Job Description
- LocationEl Fasher, Sudan
- Ending11 Nov 2019, Monday
- Posted30 Oct 2019, Wednesday
Job Description
This position is located within the African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), El Fasher. The Staff Counselor will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the Chief Human Resources Management.
Responsibilities
•Within the delegated authority, the incumbent performs the following duties:
•Provide adequate counseling services within the Mission area (e.g. overall assessment of the psychosocial needs of the staff members, development of the services, etc.);
•Provide supervision, guidance and leadership to other members of the Counseling and Welfare team;
•Perform individual assessments in the case of individual staff members experiencing difficulty coping and/or presenting mental health-related symptoms or syndromes;
•Advise the Mission management , as necessary, on individual and /or group cases where an identified problem is likely to have professional, vocational and/or counseling effect (e.g. work-related problem due to a psychological problem, conflict resolution, need oriented medication, etc.);
• Advise Managers, as necessary, or upon request, with the aim at improving the working atmosphere in their Sections and resolving problems of a work-related or personal nature that
adversely affect job performance and productivity;
• Perform psychological first aid (e.g. individual and/or group) whenever and wherever there is a need for it;
• Provide a wide range of stress management activities and counselling support actively participating in emergency preparedness in the country/region in coordination with the Critical Incidents and Stress Management Unit of the Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS);
• Provides technical guidance and training to the Peer Helpers network and ensure that critical incident stress intervention cell (CISIC) is established and operational;
• In conjunction with the Medical Section, ensure a continuum of services (referral, short term supportive intervention) to staff members suffering from serious or chronic diseases or illnesses or drug and alcohol use;
• Prepare a stress prevention plan, conducting training sessions on stress and emergency management, conflict resolution and cultural sensitivity, soft skills and any other psychosocial need identified, as needed;
• Monitors environmental factors that could lead to stress, with particular focus on stress related to critical incidents including emergency and crisis situations, with respect to civilian staff members of the mission;
• Develop, organize and implement a resilience building program for all staff.
• Establish professional network with international and national mental health professionals and other Psych-medical resources;
• Develop and implement the welfare work plan, including a detailed annual budget, for welfare and wellbeing of staff throughout;
• Prepare and submit quarterly and bi-annual welfare report on the mission’s implementation of the policy directive and the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the Welfare and recreation approved by DPKO;
• Serve as the secretary to the Staff Recreation committee;
• Monitor the execution and expenditure of Welfare funds including inflows of funds from contracted vendors as well as disbursement of funds for the maintenance of welfare facilities and recreation activities;
• Establish accountability and risk management framework for Welfare funds, ensuring that management of funds is in accordance with the UN financial rules and obligations;
• Ensure that activities sponsored by the staff recreation committee are undertaken in a manner that respects diversity, benefits all categories of personnel and takes into consideration the security rules and procedures established by UNDSS;
• Provides oversight of the mission welfare and recreation facilities, such as gyms, groceries shops, restaurants, entertainment centers;
• Update periodically standard operating procedures guiding the operation of the welfare activities in the mission;
• Performs other duties as required.
Competencies
Professionalism: Broad knowledge of all facets of the field of counseling and the ability to provide a confidential environment in which others can talk and act without fear or repercussions within a climate of established trust; Ability to effectively manage crisis situations which involve diverse actors and stakeholders; Ability to coordinate and consult with other relevant specialist services in the Organization as per its cross-cutting functional scope which includes staff administration, Human Resources policy as well as Medical Services in respect of emergencies, support and related administrative functions; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
Education
An advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in Clinical Psychology or Psychiatry Additional training or certification in a broad range of mental health related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, traumatic stress, cross-cultural communication is required.
Work Experience
A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in staff support, mental health, cross- cultural communications, counselling, and related areas.
Experience in the management and leadership of a team of Mental Health programs at both national and international level is required.
Experience in community mental health and Organizational Intervention would be an asset.
Experience in coordinating and managing welfare programmes/activities in a large organization is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
• This position is temporarily available until 30/04/2020. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.
• Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.
• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply.Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.
United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations 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. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking 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 DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
