Staff Counsellor (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support)

About the role

The Staff Counsellor is based in the Health Services Section of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Juba. The incumbent reports to the Chief Staff Counsellor and supports the management, coordination and delivery of mission-wide mental health, psychosocial support and staff wellbeing programmes, including supervision of assigned personnel and coordination of critical incident response.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct individual psychosocial and mental health assessments for personnel experiencing psychological distress, adjustment difficulties, operational stressors or mental health conditions.
• Provide confidential counselling, psychological support, consultation and referral to civilian, military and police personnel, in line with professional standards and ethical guidelines.
• Liaise with the Chief Staff Counsellor and stakeholders on cases needing multidisciplinary intervention, workplace accommodations, conflict resolution support or specialized mental health services.
• Design and implement evidence-based psychosocial support interventions and resilience-building initiatives.
• Deliver critical incident stress management, including psychological first aid, crisis interventions, individual and group support and post-incident follow-up.
• Develop and run workshops, awareness campaigns, briefings, e-bulletins and training on stress management, resilience, burnout prevention, suicide prevention, substance use, trauma and related issues.
• Take part in psychosocial needs assessments, surveys and focus groups, and analyze trends to support the development and evaluation of staff wellbeing programmes.
• Prepare reports, briefing materials and educational resources, and collaborate with Health Services, Human Resources, Security and other mission entities.

Required profile

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in clinical psychology, psychiatry or clinical social work, with a clinical licence to provide psychological counselling or psychotherapy; a first-level degree plus two years of qualifying experience may be accepted.
• Additional training or certification in areas such as trauma and stress management, psychological first aid, critical incident stress management, substance abuse counselling, cross-cultural communication, conflict management, resilience programming or organizational wellbeing.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in psychiatry, clinical psychology, mental health, psychotherapy, clinical social work, employee wellbeing or organizational mental health; experience in hardship, conflict, humanitarian, peacekeeping or multicultural settings is desirable.
• English at UN Level II reading, writing, listening and speaking; French is the other working language of the Secretariat.