Mental Health Officer (Managed by Nairobi) at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

Job Description

Being a mental health officer (MHO) with MSF is an intense but rewarding job. From providing psychological first aid to survivors of natural disasters to counselling HIV patients, our MHOs play a vital role in our projects. Trauma is often the most painful aspect of surviving a conflict or disaster or living with a disease, and mental healthcare is vital for recovery.

Responsibilities

Our MHOs often head a group of outreach workers and counsellors, providing care in the health facilities but also out in the community.
It’s a challenging and exciting role and you would be responsible for some or all of the following: 
Doing a community mental health assessment
Planning a mental health strategy
Managing mental healthcare for an entire hospital/project
Providing care for victims of sexual violence
Supporting groups of displaced people
Identifying and managing protection issues

Requirements

Formal education and post qualification in one of the following: Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Social work (with additional psychological therapy qualification), Psychiatry (with additional psychological therapy qualification)
Currently licensed to practice  one of the above areas with independent licensed clinical practice
Two year’s post-qualification experience
Experience working in the field of HIV/AIDS, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sexual violence, Tuberculosis (TB) care
Experience in managing and training mental health workers
Experience in the clinical supervision of others and treating trauma related problems
Experience with emergency mental health/crisis interventions
A second language (preferably French, Arabic, Spanish or Portuguese)
Able to work well as a part of a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary team
Willing to work in unstable areas and ability to cope in a difficult and unpredictable environment
Available for a minimum of nine to twelve months
Minimum of three months’ work, volunteering or travelling experience in developing countries
Fluency in English​ is essential, Arabic and French will be an asset