Counseling Psychologist at HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT- Kenyan Nationals Only

Grade:               6

Reporting to:     Gender and GBV Program Manager with dotted line to MHPSS Program Manager

Duration:         1 Year Contract with possibility of renewal subject to availability of funding and performance.

Introduction

The overall goal of HIAS’ global GBV Prevention and Response programming is for forcibly displaced refugee women, girls, sexual and gender minorities to pursue their potential and to access their human and legal rights, free from violence and oppression. This means HIAS GBV programming works to ensure; 

1. Forcibly displaced women, girls, sexual and gender minorities face a reduced risk of GBV,
2. Survivors of sexual and physical violence have access to coordinated psychosocial, health, and legal services,
3. Family, community, and institutions support refugee women, girls, sexual and gender minorities in accessing and using their rights.

HIAS uses a survivor-centered, community-based approach. Our programs consider the voices and needs of survivors and prioritize their leadership in program design and implementation. HIAS works with   communities’ natural systems in order to optimize support for survivors, building partnerships to promote and protect the rights of survivors, women, girls, sexual and gender minorities. This approach enables HIAS to meet the safety, psychosocial, economic, and justice needs of survivors; facilitate their access to appropriate care; and empower communities to lead efforts that challenge beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that perpetuate or condone violence against women, girls, sexual and gender minorities in the community. HIAS seeks to recruit a Counselling Psychologist (CP) who will spearhead the provision of counseling and other psychotherapeutic interventions to vulnerable and at risk refugee women and girls experiencing GBV and suffering from emotional and psychological distress brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. These includes refugees with mental health challenges, which impairs their normal functioning. The CP will:

Provide Therapeutic Services

• Provide individual and group counseling services and other short-term therapeutic services to referred to the field office.
• Conduct psychosocial counselling to survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (GBV) and other refugee experiencing other forms of trauma while observing highest levels of confidentiality and professional ethics and etiquette
• Receive calls under UNHCR toll free hotline for refugees and offer tele-counseling to survivors of GBV.
• Provide GBV Survivors with a text-based intake assessment and case management system conducted discreetly via SMS/WhatsApp without risking clients’ personal safety.
• In collaboration with the HIAS IT Officer, ensure that Chat transcripts and user information are securely stored on the back-end to ensure continuity of monitoring and care, even if it is deleted from a user’s device.
• Work with parents/caregivers through offering family therapy, teaching them techniques they can practice at home (such as play therapy) and recommending a support group or counselling and therapy to parents/family members.
• Create a safe remote reporting mechanism, which allows women and girls to report GBV incidences through WhatsApp messaging.
• Ensure appropriate psychosocial assessment and diagnosis of all the therapeutic cases are in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health Atlas.
• Assist protection officers in organizing and mobilizing for remote committee meetings, dialogues and other activities to address protection issues.
• Provide training, mentorship, and other technical support to social workers directly involved in implementation of the UNTF COVID-19 project
• Collect data on protection issues including GBV and monitor trends and emerging issues and present the same to the Protection Officer on weekly and monthly basis at the same time ensuring follow up on any recommendation for action.
• Provide appropriate referrals, follow up, monitor all referral cases, and ensure timely turnaround of assessment reports and other needed interventions

Reporting

• Preparation of timely, quality and comprehensive field reports, to inform program planning and decision-making.
• Prepare and maintain a tracker for all therapies conducted at the field level.

Coordination, Partnership and Networking

• Work and communicate, with social workers and other programs involved in responding to Ending Violence against women and girls and GBV survivors
• Strengthen and maintain networks with community leaders, groups and service providers to ensure that refugees receive support from the community.

Qualification Required

• A Minimum of Bachelors’ degree in Counseling Psychology or Clinical Psychology from a recognized university.
• Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, Clinical Psychology is an added advantage.
• Registration and accreditation with the Kenya Counselling and Psychological association (KCPA) or Kenya Psychological Association (KPA).

Experience Required

• Ideal candidate should have worked as Counsellor for a minimum of 3 years.
• Must have at least 3 years’ experience in providing counseling services to trauma survivors in individual and group settings.
• Experience working with refugees will be an added advantage.
• The candidate should have keen awareness and good knowledge of psychosocial issues and the complexities of working on these issues with a refugee population.

Skills and Competencies Required

•  Great understanding of the social economic and health effect of COVID-19 and its consequence on refugee women and girls and how to design and respond to GBV related incidences brought by the pandemic;
• Computer literacy is a must with strong knowledge of Excel and Word;
• Strong analytical and report writing skills and proven ability to conduct psychological assessments;
• Good team player with excellent cross-cultural interpersonal skills; proactive and able to work under minimal supervision while exercising diplomacy, flexibility and assertiveness;
• Ability to confront and discuss sensitive issues with respect and able to uphold high standards of confidentiality;
• Ability to work in a demanding and high pressured environment.