Social Worker – Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

Job Description

Community Organisation for Poverty Alleviation in Zimbabwe (COPAZ), a local Private Voluntary Organization is looking for a suitably qualified and experienced Social Worker to implement the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) component of the Livelihoods project in Tongogara Refugee Settlement pending confirmation of funding. The Social Worker will work closely with the Livelihoods Officer to strengthen the project logic of linking Livelihoods with mental health and psychosocial support. He/she will be stationed in Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Chipinge District and should be willing to live and work in the Settlement.

Position: Social Worker – Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
Reporting to: The Programmes Manager
Duty station: Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Chipinge District
Duration: Fixed Term Contract
Deadline: 24 June 2024

Duties and Responsibilities

Planning, Implementation and coordination

 Assist the Programmes Manager in developing and implementing Work plans, monitoring and evaluation of the project
 Facilitate the identification, selection and registration of targeted children and youths for the project.
 Designing and implementation of MHPSS needs survey for forcibly displaced children and youth (FDCYs).
 Facilitating MHPSS training of duty bearers and conducting MHPSS meetings.
 Training multipliers in Sexual and Reproductive health rights (SRHR) and case management to support the counseling sessions and services on mental health and psychosocial counseling (MHPSS).
 Keeping and maintaining all MHPSS project records and updating files

Counselling, coaching and referrals

 Conduct individual or group counselling sessions for forcibly displaced children and Youth as well as parents/families.
 Gathering and maintaining accurate case records and updating files
 Facilitating meetings for only young girls and women to discuss and learn about sexual health and safety issues such as sexually transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS, safer sex and gender-based violence.
 Conducting targeted protection assessments, care plans and home visits to survivors of abuse and families of forcibly displaced children and youth at risk of rights violation.
 Identify severe cases and refer clients to other specialists or other institutions for further assistance in line with the available local referral pathways.

Provision of mentorship, technical support and follow up

 Facilitating therapeutic group meetings in the target communities to support forcibly displaced children and young people who have experienced trauma and violence
 Develop a context-specific manual for conducting group therapy sessions and disseminate this manual to stakeholders in the MHPSS sector.
 Conducting positive parenting sessions for parents and guardians
 Provide supportive supervision, mentoring and coaching to children, peer counsellors (multipliers), therapeutic support groups, peace champions and duty bearers who provide MHPSS to FDCYs.
 Supporting Peace champions to conduct monthly dialogue sessions
 Conduct regular meetings with community groups and stakeholders to discuss successes, challenges and way forward

Documentation, Reporting and knowledge management

 Keeping and maintaining all MHPSS project records and updating files
 Document day to day project activities and identify possible gaps, challenges and recommendations for future improvement.
 Document and share Impact stories/stories of change, best practices, case studies and learnings for reporting and evaluation purposes
 Report on any safety and security incidents and wrongdoing/safeguarding issues
 Compile and submit comprehensive field progress reports to the Programmes Manager through the M&E Officer.
 Ensure all documented work with the forcibly displaced children and youth (FDCYs) are confidential and that ethical practices are observed.

Networking with stakeholders

 Represent the Organisation in community meetings, MHPSS groups, Child Protection and GBV cluster and act as COPAZ focal point for MHPSS in Tongogara Refugee Settlement.
 Engage, collaborate and coordinate with the Department of Social Development (DSD), partners and service providers to ensure the implementation of comprehensive MHPSS activities in the Settlement.
 Participate in partner network meetings at field level.
 Any additional tasks assigned by the Programmes Manager

 Degree in Social Work and any additional qualification in Psychology, Counselling and development related field.
 A Master’s Degree in any of the fields above is an added advantage
 A Clean Class 4 Driver’s Licence
 Computer proficiency in Ms Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other packages
 Minimum of 3 years of experience in development/humanitarian work.
 Proven work experience as a Social Worker particularly in Mental Health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) field
 Proven experience in working with internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and asylum seekers is required.
 Experience in providing MHPSS services to children, adolescents, youth and SGBV survivors is an asset.
 Knowledge of public mental health and MHPSS models of promotion/prevention and treatment.

Key skills

 Ability to relate and communicate with diverse population and groups
 Ability to understand the cultural context of the community
 Emotional resilience, social perceptiveness and empathy
 Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen to others.
 Must be flexible and willing to perform other duties and work irregular hours.

How to Apply

Interested Candidates should send their application letter and Curriculum Vitae to the Programmes Director at gchikangaise@yahoo.com and/or gchikangaise@copaz.co.zw clearly indicating the position applied for on the subject of the email not later than Monday 24 June 2024 before 0900hrs. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.