Staff Counselor (Type B Consultant)

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.

Project Context and Scope

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing

Staff Welfare

Tasks to be performed under this contract

a) Direct mental health service delivery

• Provide in-person and online psychological counselling and support, confidential one-to-one and group sessions, to staff members and dependents.
• Provide psychological and counselling support to staff members in post critical incidents and other emergencies.
• Identify and liaise with local and regional mental health resources that can be used for referrals or in times of crisis; refer staff members, who are in crisis, and require emergency psychological and/psychiatric support to appropriate external providers.

b) Capacity building and prevention

• Develop and provide training to all staff on relevant topics including stress management, emotional processing, dealing with critical incidents, wellbeing; provide targeted training to Managers/ Heads of Units to increase their knowledge and skills to create a supportive working environment and increase awareness on mental health issues.
• Work with the Managers/ Heads of Units to develop preventative initiatives (e.g. preparing for critical incidents).
• Participate in Staff Welfare team meetings and activities (monthly group supervision, team coordination meetings, team retreats, etc.)

c) Organizational wellbeing

• Facilitate addressing issues highlighted through the psychosocial risk assessments in the workplace.
• Offer consultations to the Managers/Heads of Units to address specific needs on request and/or to explore avenues for enhancing humanitarian staff wellbeing and mental health in accordance with the UN Mental Health Strategy.

d) Monitoring, reporting and compliance

• Ensure the adherence to the professional standards of the United Nations Stress and Staff Counsellors Group (UNSSCG) as well as the Code of Ethics for UN Staff Counsellors.
• Ensure that reports and other administrative duties are carried out to a professional standard

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

• Offer at least 10 individual and/or group counselling session slots per month, with actual attendance dependent on staff demand.
• Respond to 100% of critical incidents and emergency psychosocial support requests within agreed organizational response timelines and provide post-intervention recommendations where applicable.
• Deliver a minimum of 1 staff wellbeing training session per month on topics such as stress management, resilience, emotional processing, or critical incident response.
• Deliver a minimum of 1 manager-focused capacity-building session per quarter on mental health, staff wellbeing, and supportive leadership practices.
• Conduct consultations with managers and Heads of Units as requested and provide written recommendations for 100% of consultations conducted.
• Submit a final end-of-contract report summarizing activities, outputs, trends, challenges, recommendations, and service delivery statistics.

Education & Experience

• Master’s degree in clinical psychology, Counselling, or Psychiatry or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience; or, University degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience.
• Must possess an active license or certification or demonstrate registered membership in a legitimate professional organization in the field most relevant to their degree, including psychiatry (medicine or nursing), psychology, counselling, marriage and family therapy, or social work.
• Minimum of four years of relevant counselling experience post licensure/certification/registration, with experience in a similar setting such as an international and/or humanitarian organization is preferred;
• Experience with counselling and psychosocial interventions;
• Experience of working with other UN Agencies, International Humanitarian Organizations or Employee Assistant Programmes is preferred;
• Demonstrated familiarity with the impact of working conditions of humanitarian workers on their well-being;
• Excellent communication and writing skills;
• Familiarity with diversity and its implementation

Languages

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Required Competencies

Notes

IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work.

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.