POSITION DESCRIPTION

TITLE:                 MHPSS Consultant

DEPARTMENT:  Americares Tanzania

REPORTS TO:   RMNCAH Specialist

ASSIGNMENT TYPE:  Consultant

LOCATION:                    Mwanza, Tanzania

LENGTH:                        6 months

About Americares:

Americares is a health-focused relief and development organization that saves lives and improves health for people affected by poverty or disaster. Each year, Americares reaches 85 countries on average, including the United States, with life-changing health programs, medicine, medical supplies, and emergency aid. Americares is one of the world’s leading non-profit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies. For more information, visit americares.org.

About Americares Tanzania’s Fistula Program

In partnership with Bugando Medical Center (BMC), Americares Obstetric Fistula Repair Project addresses the physical and psychosocial trauma of the childbirth injury through cost-free surgical repairs and pre-post operative care and counseling. Since its start in 2010, the project has benefitted over 1,500 women and children and continues to be Americares longest-running project in Tanzania.

Position Summary:

The consultant is responsible for piloting the integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services in the obstetric fistula program at BMC, in collaboration with the Americares Tanzania and headquarters program staff. The consultant will be expected to develop a roadmap for the first phase of robust psychosocial recovery support for fistula clients at BMC and lead its implementation.

This will entail

Assessing facility readiness in MHPSS at BMC

Adapting and facilitating trainings for providers on psychological first aid (PFA), psychosocial support (PSS), Gender-based Violence (GBV) and counselling obstetric fistula clients

Providing technical assistance and mentoring to BMC psychiatric facility staff and fistula care providers on integrating enhanced MHPSS services for fistula clients along the service delivery sequence

Mapping active community-based organizations in Mwanza and developing plan for referral pathways for fistula clients to receive reintegration support.

The consultant will collaborate with MHPSS technical advisors at Americares headquarters to ensure adherence to international and national guidelines/standards. The consultant is expected to work closely with the RMNCAH specialist as his/her supervisor and key BMC staff to ensure holistic improvement in counselling and care for fistula clients.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• In consultation with Technical Advisors and Americares Africa Programs team, design and roll out MHPSS needs assessment to assess current MH practices and staff capacity, counselling content, MHPSS gaps along service delivery sequence, etc. at BMC.
• Develop a comprehensive report on key findings and recommendations from the assessment and potential resources that can be leveraged as “roadmap” for implementation
• Upon approval from Americares Programs staff, discuss implementation roadmap with BMC management for buy-in and feedback
• Develop a detailed workplan for key interventions, including provider capacity building plan and adaption and delivery of MHPSS trainings
• Develop key MHPSS-specific fistula indicators and work with M&E on data collection tools/systems for those indicators
• Adapt and lead facilitation of required MHPSS trainings (e.g., MH screening, referrals, PFA, etc.) per implementation plan (in collaboration with RMNCAH specialist and BMC staff)
• Conduct regular supportive supervision of MHPSS staff and provide feedback and debriefing.
• Organize regular meetings with the MHPSS TA and BMC MHPSS staff on technical, strategy, and programmatic issues.
• Write monthly updates on MHPSS services, shared with relevant departments.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A licensed mental health clinician, counselor, or psychologist (advanced degree in Psychology, Psychiatric Nursing, Social Work, or related mental health-related profession)
• At least 5+ years of progressive experience in mental health and/or psychosocial support programming using best practices and tools (e.g. PHQ-9, mhGAP, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating MHPSS trainings, workshops, and group activities/discussions.
• Strong experience in supportive supervision, coaching, and mentoring for healthcare providers
• Expertise in developing and adapting adult learning materials
• Strong analytical, reporting, and budget management skills
• Written and verbal fluency in English
• Unrestricted authorization to work in Tanzania

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in integrated maternal health and mental health interventions strongly preferred
• Demonstrated success working with community-based organizations
• Good knowledge of and experience in using established inter-agency and donor standards/guidelines in MHPSS
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Strong organizational skills, capacity to think strategically and attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain productive working relationships with a wide network of partners and stakeholders
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain compatibility among project staff, partners, stakeholders, and recipients of assistance
• Able to operate independently and as part of a team
• Excellent interpersonal skills and strong communications skills; ability to develop partnerships across sectors and cultures
• Proficiency in Office 365 including Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint and SharePoint.

We’d love to hear from you if…

• You have language in at least one of our core languages: English and Kiswahili,
• You have work authorization (required)

Additionally, our core competencies as an organization are:

• Ownership and results
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Equity and inclusion
• Teamwork and conflict resolution
• Leadership
• Prioritization
• Management
• Strategy and planning
• Decision making

We know not all applicants will demonstrate all the competencies we’re looking for. We encourage you to apply even if you do not check all the boxes above, and we look forward to reviewing your application holistically.

What you can expect:

• Interview with HR /People and Talent
• Video interview with team

As a global health organization, we are committed to ensuring a safe environment for our staff, partners, and visitors. All Americares staff and visitors who are on-site at any of our locations or will be traveling for work are required to be fully vaccinated (which includes a booster, when eligible) against COVID-19 unless an exemption required by law is applicable.

Americares is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.