Strategic office context:

In a diverse context ranging from protracted humanitarian crisis (more than 16 million children affected by forced displacement), fragile states as well as middle and high-income countries, UNICEF is uniquely placed to support and protect the mental health of children and adolescents across 3 key sectors: education, health, and child protection.

UNICEF added value is its ability to provide policy advice to governments, system strengthening   along with capacity to respond to humanitarian needs in the region.   The generation of evidence and knowledge to inform mental health policy, programmes and practice are a key priority. Partnership with WHO, civil society and practitioners are critical to advance an evidence-informed agenda on children’s mental health.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

The incumbent will be accountable for ensuring multi-sectoral mental health programmes and policies in the MENA region are designed and implemented in line with sector standards and best available evidence. This will be done through high-quality, solutions oriented technical assistance to country offices and partners informed by data and evidence. The MHPSS specialist will be accountable for co-designing practical solutions and supporting advocacy under the leadership of concerned country offices/sectors.

1- Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholders on implementation of multi-sectoral mental health policies, programmes, and interventions.
2- Develop partnerships and collaborations on mental health.
3- Develop an evidence, M&E, and knowledge generation agenda.
4- Provide technical leadership and practical guidance on mental health interventions, across prevention, promotion, and care in humanitarian action.
1- Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholders on multi-sectoral mental health policies, programmes, and interventions.
• Establish systematic policy dialogue and learning exchanges with governments and civil society on evidence informed MHPSS approaches and interventions.
• Strengthen country capacity on MHPSS by promoting the use of UNICEF’s Global MHPSS Multisectoral Operational framework, in alignment with inter-agency standards guidance and tools to support the planning and implementation of MHPSS systems and services, in line with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and the inter-agency initiatives under the IASC MHPSS Reference Group.
• Support the roll out and adaptation of UNICEF-led MHPSS ‘global goods’ from the global context to the regional context, including protocols, tools, and relevant guidance documents.

• Coordinate the MHPSS technical working group with Education, Health, and Child Protection, developing working plans and producing regular reports.
• Assist with the development of programmatic interventions on MHPSS at country level and provide technical guidance to country offices and the regional office.
• Contribute to CPD, MTR and key moments of reflection, integrating MHPSS approaches into key goal areas.
• Consult and collaborate with colleagues and partners to provide technical and operational support on programme planning, management, and implementation, and to ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors throughout all stages of programming processes.

2- Develop partnerships and collaborations on mental health.

• Strengthen existing collaboration with WHO under the umbrella of the Mental Health Joint Programme, and collaboration with other academic institutions, private sector, and practitioners with the aim of developing a common agenda to children’s mental health with focus on system strengthening.
• Lead the resource mobilization efforts to support MHPSS programmes.
• Implement common training packages.
• Lead the regional advocacy agenda to protect and promote the mental health of children.
• Support the development of country level and regional funding proposals and take other actions to leverage funds in the area of MHPSS.
• Represent UNICEF’s leadership in mental health and psychosocial support for children, adolescents and families at regional level.

3- Develop an evidence, M&E, and knowledge generation agenda.

• In collaboration with relevant sectors, develop research, evaluation, and data analysis to inform policy, programmes, and interventions.
• Disseminate evidence and knowledge ton MHPSS.
• In alignment with the Standardized Quality MHPSS Framework and with support from MHPSS specialists and M&E focal points in NYHQ, manage the regional office efforts in integrating monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning as part of the regional MHPSS framework, with clear guidance on adaptation for country-level priority actions, interventions, and indicators.
• Contribute to and coordinate where needed, major monitoring and evaluation exercises to assess progress regionally and to engage stakeholders to take required actions to achieve results; identify and document lessons learned and facilitate strategic use of knowledge gained.

4- Provide technical leadership and practical guidance on mental health interventions in humanitarian action.

• Coordinate multi-sectoral MHPSS humanitarian response.
• Provide guidance to country offices on trauma-informed approaches to humanitarian action.
• Coordinate action with key agencies involved in MHPSS.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:
Advanced university degree in one of the following academic areas: psychology, psychiatry, social work, and public health

Experience:
At least 8 years of relevant national and international experience in mental health policy, programming, and service delivery

Experience designing and implementing MHPSS programmes in humanitarian settings and practical knowledge system strengthening approaches are desirable.

Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Arabic and or French is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.