ob Opportunities: Staff Counselor (Multi-Country),

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Well-being.

UNICEF has been working in Cameroon since 1975 to allow women and children to fully realize their rights to development without restriction, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF provides financial and technical support to Cameroon across seven areas to fully realize the rights of women and children. These areas include Health, HIV/AIDS, Water-sanitation-Hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection, and social inclusion. UNICEF focuses mainly on children and the most vulnerable and excluded families. Cameroon’s 2020 population is estimated at 26,545,863 people according to UN data. The population is young and generates strong socioeconomic demand. In rural areas, limited access to basic social services and the effects of climate change lead to household impoverishment and severe child deprivations. The task is immense but not insurmountable; it requires the energy of all stakeholders in Cameroon and outside of Cameroon: also, women, men, youth and children, government, technical and financial partners, donors, civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians, and communities. Everyone is invited to take part in the struggle to meet the challenges that lie ahead. It is together that we will act for Cameroon, a country that summarizes the challenges and hopes of Africa.

To learn more about UNICEF Cameroon, use the below link:

https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/CMR/SitePages/AboutUs.aspx .

How can you make a difference?

The Staff Counseling Unit is committed to the promotion of psychological health and well-being with the goal of building the resilience of staff so that they can continue to function at high levels in order to meet the mandate of the organization. This is accomplished through the provision of counseling services to staff members and their dependents and by identifying and addressing psychological risk factors in the workplace. Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative Operations and the technical supervision of the Regional Staff Counsellor, the Staff Counselor will develop and implement a well-being program aimed at attending to the psychological needs of UNICEF staff and management in WCAR. The work will be done from the preventive and curative perspectives at the individual, team, and organizational levels. The Staff Counselor will work in close coordination with the Regional Staff Counselor to provide support to staff and collaborate with Country Management Teams, Emergency Coordinators, HR, Staff Association, Peer Support Volunteers (PSVs), the UN Medical Clinic, and UN Staff Counselors. This is a multi-county post and thus frequent field missions to the designated countries of coverage will be required.

 Key tasks and responsibilities :

He/she will perform the following tasks:

1. Preventative and protective psychosocial support to Facilitate the provision of effective psychosocial support to managers and individual staff prioritizing emergency locations with the aim of mitigating stress and increasing protective factors. Provide a safe and confidential environment where staff members are able to address professional and personal problems, either individually or in groups (modality: assessment, short-term intervention, referral).

2. Provide Critical Incident Stress Management to groups and/or individual staff following critical incidents. A holistic approach to critical incident management is used and may include services such as practical support, psychoeducation, psychological first aid, strategic advice to leadership, family support, and individual or group interventions.

3. Monitoring and oversight by providing regular basis statistics and trends on issues related to staff well-being, whilst maintaining confidentiality. Alert the Regional Staff Counselor and/or the HR Manager on trends that may be of concern in offices or offices requiring targeted support or Managerial intervention. Capture lessons learned and best practices for dissemination as appropriate.

4. Undertake regular travels to the countries under coverage as per the regional well-being strategy and demands from the country offices. Identify and recommend preventative measures for systemic issues and trends. Facilitates interface with the various services and resources of the organization. Ensure the adherence to the professional standards of the UNSSCG as well as the Code of Ethics for UN Staff Counselors

To have more information, please click here:   WCAR Staff counselor JD Specific (final).docx

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

EDUCATION

• Advanced University degree (master’s or equivalent) in counselling, clinical psychology, organizational psychology, or a field related to mental health. Certification or country-specific licensure authorizing the incumbent to deliver mental health services is considered an asset.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience – among which three at the international level in psychological counseling, and training skills, with special emphasis on managing critical incident stress.
• Additional training experience in a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress, and cross-cultural communication would be an asset.
• Well-developed communication, leadership, and team-building skills.
• Work experience with developing and delivering online and face-to-face workshops and webinars on a range of well-being and mental health is desirable.
• Experience either working in a hardship location or providing counseling services to staff working in very difficult and insecure environments is an asset.
• Experience in United Nations System or international development/humanitarian aid sector is desirable

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or the local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate.

UNICEF’s Core Values ​​of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get Acquainted with Our Values ​​Charter:  UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels:  competency framework here .

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone , irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a  wide range of benefits to our staff , including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and  reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities . UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable  females  are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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