MHPSS Specialist

MHPSS Specialist Location: Swat & Nowshera (Position)

General mission

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Specialist's overarching mission is to provide essential mental health services and support to communities affected by floods in the KP region. This involves collaborating with the PFA teams of HI and various stakeholders to ensure comprehensive assistance. The Specialist will create assessment tools, diagnose mental health needs, and design treatment plans while emphasizing the potential consequences of untreated conditions. Specialist will also address gender-based violence through mental health responses while focusing on building life skills and person-centered psychosocial support for vulnerable groups. Ensuring successful referrals and monitoring the community's mental health needs using the latest approaches is paramount. Additionally, the Specialist will contribute to data compilation, reporting, and sharing of insights, conduct training sessions, and maintain field management, demonstrating a commitment to HI's principles and community well-being.

Missions/responsibilities

Mission 1: Mental Health Support

Responsibility 1: Collaboration and Assessment:

• Collaborate with HI's PFA teams in flood-affected areas of KP.
• Develop a map of prevalent symptoms and rapid assessment checklists for need assessment and individual counseling.

Responsibility 2: Mental Health Needs Assessment and Diagnosis:

• Assist the Psychologists’ team in evaluating mental health needs and determining clients' mental health status.
• Provide a clear diagnosis and propose treatment plans using specialized interventions and regular follow-ups.
• Engage in open discussions about potential consequences of untreated mental health conditions.

Responsibility 3: Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response:

• Screen for and respond to gender-based violence (SGBV) with mental health-oriented approaches.
• Address intimate partner violence and domestic violence using mental health support.

Responsibility 4: Psychosocial Support and Life Skills Building:

• Offer psychosocial support to flood-affected individuals, particularly persons with disabilities and those with psychosocial disabilities.
• Implement a person-centered approach with an emphasis on building basic life skills.

Responsibility 5: Family Counseling and Referrals:

• Conduct family counseling sessions when necessary for successful treatment.
• If required, refer clients to other project components, mental health professionals, or facilities.

Responsibility 6: Mapping and Referral Mechanisms:

• Conduct mapping exercises within intervention areas.
• Identify and establish referral mechanisms with psychiatrists for psychiatric services.

Responsibility 7: Referral Follow-Up:

• Ensure successful referrals for psychiatric cases.
• Regularly follow up on referred cases to track progress and well-being.

Responsibility 8: Mental Health Monitoring and Treatment:

• Monitor the mental health needs of flood-affected communities.
• Incorporate the latest treatment approaches within the MHPSS domain for specialized services.
• Conduct awareness sessions to educate the community about prevalent mental health issues.
• Disseminate information about common mental health challenges.

Mission 2: Data and Reporting

Responsibility 1: Data Compilation and Sharing:

• Compile data at the end of each month for all Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) activities.
• Share the compiled data with the Line Manager and the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) unit for analysis and reporting.

Responsibility 2: Database Management:

• Regularly update the clients' and patients' database.
• Maintain both digital and hard copy records of client information.

Responsibility 3: Field Activity Reporting:

• Provide regular reports detailing field activities, including MHPSS trainings, seminars, and awareness sessions.
• Summarize the outcomes and impact of these activities for documentation and analysis.

Responsibility 4: Sharing Lessons Learned:

• Identify and document lessons learned from the field.
• Prepare case studies and success stories about mental health and psychosocial support.
• Share these case studies and success stories on a quarterly basis or as required.

Mission 3: Trainings

Responsibility 1: Capacity Building and Collaboration:

• Train the project partners' staff on Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) techniques.
• Develop internal referral pathways with project partners to ensure a cohesive support network.
• Collaborate with other project components to organize joint training, seminars, and workshops.
• Identify cross-cutting issues that could contribute to mental health outcomes within the community and address them collectively.

Responsibility 2: Training and Stakeholder Engagement

• Conduct various training sessions, learning opportunities, and seminars for different groups, including beneficiaries, project partners, and relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate learning and knowledge sharing while maintaining an open channel for feedback.
• Actively follow up on the progress of training participants, gather feedback, and identify new areas that require attention and improvement.

Mission 4: Field Management

Responsibility 1: Logistics and Coordination:

• Take charge of arranging suitable training venues within the community.
• Liaise effectively with other implementing partners operating in the field to prevent duplication of efforts and ensure a coordinated approach.

Responsibility 2: Community Engagement and Empowerment:

• Utilize knowledge of community social mobilization to guide and oversee the activities of social mobilizers and volunteers in the field.
• Apply expertise in community-based development to engage local trainees in training processes and decisions regarding local psychosocial interventions, providing close mentoring and support.

Skills

Language skills:

• Can speak Pashtu, Urdu and English
• Has excellent written English skills

Professional skills: IM/GIS profession

• Expert at communication with the community
• Know the quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Expert at accountability to populations: participatory, non-discriminatory and responsible approaches
• Expert at understanding and respect of local cultures
• Expert at the local adaptation of psychosocial strategies
• Proficient at handling of relevant software (MS Word, Excel, other relevant)
• Proficient at understanding of the refugee crisis and social dynamics following it

Other professional skills:

• Project management; Intervention strategy, assessment, planning and coordination
• Finance: Budget/financial management
• Inclusion; DGA intersectionality
• Protection ; Data protection

Cross-Sector Skills:

• Frameworks and references
• Office and collaborative tools
• Stress management
• Working in a global organization

Qualifications:

• Master degree in Psychology

Experience:

• Two years of experience as a mental health worker.
• Know the quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Expert at accountability to populations: participatory, non-discriminatory and responsible approaches
• Expert at understanding and respect of local cultures
• Proficient at handling of relevant software (MS Word, Excel, other relevant)
• Proficient at understanding of the refugee crisis and social dynamics following it