Work Arrangement:
Job Description
Organizational Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
Country Program Overview
The IRC started operations in Cameroon in 2016 to respond to the increasing concerns for people affected by violence linked to Boko Haram, in the Far North of the country. Assistance to displaced populations extends across the Far North, notably Mayo Sava, Mayo Tsanaga and Logone & Chari, delivering lifesaving programming to increase access to water and improving hygiene practices in vulnerable displaced and host communities, cash programming to enable poor families to meet basic needs and improve food security, and protection programming, including meeting specific needs of women and girls. Following the increasing crisis in the North – West and South – West regions of Cameroon, the IRC expanded its operations into the South – West region in August 2018, and North – West in December 2019, delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance to internally displaced populations. The IRC’s field offices are in Maroua and Kousseri in the Far North, Buea in the South – West, Bamenda in the North – West, and a representation office in Yaoundé.
IRC Cameroon is committed to continue to provide essential humanitarian services, with a focus on safety in communities and ensuring affected populations can meet their basic needs, whilst also building the resilience of beneficiaries, especially women and girls.
Job context
As result of ongoing crisis in South – West, affected persons’ mental health and well-being, growing incidences of self-harm is increasing in many communities. The drivers and associated risk factors of mental health issues are varied and complex including, amongst others, physical, sexual, and emotional violence, socio economic conditions, discrimination and exclusion, gender norms, being parents themselves, being in humanitarian and fragile settings, as well as a lack of access to quality support and services. Failing to address mental health issues amongst IDPs and host communities can impact their physical and mental health. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is recognized as a cross cutting issue for sectors addressing health and social welfare of affected persons. MHPSS describes any type of local or outside support that aims to protect or promote psychosocial well-being and/or prevent or treat mental disorder. It is therefore, by definition, a multi-sectoral issue. Within the work of IRC, MHPSS activities do not constitute a separate sector, but are mainly realized within existing sectors and work fields such as community-based protection, child protection, and SGBV. The main task of the MHPSS Officer is to build and maintain capacity for MHPSS interventions within IRC to foster delivery of quality MHPSS interventions for internally displaced persons and host communities.
Main Responsibilities:
The MHPSS Officer will provide overall technical and programmatic oversight of IRC’s MHPSS interventions in the South-West Region. Accordingly, the MHPSS Officer will be expected to contribute to programmatic outcomes of the ECHO-funded project. The MHPSS Officer will be based in KUMBA and responsible for the following:
Technical Quality of MHPSS Interventions
– Lead/support the design of MHPSS interventions, tools and materials, leading training, and coaching IRC staff – Undertake regular site visits to assess MHPSS needs of persons of concern, with attention to people with specific needs. – Support staff welfare in identification, recommendation, and referral of mental health related matters among staff – Support the development of functional referral and follow-up mechanisms between community, MHPSS services and protection partners – Provide mental health and psychosocial support services along with health staff as needed – Actively lead or participate in coordination mechanisms related to MHPSS in the area (e.g. Health, general coordination, potential MHPSS coordination group) and advocate for principles of IASC MHPSS guidelines. – Ensure compliance of implementing partners (where applicable), with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of MHPSS services. – Assist in assessing the MHPSS needs of persons of concern (people with high priority needs and or persons with complex or severe problems), initiate treatment and define appropriate follow up interventions. Implement/oversee social and recreational activities in different affected communities. – Share information on MHPSS services: when where and how to access the services, provide feedback or complaint on services provided or staff conduct etc. – Establish communication with communities’ mechanisms to address stigmatization and quality of rights in mental health. Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing professional development guidance on MHPSS.
Reporting:
– Working closely with the ECHO Senior Project Manager and PROL Team, design reporting templates for MHPSS activities and ensure regular reporting of MHPSS activities. – Ensure completion of MHPSS monthly internal report highlighting progress of activities, trends, and contextual changes for reporting to region and external stakeholders.
Others:
– Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Cameroon HR Policies and Procedures and communicate through word and example a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.
Qualifications
Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:
Education:
– Master’s level Degree or equivalent in social work, mental health, psychology or related fields, or a combination of bachelor’s degree with significant work experience (3 years+) in the mentioned fields. Knowledge and Experience: – Minimum 3 – 5 years of specialized experience in community based psychosocial support interventions particularly as it relates to social norm change, and experience in this field at international level in a humanitarian context. – Demonstrated knowledge of IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings. – Demonstrated experience on counseling skills and clinical supervision of lay counsellors. – Demonstrated experience developing technical curriculum and materials for delivery of MHPSS programming/activities in low resource settings. – Strong training and supervision experience required.
Required Skillset:
– Strong skills in communication including clear and concise writing skills and the ability to discuss MHPSS in an accessible and intelligible manner. – Strong interpersonal skills including for effective relationship management. Skilled in facilitating collective decision-making and consensus building. – Analytical thinking to support strategizing for the strengthening of MHPSS and peacebuilding interventions. – Computer literate (with skills in MS Word, Excel & PowerPoint.
Languages:
– Fluency in oral and written English and French is required.
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