BACKGROUND
MSF has started a pilot project in Belgium targeting asylum seekers and newly arrived refugees (men, women and children) living in accommodation facilities or individual housing. The project aims to decrease morbidity and severity of mental health for the asylum seekers in Belgium with the specific objective to: mobilise civil society and publicly demonstrate the need for mental health services for asylum seekers by piloting and documenting the efficacy of mental health and primary health services in a defined target population.
MSF plans to implement a Model of Care for mental health activities. The aim is to show that by intervening at an early stage, with not only specialized mental health staff, the mental health for asylum seekers and refugees can improve and reduce the burden of the primary and secondary health care. The project activities will be built on tree pillars: mental health activities – connection and networking with civil society – advocacy. The mental health activities will mainly consist of screening for mental health problems, and offering low threshold activities such as Psychological First Aid (PFA), Psychoeducation, Health Promotion, Group interventions and Individual counseling sessions (e.g. mental health assessment interview before referral). People who are in need of more specialized care will be referred to specialized care. Training and capacity building (e.g. on screening for mental health problems/detection and cultural briefing) will be given to staff at asylum centers, health care staff, schools and volunteers as part of the Model of Care. Care for staff and caretakers will be set up to prevent burnout due to emotional stress.
With a target population of 1200 people for the pilot project, MSF plans to have fixed and mobile teams to cover needs in collective and individual housing. The team composition will consist of Counsellors and Intercultural mediators with support from the Mental Health Activity Manager. The Volunteer Focal Point will connect and network with volunteers from the civil society. The volunteers play an important part in organizing social activities/informing about psychosocial support for the individual and/or the family, in order to avoid worsening of people’s symptoms and stress.
Main purpose of the position
PC is responsible for MSF operational response in the project.
In close collaboration with the coordination team, define and plan the project objectives and priorities, identifying population’s health and humanitarian needs, analysing the context and the humanitarian issues at stake, the risks and constraints and calculating human and financial needs. Coordinate, in close collaboration with the mission coordination, its implementation in order to efficiently ensure the specific goals of the project as well as to improve our beneficiaries’ mental health condition.
JOB PROFILE
• Represent MSF within project limits. In close consultation with the coordination team, develop institutional contacts with national partners at project’s level (civil society, civil authorities, local NGOs and organisations, health representatives, etc.) as well as with media in order to obtain all information and agreements necessary for the integration of MSF’s programmes in the local context and improve the targeted population’s awareness on them.
• Supervise the political and humanitarian situation in the project’s region in order to ensure that MSF's charter, policies and image are respected with regards to national employees, populations, authorities and partners.
• Together with the project team, evaluate needs by identifying the population’s health status, by analysing the context (environment, actors involved, negotiations for access etc.) and associated risks and constraints in order to define priorities and projects goals and to calculate material, human and financial resources needed.
• Propose and carry out exploratory missions, according to Ops coordinator’s indications, in order to better comprehend context, priorities, constraints and population needs.
• Ensure a data collection system, in agreement with coordination and Luxor that allows and contributes to achieve the projects objectives.
• Steer and supervise in collaboration with MHAM and Luxor the operational research component of the project so to assure that it contributes to the advocacy objectives of the project.
• Together with the Advocacy Coordinator, work out an advocacy strategy plan and assure its implementation on the operational level
• Steer and supervise the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the programmes in collaboration with the team, by collecting information and comparing it with the objectives, schedules in order to monitor progression and early detect deviations and propose corrections.
• Provide reporting to the coordination team on project’s evolution and propose corrections if needed,
• Elaborate the Project’s institutional memory, keeping written records (and file them) on its development, in order to broadcast MSF achievements and improve awareness.
• Monitor the risks and threats around the project, documenting the situation and analysing the consequences of political decisions or negotiations in course, in order to bear witness of and to render the populations' distress public.
• In coordination with the Resource Manager and Activity Managers, plan and organise the organizational charts, plan and distribute tasks and workload among the teams, guiding their understanding of the issues linked to the Project and the Mission through regular working meetings and feedback, in order to ensure an efficient deployment of the resources and the achievement of the expected goals.
• Inform the field team on the instructions given by the Mission coordination promoting fluent, smooth written and oral communication and information flow and ensuring confidentiality and full compliance with security rules and medical ethics.
• Supervise full implementation of safety and health protocols, reporting the Medical Coordination on risky behaviours, in order to ensure safe working conditions for the project staff.
• Be responsible of the proper application of HR policies and associated processes (recruitment, training, briefing/debriefing, evaluation, potential, detection, staff’s development and internal communication) in order to ensure both the sizing and the amount of knowledge required for the activities he/she is accountable for.
• In coordination with the Resource Manager and Activity Managers, identify training needs, provide individual follow up and coaching, carry out end of mission evaluation of the team members and lead internal communication initiatives in order to facilitate people’s integration and professional development and to maximize their capabilities and commitment to MSF values and project’s goals.
• Supervise the project material resources put at MSF’s disposition in order to ensure a correct use and its longevity.
• Supervise all orders (medical and logistical) and the Project’s purchases as well as the financial indicators, with the support of the Mission coordination referents, in order to ensure efficiency and early detect deviations and its causes.
• Manage the security in the project, ensuring that all necessary security measures are in place for the safety of MSF staff and its operations.
• Together with the Advocacy Coordinator, work out an advocacy strategy plan and implement it on the operational level