Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Associate

Deadline for Applications

June 28, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

E (most hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Non Family with Residential Location

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

UNOPS LICA6

Target Start Date

2026-06-23

Terms of Reference

A. General Background

The Melkadida operation located in the extreme southeast of Ethiopia bordering Kenya and Somalia, has hosted Somali refugees since 2009. UNHCR, RRS and WFP, together with humanitarian partners, continue to deliver essential life saving assistance, protection, and solutions across the five refugee camps; Bokolmanyo, Melkadida, Kobe, Hilaweyn, and Buramino, which accommodate approximately 220,000 refugees as of May 2026.

Over the years, UNHCR and its partners have supported access to primary healthcare, nutrition services, disease prevention, mental health and psychosocial support, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. However, challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to quality public health services, disease surveillance, outbreak response, and the sustainability of health interventions for both refugee and host communities.

In line with the 2019 Refugee Proclamation, the Makatet (Inclusion) Roadmap, and broader Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus objectives, UNHCR Melkadida is advancing a deliberate transition from parallel humanitarian health service delivery towards full inclusion of refugees within Ethiopia’s national and regional health systems, Central to this ambition is the progressive handover of five health facilities currently supported by UNHCR and humanitarian partners to Somali Regional State and woreda health authorities, while safeguarding service quality, access, and equity for both refugees and host communities.

In Melkadida, refugees and host communities continue to face significant psychosocial distress driven by conflict exposure, displacement-related trauma, family separation, poverty, food insecurity, gender inequalities, harmful social norms, substance use, and limited access to specialized mental health services. Women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, and survivors of violence remain particularly vulnerable, highlighting the urgent need for strengthened integrated and community-based MHPSS interventions.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The MHPSS Associate will support the implementation of mental health and psychosocial services within the health inclusion initiatives in Melkadida. The incumbent will work within a multidisciplinary team to ensure coordinated and holistic MHPSS programming integrated across health, protection, GBV, child protection, education, nutrition, and community-based protection sectors. S/he will provide technical and strategic support to government institutions, UN agencies, and partners through coordination, capacity strengthening, implementation of scalable interventions such as mhGAP, Problem Management Plus (PM+), Self-Help Plus (SH+), and sociotherapy, strengthening referral pathways, suicide prevention and response activities, and promoting sustainable integration of MHPSS within regional health and protection systems.

The MHPSS Associate will:

• Support the implementation of quality Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) interventions integrated within public health and protection programming, in line with UNHCR operational guidance and international minimum standards, to enhance refugees’ inclusion and access to national MHPSS services.

• Support the facilitation and implementation of scalable MHPSS interventions, including but not limited to mhGAP, Problem Management Plus (PM+), Self-Help Plus (SH+), and community-based sociotherapy approaches.

• Assist in strengthening the capacity of staff, partners, health workers, and community structures through training, mentorship, and technical support on MHPSS-related interventions and referral pathways.

• Support community-based approaches including capacity strengthening initiatives.

• Support the identification, coordination, and implementation of suicide prevention and response activities, with technical guidance from MHPSS specialists and relevant technical personnel.

• Support the health facility transition and handover process by working closely with RRS, woreda health offices, and Somali Regional Health Bureau to progressively integrate MHPSS services into government-managed facilities.

• Provide technical support and facilitate capacity transfer to government health staff at facility level, ensuring continuity and quality of MHPSS services during the transition to government-led delivery, including mentoring on mhGAP and scalable interventions.

• Contribute to the development and implementation of transition plans, with a focus on strengthening integration of MHPSS into primary health care in line with national standards, and institutionalize referral pathways within government systems.

• Contribute to the assessment, monitoring, and analysis of country-level mental health and psychosocial support programmes to inform evidence-based programming and operational planning.

• Assist in documenting promising practices, operational experiences, lessons learned, and evidence-based approaches to strengthen MHPSS inclusion processes, strategic planning, program quality, and community resilience.

B. Education & Professional Work Experience

Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)

Minimum 2 years relevant work experience with a bachelor’s or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education:

A bachelor’s degree in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, mental health. Master’s degree is an added advantage.

Work Experience Required:

Essential

• Experience implementing and coordinating MHPSS programmes in humanitarian or refugee settings.

• Proven experience in capacity building, mentoring, and use of technical tools for MHPSS, including training staff, partners, and community groups.

• Ability to integrate MHPSS across health, protection, GBV, child protection, education, and community-based programming.

• Demonstrated experience working with government health systems (woreda/regional), supporting service integration and transition to government-led delivery.

• Strong inter-agency coordination and stakeholder engagement skills, including collaboration with government and partners.

• Experience in facilitating scalable MHPSS interventions (mhGAP, PM+, SH+, sociotherapy).

• Experience in strengthening referral pathways and supporting suicide prevention and response activities.

• Experience in emergency preparedness, evidence-based programming, and documentation of lessons learned and best practices.

• Strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with commitment to protection principles and community resilience approaches.

Desirable:

• Working knowledge of the implementation of IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, familiarity with IASC Minimum Service Package (MSP) for MHPSS required

• Familiarity with the refugee context, refugee coordination model, as well as with humanitarian appeals, humanitarian response plans, and common humanitarian funding mechanisms.

• Hands-on field experience at health facility level, covering service delivery, supervision, and quality improvement.

• Experience supporting health system strengthening, service integration, or transition from humanitarian to government-led service delivery, preferably in refugee or displacement contexts

• Experience in training and implementing MHPSS tools, including Psychological First Aid (PFA), 4Ws mapping, and preferably mhGAP-HIG.

• Experience with scalable psychological interventions is an asset.

• Good understanding of integration of MHPSS in health, protection and other sectors, and experience in capacity building on the MHPSS Minimum Service Package.

• Previous professional experience working in Ethiopia, and in the forced displacement context is an added advantage.

Key Competencies

Required

• Experience with evidence-based mental health and psychosocial support programming, including capacity building, mentoring, and use of technical tools for MHPSS.

• Ability to operate effectively in physically and emotionally challenging contexts and adapt to rapidly changing situations.

• Strong networking and stakeholder management skills for building constructive relationships with humanitarian actors, government counterparts, and community structures.

• Demonstrated ability to facilitate capacity transfer to government health staff and support integration of MHPSS into primary health care and referral systems.

• Ability to serve in a capacity-building role, fostering institutional strengthening and service transition at facility and system levels.

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with Public Health, Protection, and government teams to advance inclusion and transition objectives.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Work Experience

Other information

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

A written test (eliminatory or complementary) and oral interviews may be administered for shortlisted candidates.This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Remote

No