The Position:

The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Specialist (MHPSS) will be based in Cox’s Bazar. He/she reports to the GBV Sub Sector Coordinator based in the UNFPA sub-office in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. 

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s new strategic plan (2018-2021), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. 

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

Since August 2017, targeted violence against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar has forced over 728,000 people to flee into Bangladesh.  More than half these new arrivals are women and girls. Refugees, especially women and girls are being disproportionately affected by GBV including rape, conflict-related sexual violence, intimate partner violence, sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, child and forced marriages, sexual exploitation, survival sex, and forced engagement in the drug and sex trades. Before being forced to flee, communities living in Rakhine state had already been exposed for decades to numerous daily stressors, with repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events.  

Under its global mandate to address GBV in humanitarian settings, UNFPA is committed to ensuring that the needs of GBV survivors are met through adequate health responses, psychosocial support and case management in line with international guidelines.  It is vital that responders have the capacity to provide quality response services, which in the Cox’s Bazar refugee and host populations includes competent, culturally responsive and appropriate MHPSS care. 

UNFPA is also leading the GBV Sub-Sector coordination in Cox’s Bazar, compromising 39 member organizations including 5 UN, 18 INGO, 15 NGO and 1 Government of Bangladesh Ministry agencies operating in the Rohingya refugee camps and the surrounding affected host community locations.  The Sub-Sector coordinates the GBV prevention and response through strengthening community-based GBV programming. These include ensuring access to quality multi-sector GBV response services for survivors, building the capacity of GBV service providers and other stakeholders in order to deliver quality care in line with best practices and minimum standards for humanitarian settings, and enabling active participation of affected communities in GBV awareness-raising, response, prevention and risk mitigation.  

The GBV Sub-Sector MHPSS Specialist will provide technical MHPSS support to GBV partners at Cox’s Bazar level. 

Requirements:

Qualifications and Experience

Education:

Advanced master’s degree with specialization in psychology, social work, mental health or related area.

Knowledge and experience:

• At least 5 years of specialized experience in community based psychosocial support interventions particularly as it relates to GBV;

• Experience in GBV/MHPSS at an international level in a humanitarian context. Experience in South Asia region is an asset;

• Demonstrated knowledge of IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings;

• Demonstrated experience of training, supervision, and mentoring of non-professional counselling staff;

• Proficiency in written and spoken English.

• Ability to work within a team structure, maintain flexibility, and cope with a stressful workload;

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work within different cultural environments;

• Strong knowledge of humanitarian coordination mechanisms; and strong cultural awareness and sensitivity.

Languages: 

Fluency in English is required; knowledge of other official UN languages is preferable.