Technical Referent for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support – Mauritania At Land of men

Start of office: August 1, 2024

Duration: 12 months with possible extension

Activity rate: 100%

Place of work: Bassikounou or Néma with regular travel to Tdh operational areas in Mauritania.

Status: Unaccompanied

Deadline for sending applications: Terre des hommes does not set an application deadline for this position, recruitment is open until the position is filled. Interested candidates are, however, encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Tdh:

The Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh), headquartered in Lausanne and office in Zurich, is the largest Swiss organization for the defense of children’s rights. In 2022, we supported 2.6 million children and members of their communities around the world, focusing our efforts on maternal and child health, children and young people in situations of migration and access to justice. We trained people who in turn supported an additional 4.5 million children and community members.

Context :

Terre des hommes – Lausanne is preparing to launch actions in the Hod El Charghi region, aimed at strengthening the child protection system and also the mental health system. Direct actions are also planned given the underdeveloped level of these two systems.

A team of around 10 people will be deployed between Néma and Bassikounou to manage the project and ensure it has a positive impact on the lives of host communities and new arrivals. The duration of the project is estimated at three years but this team will contribute to the search for funds with the aim of establishing our organization sustainably in this vulnerable region of Mauritania.

Tdh-L operates in regions where insecurity is present, taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our teams. We are therefore looking for a person capable of traveling to these regions and who will respect the security measures put in place by the organization.

Main responsibilities:

The technical referent for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is responsible for defining and implementing the SMSPS interventions of the Tdh delegation in Mauritania, particularly in the Hod El Charghi region, with a focus on refugee populations.

In this capacity, he/she contributes to the design, implementation, monitoring and communication around all SMSPS activities carried out by Tdh-L, mainly in projects in the Hod El Charghi region. He/she is also responsible for ensuring the strengthening of the technical and operational capacities of the team and partners.

As such, the main tasks of this position are:

• Strategy and management
• Technical and methodological support for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
• Quality assurance and learning
• Advocacy and representation
• Management

The detailed job description will be shared with the selected candidates to begin the recruitment process.

Profile

Education & Qualifications :

A Master’s degree in mental health, psychology, child development or a master’s degree in a related field required

Experience and Skills:

Indispensable :

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in the MHPSS sector.
• At least 2 years of experience in MHPSS, health or protection system strengthening.
• At least 2 years of experience in a humanitarian context in contact with refugee populations.
• At least 2 years in an equivalent position within a government institution or national/international organization.
• Experience in contextualizing theoretical approaches and operationalization.
• Proven experience in training and supervising teams.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of mobility issues (migrants, refugees).
• Experiences in West Africa or North Africa, and/or knowledge of the context.
• Experience in developing MHPSS methodologies and approaches.
• Experience/expertise in the field of child protection.

LANGUAGES :

Excellent French language skills.

Fluency in Arabic, Hassaniya, Tamachek or Bambara is an asset.

IT knowledge:

Mastery of the Microsoft Office package

Salary :

Expatriate contract under Swiss law, between CHF 4,200.- and CHF 4,630.- monthly salary depending on experience x13 (+ AVS withholding for Swiss candidate). Insurance, illness, accident, repatriation. 25 days off/year. AR plane ticket/year.

Accommodation and local transportation.

Tdh Global Code of Conduct and Risk Management Policies:

• Commits to respecting the Global Code of Conduct and systematically reporting any violation of the Code through the Tdh reporting procedure: raising awareness within the Foundation about violence and abuse, and the rights that result from it, towards children, community members and our own employees
• Commits to respecting Risk Management Policies, including: Safeguarding policies (Child Safeguarding Policy, Policy against Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Directive on Abusive Behavior at Work), Safety/Security Policy and Anti-Fraud/Corruption and Criminal Financing Prevention Policies
• Committed to reducing the risk of abuse by developing an open and informed management culture within the organization and in our work with children and the communities in which we operate

We offer you exciting and varied work, useful and meaningful, within a team that wants to make a difference for children in very vulnerable situations.

Have we piqued your interest? Do you want to take on this challenge?