Background

UNDP is a field based organization. In certain locations UNDP personnel and eligible dependants might be exposed to a high level of day to day stress, including stressors related to their workload as well as the demands related to living and working in multi-cultural, unstable and/or insecure environments with poor infrastructure. Especially, UNDP personnel  in non-family duty stations may be exposed to traumatic experience, such as witnessing violence against the population, the aid or international community or even become a target themselves for any kind of malicious acts.

The incumbent of the post will be serving as a focal point on staff counselling matters within UNDP providing day to day support to Head of the offices and personnel on work place issues reported or revealed through General Staff Surveys. Under the general guidance of HR Specialist on staff wellbeing the Staff Counsellor will contribute to the general wellbeing of personnel of UNDP through professional psycho-social counselling and preventive actions. The Staff Counsellor will be part of the inter-agency network of Staff Counsellors and contribute to the UN system wide strategy on Critical Incidence Stress Management. The staff counsellor will be based in New York, USA and travel, as needed.

III. Objectives

It is expected that incumbent will increase awareness of UNDP’s personnel about issues related to self-care and resilience, time and stress management; provide advisory support to staff members reassigned to non-family duty stations;

Will provide increased access to professional psychological support, especially in the aftermath of a crisis. UNDP becomes a full-fledged partner in the UN-system network of staff counsellors and participates in various activities to benefit from synergies, such as after emergency counselling.

Duties and Responsibilities

The UNDP staff counsellor will ensure:

Preventive and protective psycho-social support:

• Provide training and share knowledge about time- and stress-management, focussing on the duty stations/units that haven’t scored high in the Global Staff Survey on issues related to the work environment and well-being.
• Provide training and increase awareness on self-care and resilience to prepare staff members to live and work in hardship situations before they rotate to non-family duty stations;
• Arrange training for managers and personnel in time and stress management areas enabling skills to increase their interpersonal and organizational effectiveness;
• Foster the well-being of UNDP’s personnel by providing professional and confidential counselling services to personnel and their eligible dependants.

Professional and coordinated response to traumatic incidents:

• Make sure that personnel and their  eligible dependants receive immediate post trauma psychological services in response to traumatic incidents, normally within 48 hours after the incident or events;
• Coordinate with UNDSS and UN System agency counsellors to ensure the provision of adequate psychosocial support during and after emergencies; and
• Provide professional and confidential counselling to personnel and their direct eligible family members during and after emergencies as a contribution in the coordinated efforts of the UN Counsellors’ Network.

Strengthening  Partnerships

• Participate in the UN System networks of staff and stress counsellors and staff wellbeing units; and
• Develop and maintain a roster of external professional counsellors, especially in duty stations in considerable hardship, to maintain the long term psycho-social support and respond to different requirements regarding language and cultural background.

Reporting

• The staff counsellor will report to the HR Specialist on Well Being on a regular basis;
• Will implement planning of activities and submit bi-annual reports about the activities (without breaching the confidentiality of individual cases).
  
  
  
  

Competencies

IV. Skills and Competencies

• Discretion and high regard for confidentiality;
• An empathic non-judgmental approach;
• Awareness pertaining to common counselling caveats (e.g. burnout);
• Awareness of the need for self-care and personal counselling;
• Prudence in adhering to professional boundaries;
• Analytical skills;
• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays respect  and sensitivity to diversity;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback; and
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced University degree in counselling and/or psychology.  Additional training or certification in the area of staff support in traumatic/critical incidents as well as range of related fields, such as employee counselling, stress management

Experience:

•  Minimum of seven years of professional experience in staff support, especially experience in post trauma care; cross cultural communications, counselling, coaching and related areas, preferably gained within the UN system or international organization

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English.  Knowledge of additional UN language highly desirable (French or Arabic)