COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALT WORKER (1 position)

Position status: Full time 
Location: Ad Dahi Hospital – Ad Dahi District, Hodeida Governorate
Contract duration: 1-year contract with a probation period 

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, humanitarian, non-governmental organization providing assistance to people in need as a result of natural and man-made disasters, irrespective of race, religion, ideology or politics.

Main Purpose

Providing optimal preventive and psychosocial aid to people with mental health and psychosocial needs at community level according to MSF principles, standards and procedures in order to provide the most appropriate mental health support for patients

Accountabilities

• Providing information and education to the affected population on mental health/psychosocial (psycho-education), according to specific needs
• Working together with other team members to prepare/produce various mental health psychosocial education messages/topics, according to specific groups and needs e.g. caretakers of malnourished children, population affected by armed conflict, etc.
• Identifying and appropriately referring patients who need medical or mental health assistance and providing psychological first aid to identified community members in need.
• Organizing supportive activities in the community (art for children, discussion sessions, etc).
• Ensuring that all patients attending MSF activities are well informed about services provided.
• Attending supervision sessions and educational sessions with members of the team.
• Maintaining monitoring data and producing regular work reports to the supervisor. 

MSF Section/Context Specific Accountabilities

Main responsibilities

• Provides awareness about MSF MH services to all patients arriving in the ITFC and Hospital, via daily rounds from room to room.
• Daily provides psychoeducational (general and specific to population’s needs MH topics, such as caregiver-child relationship and interaction, child development) group sessions to affected population arriving in the ITFC and Hospital, according to MSF guidelines.
• Daily organizes and facilitates group activities for mothers, such as group discussions, relaxation groups, psychostimulation groups and recreational activities, according to MSF guidelines.
• Daily organizes and facilitates psychostimulation activities for children and their caregivers to enhance their interaction and relationship, according to MSF guidelines.
• Organizes individual follow-up for immobilized children and offers case-by-case support to them and their caretakers, organizes individual contacts, as necessary.
• Provides Psychological First Aid to patients and caregivers.
• Facilitates communication between caregivers and medical staff, when needed.
• Identifies mothers in difficulty and distress, provides to them PFA, ensures their close follow-up, in collaboration with medical staff and with psychologists.
• Identifies caretakers and children in need for specialized mental health support and refers them to the psychologists.
• Actively supports in networking, in identifying formal and informal support services (incl.existing community resources) and other external actors for referral (protection, safety, security, legal, justice, education, and livelihood). Actively support in assessing the quality of existing support services.
• Prepares children’s discharge, in collaboration with CHW team and organizes necessary external referrals, according to their needs.
• In collaboration with CHW team and medical staff, provides interventions in case of DAMA/LAMA (discharge against medical advice/leave against medical advice).
• Provides capacity building activities (eg. Training in PFA, in basic MHPSS in PHC etc) to staff.
• Maintaining records, statistics, files, and reports to the supervisor. 

Requirements

Education    

No specific degree required, degree in psychology will be considered an asset.

Experience    

• Preferably coming from the beneficiaries’ community and well accepted
• Desired experience in community and/or social work, in NGOs, and in mental health.

Languages

• Arabic essential, English will be considered an asset.

Knowledge    

• Desired knowledge of the affected population 
• Strong communication, organizational and social skills (attentive listening, open attitude, empathy, sensitivity)
• Capacity to work in a multidisciplinary team 
• Initiative, creativity and flexibility 
• Capacity to adjustment to change 
• Interest in helping vulnerable population

Competencies    

• Results and Quality Orientation
• Teamwork and Cooperation
• Behavioural Flexibility
• Commitment to MSF Principles 
• Stress Management