UNDSS Bangladesh is hiring National Stress Counsellor 2021 in Dhaka

UNDSS Bangladesh is hiring National Stress Counsellor 2021 in Dhaka.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many countries instituting drastic measures including lock-downs to reduce the spread of the virus and associated fatalities. COVID 19 crisis  is considered as a protracted health emergency that has complex psycho-social repercussions for UN personnel in the short and the long term that require expert psychological interventions to mitigate adverse mental health consequences. The main role of the National Stress Counsellor will be to build a sustainable stress management system in the UN Offices operating in country and to improve critical incident stress management preparedness of the UN security management system (UNSMS) during and beyond the pandemic.

Responsibilities

The primary objectives and scope of the consultant will be to:

Under the administrative supervision of the Security Advisor and the technical supervision of the CISMU Headquarter Regional Stress Counsellor, and in collaboration with the UN Physician in Bangladesh, the locally based stress counsellor will:

• Implement a wide range of stress management activities, including the UN strategic framework on critical incident stress prevention and management (MSCIS-2015)
• Develop and implement a comprehensive stress management plan for the UN Offices in Bangladesh;
• Perform psycho-social needs assessments via surveys and focus groups and monitor the determinants of stress in the UN Offices and personnel;
• Provide individual and group counselling sessions;
• Organize training sessions on stress and stress related issues;
• Create the country based Critical Incident Stress Intervention Cell (CISIC) by planning an alternate online training to the  standard CISMU UNDSS peer helper training (that is currently suspended due to COVID 19 as it cannot be conducted on line) for a selected group of UN staff in consultation with UNDSS CISMU and to manage the network;
• Identify, address and follow up on critical incident stress cases among the UN staff in country;
• Travel regularly to UN Offices/Sub-Offices in the country in order to implement preventative and mitigating stress management activities (alternate modes of engagement to be introduced in COVID 19);
• Liaise with local experts and institutions in the country for referral, as well as with UN line managers, medical doctors, and local physicians in order to build a network of professionals ready to support and intervene in case of need;
• Advise the UN Country Team Management on culturally applicable and gender sensitive stress mitigating strategies, and activities;
• Provide monthly reports to the Security Advisor and to the UNDSS CISMU Regional Stress Counsellor on all activities maintaining due confidentiality.

The Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is a department of the United Nations providing professional safety and security services to enable the United Nations to deliver its programmes globally. UNDSS reports directly to the Secretary-General. UNDSS manages a network of security advisers, analysts, officers and coordinators in more than 100 countries in support of around 180,000 United Nations personnel, 400,000 dependents and 4,500 United Nations premises worldwide. The Department is led by Under-Secretary-General Gilles Michaud, from Canada.