The Ugandan Jobline

Job Title:          Mental
Health Facilitators      

Organization:  StrongMinds Uganda

Duty Station:   Kampala; Lamwo, Iganga,  Mukono, Karamoja and Mbale ,Uganda

Reporting to:    Mental Health Supervisor, District Project
Officers or Management Advisor 

About US:

StrongMinds is a dynamic and
fast growing 501(c)(3) social enterprise that focuses on one of the most
pervasive mental illnesses in the world. 
We treat depression among women of all ages in Africa, where access to
mental health treatment is extremely limited, and we are guided by a goal to
treat two million depressed African women. 

Job Summary: The
Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) is a dynamic individual, who runs group therapy
sessions for various community groups including but not limited to low income
settlements, rural communities, refugees and host communities and/or pastoral
communities  affected by depression. They
mobilize, screen, recruit into groups and provide treatment to refugees and
other community members using the Interpersonal Group Therapy Technique. They
are expected to be vibrant, energized individuals full of empathy and
compassion for refugees, being able to engage them in small groups to discuss
issues that are affecting them and come up with solutions. They will also work
with community leaders, to create favorable environments for refugees affected
by depression to not only recover but thrive.

With other MHFs, the MHF
works collaboratively with the Monitoring and Evaluation Departments, Program
Department Leadership sharing their experiences and learning so as to better
the StrongMinds Model. The MHF should be accessible to and approachable by
refugees and host communities. He/she should be able to work independently in
the catchment area allocated building the necessary networks and partnerships
to ensure successful cycles of group therapy sessions. They should strive to
exhibit StrongMinds’ values, and understand their role in safeguarding
vulnerable communities.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

 The job description categorizes the key task
into four divisions, all of which are important and the job holder should be
able to ensure all tasks are planned for and implemented according to the
organization’s annual and cycle calendars.

Serving refugees and host communities with depression

·       Identify, diagnose, recruit into IPT-G adults
suffering from depression.  These may be
refugees and host community members if posted to Hoima or pastoralists if
posted to Kotido.

·       Educate district personnel, community leaders and both
formal and informal community structures on depression, its effects, the costs
on inaction and benefits of treatment so that they can encourage and support
people with depression to complete the course of treatment.

·       Constantly seek to identify, understand, document and
report the participants’ barriers to help-seeking and participation in group
therapy sessions. Communicate these with supervisors and work together with
both the refugees and your team to find and test innovative solutions to
address this.

·       Specifically pay attention to, monitor, document and report
any increased risk of stigma towards refugees and their families due to their
participation in the programme.

·       Follow the prescribed IPT-G sessions guidelines make
sure that you create a safe environment for refugees to discuss depression,
their interpersonal relations, how the depression is currently affecting their
lives.

·       Follow–up and track participant attendance and
participation and document progress to assess IPT-G efficacy.

·       Work with the SMU team, refugees, community leaders,
and key stakeholders  to explore whether
this group-based depression treatment and prevention programme works for
refugees and whether it can be integrated into the Uganda refugees’ settlement
camps system successfully and cost-efficiently.

·       Identify refugees who can volunteer to lead IPT groups
in their communities to be trained in an adapted peer led therapy curriculum.

Networking and partnerships

·       Map and actively engage relevant stakeholders to
ensure their buy-in and ownership of the mental health program.

·       Interface with the management and administration of
the districts, or refugees to monitor overall impact of the group sessions on
the refugees and the host communities.

·       Raise awareness and understanding of depression and
mental health more broadly  Among
community members and the unique community groups.

·       Identify barriers to success and report them to SMU
Management supporting to find innovative solutions to these barriers.

Data collection and reporting

·       Maintain accurate records including the collection of
qualitative data (using both electronic  
and paper based tools) and ensure timely reporting based on the SMU
calendar.

·       Contribute to the understanding of the overall
monitoring and evaluation questions as shall be set by the SMU management and
M&E team/department.

Management and self care

·       Attend and participate in weekly debriefing meetings
with your team and supervisors

·       Participate in face to face meeting with your
supervisor

·       Attend and participate in all trainings organized by
SMU.

·       Set aside time for selfcare so as to avoid burnout.

·       Identify and report any instances in which you notice
feelings of conflict between yourself and the client or clients (transference,
counter transference, set boundaries are violated, secondary trauma and
compassion fatigue).

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       The ideal applicant must hold  a bachelor’s degree in Guidance &
Counseling, Community Psychology, Social Work, Social Administration,
Development Studies; Nursing or any relevant health or social work
qualification.

·       Diploma holders with the above qualifications with
more than one year experience in IPT-G will be considered

·       A good understanding of depression and how to treat it
using talk and group therapy.

·       Be highly attune to counselling, self-help and
participatory methodologies that will interest refugees and host communities
and facilitate them to open up and discuss sensitive topics related to
depression.

·       Proven experience of working with refugees and host
communities

·       Proven experience in community outreach and mobilization
specifically for vulnerable groups like women and children.

·       An understanding of group dynamic and how to manage
these in group therapy settings.

·       Able to provide constructive feedback to the
supervisor with the aim of enriching the experience of the refugees and host
communities/benefiting from the program.

·       Able to apply techniques that will find and retain
refugees and host communities so as to maintain high attendance and adherence
rates.

·       Minimum of 2 year experience working with vulnerable
communities

·       Ability to work with minimal supervision

·       Ability to develop, inform and sustain professional
relationships, partnerships and networks.

·       Good command of the English Language and
Ngakarimojong. The two languages will be tested during interviews.

·       Ability and willingness to undertake physical
movements between and within communities mostly by public means

·       Attention to detail

·       Self-driven and able to work under minimum supervision

·       Brave Adventurous, Inquisitive and willing to learn

·       Trust worthy and honest

·       Problem solver

·       Leader with the boundaries of organizational rules,
standards and guidelines

·       Open minded and flexible.

Targets

·       Number of IPT-G groups complete 12 sessions

·       Percentage of clients reporting reduction in symptoms
of people completing group sessions

·       Number of clients complete IPT-G sessions

·       Attend weekly debriefing meetings

·       Attended organized trainings

·       Up-to-date data collect, compiled and submitted to SMU
M&E department by mid and end of cycle

SMU core values (in practice)

·       We are people-focused. Our clients are the top priority and we ensure they receive the
best possible care and support. Our employees matter and we enable our team to
thrive. We respect all our stakeholders and treat them as equals.

·       We think big and act fast. We are passionate about
achieving our bold mission. We move with urgency and focus on achieving scale.
We continually find new ways to work and to solve problems.   

·       We are data-driven. Data is at our core. It guides us
and drives our decision-making.

·       We do what we say and say what we do. We are open and direct in our
communications. We are honest in our interactions. No funny business.

·       We believe in collaboration, not competition. We do
not compete with other mental health implementers. We welcome their
contributions to achieving our mission and partner with them whenever possible.

How to Apply:

Please send your application
letter and CV only (attached as one document) indicating 3 referees, two of
whom should have been direct supervisors to christine.musisi@strongminds.org

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