Uganda: Psychotherapist / Trainer

The Center for Victims of Torture is hiring a Psychotherapist/Trainer to build the capacity of national staff counselors and local refugee psychosocial counselors to provide mental health services to torture and war trauma survivors. This position will oversee and coordinate delivery of mental health interventions for adult and children survivors in refugee settlements, in the form of individual and group therapy. In addition, the position will liaise with other NGOs and local organizations.

CVT is launching operations in Bidi Bidi Settlement starting in September 2018. The program will serve South Sudanese refugees fleeing civil war and living in Bidi Bidi, mainly in Zone 5 of the settlement. The program has two primary goals: provide direct services to survivors and to build the capacity of providers in the community to deliver mental health services. These efforts will help individuals suffering from the effects of torture and trauma rebuild their lives with dignity and enable them to contribute to their families and communities. It will also allow mental health providers to better understand, identify, support and treat the survivors.

Location: Yumbe, Uganda

Duration: One year with possibility of renewal

Post status: Unaccompanied

Start date: November 1, 2018

Reports to: Field Coordinator (administrative supervisor) and Clinical Advisor for Mental Health (clinical supervision)

Supervises: Counseling supervisors, counselors, psychosocial counselors

Organization:

The Center for Victims of Torture works toward a future in which torture ceases to exist and its victims have hope for a new life. We are an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture. We offer rehabilitation services to those who have been tortured, train partners around the world who can prevent and treat torture, and advocate for human rights and an end to torture. We are headquartered in Minnesota, and we have US offices in Atlanta and DC, as well as offices in Africa and the Middle East.

Responsibilities:

• Psychotherapy Oversight: Oversee and coordinate mental health assessments and interventions. Serve as a mentor or co-therapist with counselors in individual and group settings to model assessment and treatment methods that are both culturally relevant and empirically supported.
• Clinical Supervision & Training: Provide frequent, systematic individual and group clinical supervision, including case discussions, live supervision, and self-care components, to counselors. Design and carry out training programs, including didactic training sessions, mentoring, modeling and systematic, close supervision for counselors. Continually assess the development of staff and adapt training and coaching accordingly. Provide advanced supervision and training in supervision skills to counseling supervisors. Receive clinical supervision from Clinical Advisor on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
• Staff Management: Build and maintain a strong and cohesive clinical team. Coordinate workflow, resources and priorities; and facilitate communication across the team. Hire, coach, mentor and develop staff members through ongoing feedback as well as formal performance management systems. Coordinate and facilitate clinical team meetings.
• Community Assessment: Mentor counselors to complete needs assessments, sensitizations, and psychoeducation in order to identify target populations, and to determine appropriate mental health interventions for people who have been tortured and/or traumatized by war.
• Program Development: Work as part of the country management team to achieve program objectives. Manage day-to-day operations of the clinical program to ensure activities run smoothly. Adjust or develop new program activities in accordance with client population needs. Participate in regular meetings with country management team (Country Director, Field Coordinator and other Psychotherapist/Trainers) to share updates and problem-solve challenges.
• Collaboration: Coordinate services with other organizations and provide training to these organizations to better address the needs of identified client populations in the settlements.
• Reporting: Contribute to the writing, review and submission of regular reports regarding clinical and training activities.
• Program Evaluation: Participate in the design and implementation of program evaluation in collaboration with country management team (Country Director, Field Coordinator and Psychotherapist/Trainers) and in consultation with headquarters staff.

Qualifications:

Required education, experience, certificates, licenses or registrations

• Graduate degree in psychology, counseling, clinical social work or related field.
• 4 years of experience providing individual and group psychotherapy to trauma survivors.
• 3 years of experience supervising mental health professionals and paraprofessionals.

Preferred education, experience, certificates, licenses or registrations

• Certification or licensure as a psychologist or psychotherapist
• 6 years of experience providing individual and group psychotherapy
• Extensive experience providing psychotherapy to children, adolescents, families and SGBV survivors.
• 5 years of experience supervising mental health professionals and paraprofessionals.
• Experience working in the field of torture treatment
• Experience working in humanitarian settings, including camps or settlements for refugees.
• Experience working with interpreters.

Competencies (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)

• Understanding of and extensive experience implementing culturally appropriate mental health interventions, including individual, group and community-based approaches for people who have suffered torture and trauma in various contexts.
• Understanding of and experience developing curricula and providing tailored training for mental health counselors on counseling approaches, sensitization on the effects of trauma and war, and designing culturally and contextually appropriate therapeutic interventions.
• Experience training varying levels of mental health workers, including psychologists with graduate degrees and supervision responsibilities and paraprofessionals with no or limited prior exposure to mental health work; and demonstrated ability to provide them with on-the-job coaching, supervision, and support to ensure continuous capacity building and no harm to the clients.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity in professional environments, ideally in mental health care.
• Experience working in East Africa preferred.
• Skilled at carrying out program needs assessments, program development and program evaluation.
• Strong organizational skills and experience initiating systems for the efficient workflow of a team.
• Skilled at working as a member of a team, as well as managing a team and supporting positive dynamics.
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in environments with limited resources and infrastructure and in an isolated environment lacking in amenities.
• Demonstrated flexibility to adapt to changing program requirements, client needs and political climate.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word and Excel)
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills
• Fluency in English required. Fluency in languages spoken in South Sudan or northern Uganda desirable but not required.
• Ability to travel by roads for up to 2 hours per day on rough roads, and occasionally up to 8 hours by care on paved roads.
• Interest in or commitment to international human rights.

Submit resume, cover letter and salary expectations by September 19, 2018 to http://cvt.simplicant.com/