Stress Counsellor

Background

1. Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace, and security. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. WHO stated that there is a high risk of COVID-19 spreading to other countries around the world. In March 2020, WHO characterized the outbreak as a pandemic. WHO and public health authorities around the world are acting to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. However, this time of crisis is generating stress throughout the population.

2. Objective of the Assignment

UN Women Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia (ECA) located in Istanbul, would like to hire Stress Counselor(s) to provide individual counseling to colleagues as well as training webinars on Stress Management to all personnel to promote mental health, well-being, healthy workforce and enabling environment especially during the current situation of COVID-19 for personnel throughout the ECA Region.

Duties and Responsibilities

3. Description of Responsibilities:

Under the direct guidance of the HR Business Partner, the Stress Counselor will carry on the below functions:

Provide individual, group and critical incident counselling sessions to all personnel when needed.
Plan and facilitate preventative stress management training on a variety of stress related issues to all personnel.
Promote welfare activities for personnel in collaboration with the HR staff in the office.
Identify, address and follow up on critical incident stress cases among the office.
Conduct stress management webinars to all personnel, advising on coping mechanism and ways to promote productivity during quarantine time.
Carry out stress management surveys, analyze the results and make recommendations.
Advise management on stress mitigating strategies and activities.

4. Deliverables

Deliverables Timelines
Individual, group counselling sessions to all personnel when needed. Across the contract period

Group discussion/s provided to all UN Women personnel on stress management based onthe stress assessment survey to hear personnel reflections and support in identifying coping strategies.
Across the contract period
Presentation on enhancing work-life balance and reducing work related stressors. Across the contract period

Competencies

5. Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity;
Integrity;
Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
Accountability;
Creative Problem Solving;
Effective Communication;
Inclusive Collaboration;
Stakeholder Engagement;
Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies:

Well-developed communication, leadership, and team building skills.
Additional training or 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.
Previous experience working with United Nations System in the same field is distinct advantage.
Well-developed communication, leadership, and team building skills.

Required Skills and Experience

6. Qualifications

Education:

Advanced University Degree in clinical psychology or Psychiatry.
Additional training/certification 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.

Experience:

Minimum five years of professional experience in psychological counseling, training skills, with special emphasis on managing critical incident stress.
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.
Experience in working directly in a relevant medical related area with UN staff, particularly UN Women or a similar organisation is considered an asset
Experience in the ECA region and knowledge an asset.
Experience in working with international organisation and providing support on COVID related issues is an advantage.
Experience in United Nations System is desirable.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required, fluency in Russian is required.