Youth Mental Health Services Analyst

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF’s office is accessible to a certain extent, and employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations that are needed for ensuring equitable working conditions.

UNICEF supports Serbia’s efforts in promoting and protecting the rights of every child and ensuring equal opportunities for all children to develop to their full potential. Our programmes are aimed at supporting excluded and vulnerable children from the beginning of their life, and throughout their childhood and adolescence. Within its Youth Programme, UNICEF with its partners aims to strengthen the online mental health services, accessible to all young people, including vulnerable groups, to improve and diversify the access to age-appropriate services and early-detection for mental health and psychological support.

In 2021, UNICEF aims at supporting the Government of Serbia to develop innovative, age-, gender- and disability-sensitive youth-friendly mental health services at the local level that will strengthen preventative response and rehabilitation of young people requiring mental health and psychosocial support.

Work Assignment Overview:

The purpose of this feasibility study is to map and analyse the overall child and youth mental health and psychological support services (MHPSS) ecosystem in order to inform the development of specific pathways for establishing and developing a youth-friendly MHPSS system for youth and adolescent girls and boys in Serbia. The assignment includes the following priorities:

• Map and research the existing services and human resources, as well as the current state of the MHPSS system for children and adolescents and young people.
• Analyse the actors (state and non-state) involved in the MHPSS ecosystem, and their respective roles and contributions to the system.
• Conduct system-readiness analysis with specific recommendations on how to incrementally design, establish and develop multi-sectoral and more youth-friendly MHPSS service packages and pathways across Serbia (also taking into account regional, rural and urban differences).
• Undertake a cost of inaction analysis and the impact on the future wellbeing of the population, and projected costs on the social welfare and health system in the future unless investments are made now.

(More detailed job description will be provided to the selected candidate.)

Duration of the assignment: June – August 2021, up to 40 workdays.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• A university degree in Social Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Education, Public Health, Statistics, or any other related technical field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, research, data analyses and reporting.
• Good knowledge of data collection systems (health, education and social) in Serbia.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluating projects in social fields (health, education, social welfare) and/or behavioural change projects, preferably in relation to children and families.
• Experience in designing the implementation research will be considered as an asset.
• A good understanding of UNICEF’s work in the early childhood development area will be considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English and Serbian.
• Prior experience with UNICEF and/or other UN agencies will be considered as an asset.

How to apply:

The application must include a financial proposal in RSD as a separate document, providing the following information:

1. Daily rate (all costs included, e.g. usage of mobile phone).

Important notes:

Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

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

For every child, you must demonstrate UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.