Job Description

Action Contre la Faim is an International Humanitarian Organization established in 1979 with the mission to save lives by combating hunger through prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition, in particular during and after emergency situations caused by conflict and natural disasters. Action Contre la Faim provides coordinated responses in nearly 50 countries including Yemen globally within 7 field of expertise which includes Nutrition and Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Food Security, Mental Health Care Practices, Gender and Protection, Advocacy, Risk and Disaster Management and Research.
ACF has been operational in Yemen since 2012 and is operational in 4 bases (Aden, Hodeida, Al khokha and Sanaa). The mission implements its activities which are centred on 3 sectors, Nutrition and Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support and Protection (MHPSS-P).

For more information please visit our website. https://www.actioncontrelafaim.org/en/missions/yemen/

Job Title:  Head of Department Mental Health, Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
Location:  Sana’a
Contract duration: until 31st September 2025 with possibility of extension.
Basic monthly salary (taxable): 2803$ to 3349$ based on experience salary calculation (excluding other benefits offered by the organization)
Hierarchical manager: Deputy Country Director (DCD) 
Technical manager: MHPSS Regional Technical Advisor (RTA)

Objective of the position To define, supervise and coordinate mental health, care practices, and protection programmes and strategies. To guarantee the quality, the relevance and the scaling of the MHPSS intervention strategy, following ACF, international and national policies and standards.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Mission 1: To contribute to definition of the country strategy, and definition of the strategy and positioning of the MHPSS technical department  

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible: 

• For comprehension and continuous, systematic and satisfactory monitoring by the field teams of the humanitarian situation in MHPSS and of the intervention context 
• For analysis of the MHPSS humanitarian situation 
• For internal/external transmission and transmission to the head office of the collected and analysed information
• For the definition and quality of mission sectoral strategy document in agreement with the ACF international and national frameworks
• For his/her contribution to the mission strategy and the ACFIN sectoral strategy
• For integration of the MHPSS sector with the other technical sectors (FSL, NUT, WASH)
• For monitoring of implementation of the MHPSS mission strategy, its revision and its accountability  
• For supply of the technical and operational advocacy of the mission, of the region and the head office (in agreement with the advocacy objectives defined by the ACF reference documents)
• For identification of the sectoral advocacy themes specific to the mission in connection with the Country Director

Example of tasks: 

• Monitor the general indicators 
• Check that the key indicators of ACF in MHPSS are monitored and analysed over the area of intervention
• Appropriate the technical strategies and positioning produced by the head office
• Write the MHPSS sections of the mission strategy
• Share and undertake consistency of the strategy with the other sectors 
• Share and explain the mission strategy with all of the teams of the MHPSS department
• Ensure that the international, national and ACF documents are present on the mission, appropriate them and share them with the MHPSS teams
• Plan the internal evaluations linked to respect of the international standards
• Organise the contingency plan workshop for the MHPSS section and participate in the consolidation meetings at the level of the mission
• Coordinate with the other Department Managers in order to ensure the best impact of the projects by way of integration 
• Define and manage gathering of the strategy monitoring indicators
• Collect the data and information on the humanitarian situation and the MHPSS sector formalizing them and send them to the appropriate channels (Country Director, Region, Head Office Referent)
• Propose MHPSS technical advocacy themes on the mission 
• Write or consolidate reports on the themes retained, in association with the Country Director
• Define a circulation plan for the sectoral advocacy of the mission 
• Interact with the sectoral coordination on the dominant themes of MHPSS advocacy

Mission 2: To coordinate identification of needs and formulation of project proposals. 

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible:

• For coordination of identification of the humanitarian needs in MHPSS
• For the formulation, financing and implementation of the feasibility study of the MHPSS projects (public, technical, socioeconomic, cultural and environmental health)
• For the involvement of the Logistical and Finance departments in definition/validation of the MHPSS projects
• For contributing to the canvassing of donors for his/her sector and ensuring technical exchanges with the identified donors
• For his/her participation at the request of the Deputy Country Director, Country Director or the Field Coordinator to visits to donors
• For realization of the MHPSS sections of the project proposals in accordance with the formats and the timescales of the donors 

Examples of Tasks: 

• Define, coordinate and manage evaluations of the MHPSS requirements in the project zone and the related zones
• Coordinate and/or write evaluation reports on the needs, feasibility and donor proposals 
• Consult the Managers of the Finance and Logistics Departments within the context of the project proposals
• Meet and/or accompany the Country Director/Deputy Country Director with the sectoral donors
• Consolidate or write these MHPSS sections of the project proposals
• Validate the MHPSS project proposals submitted by the mission
• Draw up/update the donors’ portfolio 
• Accompany donors on field visits at the request of the Country Director/Deputy Country Director

Mission 3: To support implementation and carry out reporting on programmes/projects

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible:

• For validation of the key steps and methodologies of the projects implemented (chronogram, systematic Baseline survey (original/final), technical studies, invitations to tender, specifications, community approach, external evaluations….)
• For technical support (direct and remote) for the Programme Managers with sharing of information or alerts with the Field Coordinator 
• For the existence of monitoring and evaluation systems and the integration of their results to ensure improvement of the projects
• For validation, within the deadlines, of the MHPSS sections of the internal reports and the donor reports, as well as project amendments with the contribution of the teams 

Examples of tasks: 

• Validate the methodologies and documents produced by the Programme Managers 
• Visit the projects regularly and interact functionally with the Managers of the Programmes
• Train the field teams on Monitoring & Evaluation, in assessment of the indicators, and in their compilation
• Support the Field Coordinator in monitoring of the PRAs (Preliminary Risk Analyses) (quantitative and narrative), carry out feedback on the technical issues and record any malfunctions observed in the progress report
• Propose action plans and solutions to ensure the smooth progress of the programmes
• Write the technical sections in the narratives of the donor reports by the Programme Managers, validate them and ensure their coherence
• Consolidate the technical parts of the reports prior to submission to the donors
• Request technical support from the head office Referent (tool, methodology, innovation, sharing of experience….)
• Prepare the missions of evaluation of needs/of projects (TOR, recruitment of experts if need be, briefings) 

Mission 4: To guarantee the quality and accountability of the projects

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible: 

• For the technical conformity of the programmes with the rules, orientations and international technical standards, the framework documents and the technical works of ACF
• For encouraging overall quality of implementation of the projects to maximize their impact (See DAC (Development Assistance Committee) criteria of the OCDE)
• For guaranteeing respect of the SPHERE, IASC and WHO, national and international standards  
• For the technical quality of the projects by means of specific ACF monitoring (project quality, field visits, external audits…)
• For issue and monitoring of the technical recommendations 
• For alerts from the Deputy Country Director and Technical Referent regarding any major difficulties encountered on application of the recommendations and/or adaptation measures which are imposed 
• For alerting the Deputy Country Director and requesting application of the principle of precaution in the event of a major risk in terms of public health
• For the promotion of external and internal evaluations of the projects, in line with the ACF Evaluation policy
• For the promotion of complaint mechanisms focusing on the transparency and ethics of the projects, in particular with the assisted populations 
• For the promotion of safety measures for the personnel and the populations in implementation of the MHCPGP projects in collaboration with the Programme Manager and the Logistics Department

Examples of tasks: 

• Check that the projects’ technical suitability are consistent with the internal framework documents and the sectoral technical literature 
• Validate that they comply with the standards (ACF, SPHERE, IASC, WHO, national standards…) 
• Carry out field visits and produce visit reports containing the technical and implementation recommendations 
• Supply the project quality for the mission with the internal and external recommendations 
• Request ad hoc technical support from the head office Referent (tools, methodology, innovation, sharing of experience, or alerts in the event of lack of skills on technical subjects….)
• Write the Terms of Reference for visits from MHPSS&P Referents from the head office and from the internal Assessors
• Judiciously include in the project proposals the project’s external evaluations
• Prepare the external evaluation missions for the projects (Terms of Reference in accordance with the guidelines of ACF-UK, recruitment of experts if necessary, briefings and field support) 
• Validate the recommendations produced by the assessors and rewrite them into the good practices in the projects
• Ensure that the project proposals integrate the complaint mechanisms and train the teams in this participatory methodology 
• Check respect of the rules drawn up during field visits

Mission 5: To ensure the active involvement of ACF in the national sectoral coordination, the technical platforms and develop sectoral partnerships

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible:

• For representing ACF and for undertaking relationships with the partners, the authorities, the agencies of the United Nations and the NGOs in his/her sector 
• For interaction with the regional sectoral Coordination
• For the contribution of ACF to various action plans in the MHPSS sector (Consolidated Appeal Process, Flash Appeal, Inter-Agency Contingency Plan, national sector strategy, etc.) 
• For technical communication (internal and external) over the MHPSS projects in association with the Deputy Country Director/Field Coordinator/Country Director 
• For promotion of sectoral partnerships (civil society, NGOs, authorities, private sector...) and the strengthening of their capacities 

Examples of tasks: 

• Establish a parallel between the coordination platforms, participate in coordination and strategic work group meetings and share information prior to projects and after completion of projects
• Become familiarized with the procedures of the Clusters and/or Working Groups (protection and mental health) and train the mission  
• Participate in writing documents linked to humanitarian funding and to the national strategies
• Meet and get to know the key actors in the MHPSS sector at  the national, authorities, Ministries and UN organisations level, etc., so as to ensure the inclusion of ACF as a renowned actor and influence of the domain
• Organise training workshops and projects focusing on the sector partners
• Identify and promote partnerships with the local partners (national NGOs in particular) 
• Participate in drawing up operational partnerships in accordance with the ACF partnership policy
• Propose to the head office technical articles for internal and external publication…

Mission 6: To manage the teams (if relevant)

The MHPSS department manager is responsible: 

• For the dimensioning and recruitment of his/her team
• For the operational and/or hierarchical management of his/her team 
• For evaluation of the technical performance of all of the MHPSS teams (Programme Manager, Deputy MHPSS Head of Department, Expert)
• For development of the mission’s MHPSS skills

Examples of tasks: 

• Participate in the recruitment of National Programme Managers or be involved in selection of the expatriates (definition of profiles, interviews and/or additional tests, with technical matching to the project context)
• Contribute to the writing of HR Expatriate requests in the technical sections (job description, technical recruitment criteria, writing of action plans)
• Write and follow up the MHPSS&P department action plan
• Contribute to the writing and monitoring of individual action plans for the MHPSS department
• Participate in evaluation interviews for the members of his/her hierarchical and operational team 
• Identify the technical training needs of the national and expatriate teams in collaboration with the HR department Head of Department 
• Identify the possible local and regional technical training resources in collaboration with the HR department
• Provide technical support to the teams (visits, training sessions, circulation of good practices…) 
• Request technical support from the head office for strengthening his/her capacities and/or those of his/her teams

Mission 7: To promote capitalization, development, technology and research in the MHPSS department

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible:

• For capitalization of the MHPSS sector at the level of the mission, its centralization and to have it channelled at the head office (technical developments, pilot projects, innovative or little-documented approaches, operational approaches which could act as a benchmark for the ACF network, successes/failures, contextual analyses, etc.)
• For supervision of the capitalization work of the Managers of the programme and of the MHPSS department 
• For sharing of experience with the actors of the MHPSS sector in the country and the region
• For continuity of the MHPSS knowledge and history of the mission
• For putting into effect new approaches proposed by the head office or on the mission
• For feedback on the technical and research development needs to the head office and implementation of the project proposals to this effect (notably by means of the response to calls for internal research projects at ACF)
• For implementation of the research projects  
• For exploration of scientific and technical partnership modalities (laboratories, universities, research centres, institutions, private sector…)
• For development of his/her technical skills in line with the sector’s evolution

Examples of tasks: 

• Reference the works constructed by ACF in the national database, shared with the reference authorities
• Encourage documentation of experiences by the MHPSS teams
• Validate the capitalization documents, finalize them, and send them to the head office
• Circulate the relevant documents in the MHPSS networks of the country and of the region
• Identify the technical research and development avenues and needs
• Coordinate the funded research projects
• Support and document the innovations carried out on the projects 
• Identify research partnerships if relevant (universities for example)
• Participate in seminars and symposia at the national and international level with a view to improving the mission’s practices
• Organise department meetings on the technical constraints of the projects and discuss them with the head office Referents and formulate recommendations
• Write and submit a  mission/handover report and a photo CD at the end of his/her mission 
• Ensure that each expatriate Programme Manager leaving the mission documents his/her experience with a technical handover or end of mission report (in addition to any sponsor reports)

Mission 8: Guarantee and ensure the confidentiality of data collected during the MHPSS&P activities of the mission

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible: 

• Ensure data confidentiality, ownership of project beneficiaries and ACF
• Guarantee the confidentiality of clinical interviews / individual or group counselling with the psychologists in charge 

Mission 9: Ensure protection mainstreaming for all sectors

The MHPSS Head of Department is responsible: 

• Ensure protection is mainstreamed through all programmes, proposals and strategies, with appropriate activities and indicators
• Give support to the mission for the design of gender assessment and ensure gender-sensitive data is collected (sex and age disaggregated)
• Ensure the dissemination of ACF gender and protection strategy and provide sensitization/training on gender & protection mainstreaming to ACF staff (MHPSS & other departments)

Ensure that child protection and GBV specific sub-sectors are systematically integrated to MHPSS interventions

Required Qualification, Skills and Experience

Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience on the organizations of mental health services in public heath settings and at community-based level
• Knowledge and experience in applying international guidelines for mental health care integration into primary health care (e.g. mhGAP, PM+, etc.)
• Strong training and supervisory skills, including clinical supervision  
• Substantial knowledge regarding programme management in the field
• Knowledge of standard logistics, financial and HR procedures and practices
• Strong computer and communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, prioritizing and communication skills
• High capacity of work, able to overcome stress and work under pressure, with high degree of flexibility
• Autonomous, organized and self-motivated

Diplomatic and tactful, professional and transparent

Education: Master’s degree or PHD in clinical psychology; or in psychology; or in psychiatry

Type of professional experience requested: 

• At least 4 years of professional experience and 2 years of humanitarian field experience with an (I)NGO
• At least 1 year in a managerial role or a supervisor role
• Experience working in different context and settings (urban areas, rural areas, in volatile security context, in development and emergency settings …)

Language + level:  fluent in English written and spoken (TBD according to the context)

Safeguarding Commitments

Action Contre La Faim has a zero tolerance to all forms of violations of Child and Adult Safeguarding and the Code of Conduct by staff. In the process of recruitment, selection and appointment ACF implements a range of procedures and actions to ensure children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded and abuse is prevented.

Gender Equality Commitments  

• Foster an environment that supports values of women and men, and equal access to information;
• Provide a work environment where women and men must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance;
• Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion. race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status;
• Value and respect all cultures.