Psychosocial Service Capacity – Heartland Alliance

Heartland Alliance International (HAI) is seeking an experienced and highly qualified consultant to assess the mental health and social service needs of survivors of gender based violence (GBV) in Northeast Nigeria, as well as the capacity of local institutions to provide them with necessary services. In addition to possessing extensive knowledge about the mental health and social service needs of survivors of gender based violence and other trauma, the ideal candidate will have profound knowledge of the cultural and sociopolitical context of Northeast Nigeria. (S)he will be able and willing to travel and work extensively for several weeks within Northeast Nigeria, including in insecure and/or conflict-affected areas.
The consultant will be deployed to Borno and/or Adamawa States to gather qualitative and quantitative information about existing mental health and social service infrastructure, the conditions and social service needs of GBV survivors in the area, and their interest and ability to access services. The consultant is expected to complete a polished and comprehensive report on her or his findings within four weeks of completing the assessment.
Organizational Background: Heartland Alliance International (HAI) is the newest and fastest growing part of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, a family of organizations that has been leading anti-poverty and social justice work in the United States for more than 125 years. HAI is comprised of a dozen country offices implementing programs on a broad range of global human rights issues. HAI is making significant investments in its programming in the fields of trauma-informed mental health care and access to justice for marginalized populations. HAI is also an industry leader in ensuring access to stigma-free health care. HAI’s programs deliver high quality prevention and treatment services, and take action in response to human rights violations. HAI does this while building the capacity of local providers.

About the Project: With support from the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, HAI is implementing Protect, Shelter, and Heal, a two year project to improve comprehensive services for survivors of trafficking in Northeast Nigeria. This innovative project builds on HAI’s extensive experience providing integrated services for survivors of trafficking, by developing technical training models that can be adopted and replicated to contexts in other countries. The project will expand existing coordination efforts among national and state governments, and create identification and referral networks to respond to the needs of survivors.
Reports to: Protect, Shelter & Heal Project Director
Location: Borno and Adamawa States, Northeast Nigeria
Start Date: Immediate
Duration: 4 weeks

Scope of Work:
• Become familiar with HAI’s existing programming in Nigeria and worldwide, particularly for survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence
• Meet and liaise with local, state and national government agencies, civil society organizations engaging in medical treatment, mental health, and social/legal service provision for GBV survivors and other survivors of violence in Borno and Adamawa States, and nationally
• Develop a comprehensive list of mental health and social/legal service providers and women’s rights advocates in the area and assess the relevance of services to the greatest extent possible
• Gather and consolidate information on any existing procedures, and referral mechanisms for GBV survivors and survivors of trafficking in Borno State
• Identify any mental health and social service gaps as well as any barriers to accessing existing services by GBV survivors and/or other vulnerable groups
• Gather reliable estimates as to the number and location of survivors of trafficking, GBV and other forms of violence in Borno and Adamawa States, and factors that facilitated or hampered their resilience.

Qualifications and Experience:
• Trained mental health, legal, or social services professional with a minimum of five years of demonstrated experience working on GBV management and women’s empowerment
• Experience working with local, state, and national government and civil society
• Familiarity with concepts around trafficking in persons
• Comfortable traveling and working in a low-resource and potentially insecure environment.
• Good knowledge of the political and geographical environment
• Expertise in research and evaluation
• Familiarity with mental health service provision
• Experience in gender based violence management
• Strong English language writing skills are required
• Fluency in Hausa and/or Kanuri strongly preferred
• Strong commitment to human rights and gender equity, with cross-cultural experience and cultural sensitivity required

HOW TO APPLY:
Please send a CV, cover letter, budget, and a resume of the methodology to:
Ng-Recruitment@heartlandalliance.org
Please indicate Psychosocial Service Capacity/Needs Assessment Consultant in the subject line.

Related Job Ads: