MENTAL HEALTH REFERENT / ADVISOR (Based in Amman) – Temporary position

Don’t you meet all the requirements? MSF-OCBA is an organization committed with the diversity and equity throughout the access to professional opportunities. We know that currently women, people of color, indigenous, members from the LGTBI community and people belonging to other underrepresented groups tend to request less employment if they don’t meet all the requirements. At MSF-OCBA we are dedicated to create a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are interested in this position, but your experience does not fit perfectly to the selection criteria, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be the adequate candidate for this or other positions.

GENERAL CONTEXT
Médecins Sans Frontières is an international independent medical-humanitarian organization, which aids populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of
race, religion, creed, or political affiliation.

MSF is a civil society initiative that brings together individuals committed to the assistance of other human beings in crisis. As such MSF is by choice an association.
Each individual working with MSF does it out of conviction and is ready to uphold the values and principles of MSF.

The MSF movement is built around five operational directorates supported by MSF’s 21 sections, 24 associations and other offices together worldwide. MSF OCBA is one of those directorates. The operations are implemented by field teams and the mission coordination teams; together with the organizational units based in Barcelona, Athens and decentralized in Nairobi, Dakar and Amman. The field operations are guided and supported by 5 Operational Cells, the Emergency Unit and other departments supporting operations, including the medical department.

CONTEXT AND GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE POST
The main objective of the position is to contribute to the development and adjustment of the general MHPSS strategy in OCBA and ensure at his/her level of responsibility that all MSF-OCBA standards and frame in relation to Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPS) are correctly implemented in the field, and in coherence with MSF-OCBA medical and operational principles.
Moreover, Aline his/her vision towards the CHAM1`s Objectives.
To provide support and technical supervision in expertise to specific missions that will be assigned and coordinated with Mental Health Advisor (MHA) based in Barcelona, Medical Director in the Medical Department and with Tesacos (Health Advisors in Operational Cells.

The Mental Health Advisor will be based at MSF Spain Middle East Unit office in Amman,
Jordan.

Operational specific objectives
To contribute to the quality of all MSFE projects by:

• Contributing to the development and adjustment of the general MHPSS strategy in OCBA, supporting MHA based in Barcelona.
• Provide technical support to the Regional MH support Technician for the Middle East in close collaboration with TESACO.
• Providing technical support throughout all the project cycle (situation analysis, planning, implementation, and evaluation) when dealing with MHPS components.
• Helping to improve the competences of the medical department in terms of MHPSS.
• Helping to raise awareness and /or to train the staff within MSFE.

As Host of the Amman Center for Humanitarian Medicine

CHAM: Centre for Humanitarian Advance Medicine.

• Participate and organize events, conferences or roundtables related with Mental Health in humanitarian contexts.
• Participate in research and innovation activities hosted in the Amman Center.
• Be part of the training activities in the Center as an instructor.
• Support the development of the Fellows of the Amman Center.
• Support the relevant advocacy activities related to his/her portfolio.
• Represent MSF in relevant meeting, external conference or workshops needed.
• Participate in the regional HR development efforts according to the need.

Placement within the Organizational Chart:
The Mental Health Advisor based in Amman is hierarchically accountable to the Head of Referents in the Team B in the Medical Department. He/she will be regularly coordinated with MHA based in Barcelona.

S/he works closely with the correspondent Operational Cell-based Health Advisors (TESACOs) when implementing work for specific missions. Moreover, he/she will supervise the MH Regional Support Technician for the Middle East

H/she is hosted by the OCBA Amman Center for Humanitarian Medicine. The mission of the Center is to strengthen the capacity of MSF and the other medical actors in the Middle East to respond to the humanitarian needs of the populations in the region. The Center aspires to become a place where MSF staff, activists, medics, members from civil society organizations and researchers meet and work, promoting innovation and collaboration. The fields of activity of the Center will be Training, Research consortium, Innovation Center, and convention place.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAIN TASKS
To support the Cell and provide technical advice to them.

• The MHA will contribute to defining mental health and psychosocial components within the Missions in his/her portfolio.
• She/he advises Coordinators /Cell team on the relevance and definition of activities when opening a project.
• The MHA will answer the questions from the Cell regarding mental health and psychosocial issues, for the missions assigned to her/his portfolio.
• The MHA will make travels to the field to conduct internal evaluations and provide technical support whenever its needed. The calendar and projects will be defined together with the rest of the medical team.
• The MHA will participate in research projects at field level, providing technical support to their implementation, when necessary, for the portfolio assigned.
• The MHA will provide MSF tools and other relevant literature to the field and the cell according to the arising needs.
• Whenever needed, the MHA will be in a position to take upon her/himself exploratory missions or research work.
• During Emergency crisis, when needed, the MHA may take the role, lead, assess the MHPS programs.
• The MHA will conduct briefings and debriefings to Medcos, Deputy Medcos, HoMs, TESACOs, staff working in the Mission/Cell components. The Missionsthat will be supported by the Mental Health advisor based in Amman will be regular interventions from the Middle East, East Africa, and Asia regions. Those regions might suffer changes according to the needs or in order to balance the workload for the two Mental Health Advisors.
• Emergency interventions in countries of her/his portfolio where there are already MSF activities will be under his/her responsibility. Emergency interventions in any country where MSF Spain does not have activities will be followed by MHA based in Barcelona.
• He/she sets up a network of contacts for possibility of training, recruitment, partnership in the region.

As part of the Medical Department

• The MHA will contribute to the development of the MHPSS strategical framework for MSF OCBA, supporting MHA based in Barcelona
• The MHA is the reporting point for issues relating to MHPSS in the missions in his/her portfolio and for technical support to the staff, when need.
• The MHA will participate in the meetings organized by the medical team as well as by other Departments.
• The MHA is an active member of the extended MSF MH-IWG
• The MHA will be the link with MHPSS experts collaborating with MSF-OCBA in the Middle East region specifically, and others if requested.
• The MHA based in Amman supports the development and revision of common tools, protocols, and guidelines in coordination with MHA based in Barcelona.
• The MHA participates in identifying MHPSS-related training needs and courses.
• The MHA will inform the rest of the medical team as well as the field on relevant changes to issues under his/her responsibility.
• The MHA will collaborate, when necessary, with other departments and MSF sections as well as relevant world medical and humanitarian institutions and organizations.
• The MHA will participate in preparing scientific presentations for congresses, etc., as well as articles for the media.
• The MHA will write articles for MSF internal magazines and brochures on issues under his/her responsibility.
• The MHA will participate as a teacher/trainer in external courses on request. The MHA based in Amman will have regular meetings with MHA based in Barcelona for update and coordination of common tasks.

Functional Management:

• The MHA based in Amman is functionally managing the Regional Mental Health technician. Besides, when the MIO MH/psychiatrist provides support to the missions in the portfolio of MHA based in Amman, he/she will be closely technically supervising and supporting him/her.

To Human Resources support:

• The MHA will participate together with the corresponding Psy pool manager in matching “psy pool” international staff to posts in the field.
• The MHA will ensure BF and DBF of departing international staff to work in the MHPSS area within a project under his/her portfolio, directly or through the Regional MH technician in the case of the ME.
• The MHA will contribute to recruitment of new MHPS IS through technical validation of candidates, based on documentation and/or through technical interviews when needed.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Education and experience

• University Training as a psychologist or psychiatrist.
• Minimum 3-years field experience with MSF or other NGOs in projects integrating mental health components (with clinical and managerial responsibilities).
• Experience in international emergency interventions integrating a MHPS component in conflict situations, violence and /or disasters.
• Desirable knowledge of and experience in support to teams during crisis situations.
• Knowledge of and experience in team management.
• Experience in training and supervision
• Fluent English. Arabic will be highly valued.
• Previous experience in the Middle East will be highly valued.
• Eclectic training or interest not restricted to one only theoretical school, in order to be able to have a broader problem-solving capacity in mental health.
• Desirable experience and /or interests in research, training.

Others

• Strategic vision of mental health programs within a medical context (analogue to MSF).
• Availability to travel on short notice.
• Flexibility with working hours.

CONDITIONS

• Position based in Amman MSF hub (Middle East Unit).
• Full time job.
• Commitment: Eight Months – Temporary position.
• Annual Gross Salary: level HQ-4A (divided in 12 monthly payments) + secondary benefits based on MSF OCBA Reward Policy. Subjected to local conditions.
• Travel frequently to the projects (30%).
• Starting date: October 2023.