COUNSELOR EDUCATOR – Hermel – 100%

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in 1971. Today, MSF provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, and exclusion from health care or natural disasters. MSF in Lebanon currently has 2 projects mainly on primary health care and mental health, in Wadi Khaled and the Bekaa valley.

-Starting date: April 1st, 2023

-Type of contract: 6 months fixed term contract, renewable.

Updated competitive salary package with benefits including allowances, medical coverage and 5 weeks of paid leave

-Place of work: Hermel

- Salary: 1 940 418 LBP per month

-Scope of responsibility:

Perform counseling and/or education sessions to patients, following different medical and mental health MSF protocols and procedures, in order to improve their psychosocial condition

-Function responsibilities include:

• Identify the psychosocial, socio-economic and administrative needs for patients
• Actively promote the availability of counselling services and carry out, individual or in group counseling, basic psycho educational sessions, to patients, their families (when needed), in order to alleviate their psychosocial difficulties within the project scope.
• Refer patients to other specialists or other institutions for further assistance, when necessary in order to propose the best support available.
• Participate in the creation of any material needed for counseling activities and look after it,
• Keep files and statistics of daily activities and participate in team meetings to share experiences and discuss special cases with other counselors, preserving confidentiality
• Inform line manager of any problem of any kind arising during the day-to-day activities.
• Take active part in trainings, supervisions/intervisions and support the activities manager when necessary in doing sensitization for MSF staff or external partners about mental health /psychosocial issues.
• Discuss difficulties and problems in counselling with supervisor

-Specific activities:

• Actively promote the availability of counselling services and carry out, individual or in group counseling, basic psycho educational sessions, to patients and their families, hospital staff and in the community, in order to alleviate their psychosocial difficulties within the project scope. (including mhGAP and suicidal patients based on the need)
• Identify and appropriately refer the psychosocial, socio-economic and administrative needs of community and patients to available service providers through MSF social worker
• Visiting families in their home/tent/shelter if required, in order to facilitate defaulters' tracing or to offer psychoeducation
• Working together with other team members to prepare/produce various mental health psychosocial education messages/topics, according to specific groups and needs
• Keep files and statistics of regular mental health and psychosocial activities in community and clinic and produce regular work reports to the supervisor
• After receiving the required training, perform basic counseling and psychoeducation for patients in the clinic
• Actively coordinate with Health Promotion team in community activities to promote mental and psychosocial wellbeing of population
• Update Mental Health Supervisor on regular activities
• Participate in case discussions with mental health team (Psychologist, mhGAP Doctor and MH Supervisor)
• Build good rapport with community focal points
• Engage in regular supervision provided by mental health supervisor
• Provide training to MSF staff on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) topics as required with the support of MH Supervisor
• Engage in inter-disciplinary interventions for community and patients in the clinic (Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Non-Communicable Diseases activities)

-Experience required:

• Essential: 1-year experience of previous work experience as a counselor educator
• Desirable: Previous work experience with (I)NGO

-Required qualification:

• Essential: bachelor’s degree in psychology or related/similar degree.Essential: Arabic
• Essential: Full professional proficiency using the Arabic Language
• Desirable: Elementary to limited professional proficiency in English
• Desirable: Elementary to limited professional proficiency in French

-Personal qualification:

• Results and Quality Orientation – L1
• Teamwork and Cooperation – L1
• Behavioral Flexibility – L1
• Commitment to MSF Principles – L1
• Service Orientation – L1

Interested applicants are requested to submit their application on the following link, by Wednesday March 15th, 2023 as deadline.

 link:  https://forms.gle/T6g46gqmutTaseuK7

Only selected applicant will be contacted for a test and an interview if successful.

Bekaa, March 8th, 2023

Médecins Sans Frontières /HR department