Only candidates who are not nationals of the country of assignment are eligible to apply to this position
Hardship LevelH (no hardship)
Family TypeFamily
Residential location (if applicable)
GradePR5
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeProfessional
* Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff memberโs country of nationality.
In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.
ReasonRegular > Regular Assignment
Remote work acceptedNo
Target Start Date2023-06-24
Job Posting End DateJuly 13, 2023
Standard Job Description
Chief of Psychosocial Wellbeing Section
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The position is under the supervision of the Staff Health and Wellbeing Service (SHWS) in the Division of Human Resources (DHR). The Divisionโs mission statement indicates that DHR is a strategic, trusted and innovative business partner in enabling UNHCR to protect and respond to persons of concern by attracting, motivating, retaining and developing a talented, diverse and agile workforce, while nurturing a culture of excellence, respect and wellbeing for all.
The incumbent of this position supports the UNHCRโs People Strategy and contributes to the implementation of the 2018 independent HR review which resulted in the establishment of HR strategic priorities and the reconfiguration and transformation of the Division from a largely transactional model into a strategic business partner for field operations and senior management.
The Psychosocial Wellbeing Section (PWS) is mandated with the provision of the psychosocial support to the UNHCR employees and their families worldwide. The services the Section offers aim at preventing and minimizing the negative impact of stress at the workplace on employeeโs wellbeing and their working capacity in UNHCR.
The Chief of Psychosocial Wellbeing Section works under the direct supervision of the Head of the Staff Health and Wellbeing Service to whom he/she is accountable for the professional impact of the Psychosocial Wellbeing Section and outposted and regional Staff Counsellors. The counsellors are expected to provide overall strategic direction in relation to staff psychosocial wellbeing in UNHCR ensuring that such a strategy is well coordinated within the SHWS, reflected in the People Strategy of DHR and aligned with the Global Strategic Objectives of UNHCR. The incumbent is responsible for resource management of the Section from resource planning (budget and staffing) to supervision.
The Chief of Psychosocial Wellbeing Section directly supervises the PWS at the Headquarters and a number of 7 outposted regional senior Staff Counsellors in the field. In addition, there is currently 10 country-based counsellors supervised by the regional staff counsellors The incumbent also provides technical supervision and direct line management to the regional staff counsellors and liaises closely with the Regional Bureau Director for strategic alignment. Close collaboration with the regional hosts of the field-based Staff counsellors is required as well as with the management of the Bureaux.
The incumbent will have to develop close coordination between PWS and other sections of DHR (Personnel Administration and Payroll Section, Career Management Section, Appointment and Promotion Section) and outside the DHR (Field Safety Service, Office of the Ombudsman, Inspector Generalโs Office, Staff Council, Office of the Ethics Director, Legal Affairs Service) while respecting the confidentiality and professional integrity.
The Chief of Psychosocial Wellbeing Section will represent UNHCR in interagency bodies, programmes and activities discussing the staff welfare and psychosocial related issues. The Chief of Section (Psychosocial Wellbeing) is also affiliated to the UN Staff and Stress Counsellors Special Interest Group (UNSSCG) and is the member of the Advisory Committee of the UNSSCG. Networking with similar professional partners in other humanitarian NGOs or institutions and companies that would benefit the development in staff welfare of UNHCR is expected.
Travel, and at times on a very short notice to various UNHCR operations including to those in high-risk environments should be expected.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCRโs core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties
Action protocols (especially crisis intervention protocol) exist and involve other relevant services and sections.
Provide the overall financial and administrative management to the Psychosocial wellbeing Section including budget planning, selection, and performance management with the help of the SW senior assistant and SW associate.
Ensure the quality of work of Staff counsellors through professional selection, technical support, supervision and feedback to the Staff counsellors, and continuous education
Coordinate the work of all staff counsellors ensuring that their resources are used efficiently and that the staff welfare programmes are reasonably consistent across the regions.
Ensure that there is a good team spirit within the psychosocial wellbeing team and provide the condition for professional exchange and creativity. Ensure that there is a continuous dialogue with the hosts of the regional functions hosting the field-based Staff counsellors and that the work of Staff counsellors is well integrated in the regional and country plans.
Maintain the system of reporting on work and impact of the staff counsellorsโ activities globally.
Develop and continuously evaluate the strategy of psychosocial support to UNHCR employees (all contracts) and their families that includes the following areas: (i) occupational mental health risks including cumulative and traumatic stress, HIV in the workplace, substance abuse, interpersonal conflicts and harassment; (ii) orientation and adaptation to the new environment, including programmes for newcomers, support in rotation to the staff and to the families; (iii) specific needs arising from emergency operations and critical incidents (psychological and psychosocial support following the security evacuations or security incidents); (iv) team dynamics and team building; (v) support to staff and management through various HR processes (i.e. rotation, career support and development, downsizing, retirement); (vi) social issues (work-life balance, family related matters, children related matters); and any other area that may become relevant for the life of the staff impacting eventually on the efficiency of the organisation.
Pro-actively advise the Head of SHWS, Director DHR and other Divisional Directors, Supervisors and Managers at all levels on staff well-being areas as indicated above.
Coordinate and cooperate closely with other Sections within and outside DHR raising awareness and advocating for the staff welfare and psychosocial issues at the highest levels and gaining support for the psychosocial wellbeing projects. Take part and/or initiate various working groups focusing on the well-being of the staff oriented towards finding alternative and better solutions through policy changes or defining the best practices.
Create and implement a communication strategy, which would clearly communicate to staff all the elements of the Mental health and wellbeing strategy and how they could benefit from it.
Provide input related to psychosocial wellbeing and mental health in various learning programmes in terms of both development of learning modules and facilitation of learning programmes in order to ensure that psychosocial wellbeing issues are mainstreamed to the maximum extent possible. Specifically, oversee the global Peer Advisor Programme.
Maintain close collaboration with the Staff Counsellors in other UN agencies with similar programmes sharing experiences and resources to the extent possible.
Ensure the proper running of the Special Constraints Panel.
Provide individual and group support when possible.
Enforce the implementation of the strategy related to staff welfare through the bureaux and the operations.
Intervene in crisis and other situations with appropriate psychosocial interventions for UNHCR employees and their families as well as for the management.
Prioritize the resource allocation including the location of the outposted Staff counsellors.
Endorse the Senior regional staff counsellors workplans at Headquarters and in the regions.
Run functional clearance procedure for the candidates for the Staff counsellor s posts at the Headquarters and in the country operations and regions.
Verify the psychosocial wellbeing related policies or HR policies affecting the staff mental health and wellbeing.
Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels.
Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans.
Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed.
Designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
Perform other related duties as required.
Minimum QualificationsEducation & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P5 - 12 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 11 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 10 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education
Clinical Social Work; Counselling; Mental Health;
Psychology; Psychotherapy; or other relevant field.
Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Advanced degree in clinical psychology or Counselling or other mental health care professional qualifications that plus minimum 11 years of previous work experience at the professional level in the same functional area (counselling) out of which a minimum of 10 years should be at the international level. The qualifications need to meet the standards of government professional registration body in a UN member state. Demonstrated competencies in project management and coordination. Demonstrated competencies in monitoring and evaluation. Proven inter-personal skills and the capacity to easily establish rapport with staff at different levels. Proven experience of working with groups.
Desirable
Knowledge of the Staff Counselling in the UN system.
Conflict resolution and mediation skills.
Familiarity with the occupational health and safety risk management model.
Functional Skills
CO-Cross-cultural communication
TR-Training - Virtual and face to face
*WB - Community Services/Social Work
*WB - Mediation
WB - Psychosocial risk assessment and recommendation of mitigating measures
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.
Competency RequirementsAll jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.
Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies
Empowering and Building Trust
Judgement and Decision Making
Leadership
Managing Performance
Managing Resources
Strategic Planning and Vision
Cross-Functional Competencies
Planning and Organizing
Policy Development and Research
Stakeholder Management
All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
Desired Candidate Profile The ideal candidate for this position is a clinical psychologist with an advanced degree in psychology. You have professional experience in remote field- based work as well as within a large organization, with a special focus on managing a global team of mental health care workers and with cross functional advisory and collaboration roles.
You have experience working in a large scale international organization and have worked in both headquarters and the field, working with multiple priorities in high-pressure environments understanding global strategies rolled out to local needs. You have outstanding organizational skills; ability to multi-task between the day-to-day routine of the Psychosocial Wellbeing section and longer-term projects and priorities involving multiple stakeholders internally and externally.
You are passionate about people. You have demonstrated strong collaboration, and ability to connect with all levels in the organization through great interpersonal/diplomatic and people skills.
You are recognized for your ability to execute, navigate without the minimum level of supervision. You have excellent verbal and drafting skills and can analyze, convince, and influence.
You are an expert at engaging and empowering others, as well as handling complex and ambiguous matters and situations. Result and action-oriented, you are used to managing multiple projects and stakeholders needs.
Ideally you have experience with UN human resource processes including UN conflict resolution mechanisms , as well as Inter-Agency experience with key UN-system wide processes, reforms, and mechanisms such as the UN Staff and Stress Counsellors Group, and the UN mental health strategy implementation board .
You speak and write English fluently and have strong knowledge of at least one other UN language.Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):
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Desired languages
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Operational context
Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:
Nature of Position:
The position is based in Geneva, Switzerland at UNHCR headquarters. The position is under the supervision of the Staff Health and Wellbeing Service (SHWS) in the Division of Human Resources (DHR). The Chief of Psychosocial Wellbeing Section supervises 7 regional psychosocial teams around the world and as such has to expect to be available to them after regular hours to support critical incidents and other emergencies.
The post entails frequent travel, including to remote hardship environment where there is inadequate health support, so the candidate needs to be of good health and fitness.
Living and Working Conditions:
Additional Qualifications
Skills
EducationBachelor of Arts (BA): Clinical Social Work (Required), Bachelor of Arts (BA): Counselling (Required), Bachelor of Arts (BA): Mental Health (Required), Bachelor of Arts (BA): Psychology (Required), Bachelor of Arts (BA): Psychotherapy (Required)
Certifications
Work Experience
CompetenciesAccountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Policy research & development, Stakeholder management, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration
UNHCR Salary Calculator
https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales
Compendium Add. 3 to March 2023 Compendium - Part B
Additional Information
Functional clearanceThis position doesn't require a functional clearance