Vacancy of Psychologist

Project Title: “Community Empowerment and Social Assistance to Refugees and Asylum Seekers”
Organization: “The Tenth of April”, UNHCR implementing partner
Job Title: Psychologist, male
Duty Station: Ukraine, Odesa
Duration: from the earliest convenience till 31Dec2018
Contract Type: contract of part-time employment, 50%

Background Information

Ukraine is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees and has undertaken relevant commitments to build asylum protection system on national level in accordance with international standards. However, Ukrainian government provides refugees with very limited support. Under its core mandate UNHCR assists the local government to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, people who were forced to flee across borders.

The project “Community Empowerment and Social Assistance to Refugees and Asylum seekers” aims at implementing UNHCR social and community empowerment component of the protection response.

Experiences of displacement due to armed conflicts, persecution, or disasters put significant psychological and social stress on individuals, families and communities. The ways in which refugees experience and respond to loss, pain, disruption and violence vary significantly and may in various ways affect their mental health and psychosocial wellbeing or increase their vulnerability to develop mental health problems. Therefore, Mental Health and Psychological Support Service should be an obligatory element of UNHCR refugee response. Mitigating of short-term and long-term risks and consequences for mental health and psychological well-being of persons, families and communities are an integral part of UNHCR protection mandate.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Psychologist as the team member is expected to:

  • provide the applicants with psychological service upon their request;
  • conduct systematic screening among the concerned population in order to indicate persons with specific psychological needs, in particular SGBV victims, tortures survivors, unaccompanied minors, child soldiers, single women at risk, older persons at risk, disabled persons, members of separated families, etc.;
  • develop and implement rehabilitation plans in coordination with team members and the relevant state agencies;
  • provide the applicants with urgent psychological assistance;
  • file all relevant information on the persons’ of concern (PoCs’) psychological health in personal cases;
  • participate in Monthly Subsistence Allowance Committees to consider the issue on financial assistance granting, clarify the psychological state of the applicant and its influence on his self-reliance (if required);
  • advice on referring to psychiatric counseling;
  • accompany social counselors during home visits to the applicants in order to access their social situation (if required);
  • facilitate group therapy (if required);
  • provide the psychological staff of Odesa TAC with methodological support (if required);
  • engage refugees as peer-to-peer supporters;
  • ensure that mental care services are delivered in accordance with UNHCR policies and strategies, minimum of international standards and in line with the government policies.
  • assist in mapping the existing state and non-state institutions which provide with psychological services, refer the PoCs’ in the case of need;
  • in collaboration with social counselors facilitate the applicants in getting access to the existing institutions of mental health care;
  • ensure providing with psychological support with using of AGD-approach.

Qualifications Required:

  • General understanding of the UNHCR mission and mandate.
  • Master’s degree in Psychology Science.
  • At least 3 years of experience in counseling and psychotherapeutic work with consequences of stress, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic consequences of crisis situations.
  • Demonstrated expertise in implementing several psychotherapeutic methods.
  • Keen capacity to work with various categories of traumatized individuals, such as victims of gender based violence, tortures survivors, child soldiers, unaccompanied or separated minors, others.
  • Timely passing self-therapy activities, inter- and supervision sessions.
  • Computer skills (MS Office essential).
  • Knowledge of oral and written English and Ukrainian.

Skills Required:

  • Tolerant behavior in order to respect individuals of various cultures, ages, genders, races, religions, traditions, sexual orientation.
  • Team Working in order to work together on the common tasks.
  • Time Management Skills in order to analyse the workload, assign priorities, and maintain focus on productive endeavours.
  • Written and oral Communication Skills.

Location:
The selected Psychologist will be based with the project team in Odesa and work under the Project Manager supervision.

Conditions:
The contract is expected to begin at the earliest convenience and be available till the end of 2018. The selected psychologist is expected to share the workload with a colleague of an opposite gender (50%-time employment).

How to apply:
Interested applicants should submit their letter of motivation and CV in English to [email protected] indicating “Psychologist” in the subject of the email.

The deadline for applications is 14 August 2018.

Contacts: +38 095 583 49 23; +38 093 662 85 25

“The Tenth of April” seeks to sustain its workforce diversity. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.