Experienced Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer to be seconded to IFRC Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland

Danish Red Cross (DRC) is looking for an experienced Mental Health and Psychosocial Support professional to be seconded to the IFRC Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, for 6 months maternity cover as MHPSS officer. The starting date shall be the latest by 1st of November, or sooner if possible.

The MHPSS officer will work in close collaboration with the IFRC Health and Care Department and the IFRC PS Centre with a primary focus to ensure that the overall strategic direction and operationalization of MHPSS initiatives are achieved and well-coordinated internally with National Societies, relevant IFRC departments, and teams, ICRC and externally with WHO and other key actors. The MHPSS officer will report to the Senior Officer for Care in Communities in the Health and Care Department with technical reporting lines to colleagues in the Emergency Health team and the IFRC PS Centre.

Your tasks

The MHPSS officer will work in close collaboration with the IFRC Health and Care Department and PS center with a primary focus to ensure that the overall strategic direction and operationalization of MHPSS initiatives are achieved and well-coordinated internally with membership, relevant IFRC departments and teams, ICRC and externally with WHO and other key actors. The officer will coordinate and provide technical support to IFRC regional MHPSS colleagues and National Societies, to scale, design, and implement quality MHPSS programming in development, emergencies (including COVID 19) and humanitarian contexts especially focusing on:

• Technical support to IFRC Regional MHPSS colleagues and National Societies’ programmes and services to support piloting, implementation, and scaling up MHPSS interventions.
• Support in rolling out the Movement MHPSS roadmap for the IFRC communications plan for the MOMENT project and beyond.
• In close collaboration with the IFRC PS Centre, participate and lead the working groups on behalf of IFRC as needed to support the roll-out of the roadmap (2020–2023) for implementation of MHPSS by focusing on the activities outlined under different Priority Action Areas and considering the cross-cutting actions, so that the expected outcomes can be reached by 2023.
• In close collaboration with IFRC PS Centre, field offices, and NS, develop reports for related meetings like statutory meetings, IFRC annual reports, operations updates, and donor reports, etc.
• Work with PS center, MOMENT team, and IFRC field offices to further strengthening and sustaining information sharing, intra-team dialogue and dissemination of stories and useful documents from the field
• Ensure MHPSS integration in relevant emergency operations by technical reviewing, roll out and quality assurance of MHPSS components in DREFS, emergency appeals, operations update, and EPoAs
• Coordination with the IFRC health and care department in Geneva and regional offices to ensure MHPSS is an integral part of the operation.
• In close collaboration with PS center, liaise with the IFRC representatives to the UN providing information on MHPSS to ensure MHPSS is on the global agenda and promote the Movement as a key player within MHPSS and other internal and external bodies/partners promoting the Movement MHPSS

Your profile

We expect that you have a master’s degree in public health or other relevant disciplines, a degree in psychology, psychosocial interventions or psychiatry and five years of relevant work experience as a minimum. You have extensive knowledge of psychosocial approaches and integrated MHPSS interventions as well as a strong commitment to the capacity building of national staff and RCRC partners. Your ability to work independently, structured as well as your solid planning and organisational skills make you autonomous and effective daily. At the same time, you must be able to intercept wishes and demands from volunteers developing new activities based on local needs. Finally, it is important that you are a strong communicator verbally as well as in writing. Fluently spoken and written English is a requirement, good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic) is preferred.

Your future work place

The MHPSS officer will work with the IFRC “Senior Officer - Care in the Communities” to advise, lead, coordinate, and support the IFRC field offices and National Societies (NSs), in implementing the Movement’s approach to MHPSS.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer- based humanitarian network. The Federation is a membership organisation established by and comprised of its member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (NS). Along with NS and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies to prevent and alleviate human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”

The IFRC is served by a Secretariat based in Geneva, with regional and country offices throughout the world. The Secretariat’s focus includes providing support to the IFRC governance mechanisms; setting norms and standards; providing guidance; ensuring consistency, coordination, and accountability for performance; knowledge sharing; promoting collaboration within and respect for the RCRC Movement; and expanding engagement with partners. The IFRC has also delegated several functions to Reference Centers hosted by different national societies. The IFRC Reference Center for Psychosocial Support (the PS Centre) is a center of excellence, a delegated function of the IFRC, and hosted by the Danish Red Cross. The overall purpose of the PS Centre is to assist the RCRC network in facilitating MHPSS, to promote psychosocial wellbeing for affected groups, staff, and volunteers and to increase awareness of psychological reactions in times of crisis or social disruption

We offer

The position is a 6-month maternity cover. You will refer to the IFRC “Senior Officer - Care in the Communities”. Salary and employment conditions will comply with Danish Red Cross’s collective bargain agreement with HK and AC and will be fixed depending on experience and qualifications. You will have to work out of Geneva. A studio appartement will be made available. You must expect much travel and meeting activity and occasional work during the evenings or weekends.

Application and further information

In case you might need more information please contact Senior MHPSS advisor and coordinator, Louise Kryger ([email protected])

Application deadline is October 15, 2021. Interviews will take place on Zoom in the following week.