling Psychology, Psychiatry, or demonstrably equivalent studies from a recognized institution.
• The candidate must be licensed/registered or equivalent with a governing body as a mental health professional, and maintain active in professional development & continuing education, in line with the United Nations Stress and Staff Counsellors Group (UNSSCG) guidelines for staff counsellors in the UN system.
• Training or certification in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, resilience, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, mediation, trauma etc. will be an advantage. Additional training or certification in psychosocial risk management and organizational change management is beneficial.

Experience:

• Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible professional post graduate experience relevant to the field is required
• Experience either working in a hardship location or providing counselling services to staff working under very difficult and insecure environments is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency (level C) in English language and Arabic