Psychiatrist (Consultant)

1 Context

Palestine faces a critical need for mental health care and psychosocial support (MHPSS), with estimates suggesting that one-third of the population requires such services. This imperative is compounded by the existing cultural stigma towards mental health and the emotional impact caused by political, economic, and social conditions, including occupation, coercive environment, and traumatic events. Although the predominant approach is community mental health and services are mainly provided by the Ministry of Health through Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) in the West Bank and a psychiatric hospital in Bethlehem, these services are insufficient in quality and quantity. Particularly in Jericho Governorate, the incidence rate of mental health conditions is four times higher than the West Bank average, and the infrastructure is remarkably deficient, with a unit consisting of only a full-time psychologist and social worker, and a part-time psychiatrist. In addition, culture and religious beliefs place the responsibility for care on families, who in turn face stigmatization.

Considering this scenario, MdM's strategy is in line with WHO recommendations related to the integration of mental health into primary care. To this end, MdM intends to strengthen the public health system's capacities by implementing the mhGAP program.

2- Objective of the consultancy

To contribute to the improvement of emotional well-being and resilience to the emotional distress of the most vulnerable population, especially women, minors, and people with disabilities, the psychiatry professional hired will support mainly the implementation of 2 projects of MdM Spain entitled "Contribute to guarantee a healthy life and promote well-being for all people at all ages to promote and protect the Right to Health" funded by the government of the Balearic Islands, and “Reinforce the protection of the most affected and isolated communities” funded by the Humanitarian Found, through the activities detailed below.

The duration of the consulting contract will be 11 months.

3- Activities Proposed

The psychiatric professional hired will be responsible for performing the following:

- Conduct a mhGAP-IG training for the technical team of MdM Spain.

- Ensure the quality of MHPSS services and the correct application of the mhGAP tool by establishing a process of continuous supervision of the MdM MHPSS team (1 clinical psychologist and 1 general physician working on implementing the mhGAP community tool kit). Supervision sessions will be held every week during the first 3 months after training and will be spaced out until they become monthly at the end of the project.

4- Expected products

- Monthly activity and supervision reports.

- Final activity report.

5- Place of implementation of the proposed activities

The implementation of all the proposed activities will be in the governorate of Jericho, due to context-related situations, work could be organized from the MDM Office in Bir-Zeit.

جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.

6- Consultant Profile

Given the scope and nature of the activities to be executed, the profile of the consultant would require a diverse set of qualifications, both technical and interpersonal. Below is a detailed profile:

- MD in Psychiatry

- Minimum of 5 years of experience in clinical psychiatry, with at least 3 years in humanitarian settings or conflict zones.

- Certification in the mh-GAP program.

- Strong familiarity with the cultural, social, and political context of the governorate of Jericho.

- Strong communication and interpersonal skills and capability to work in multidisciplinary teams.

- Experience in the development and delivery of training curricula for health and community workers.

- Established relationships with key stakeholders in the field of mental health in the Palestinian territories.

People interested in the position must send their CV with a Cover letter in English to [email protected]

Deadline: We are accepting applications on a rolling basis and will hire the first candidate that meets our requirements.

Please reference the job title as Psychiatry -Consultant Post- in the subject line of your email.

The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified.

MdM Spain will contact only pre-selected candidates by email. Applications unanswered within 15 days after the deadline must be considered dismissed.

“Medicos del Mundo stands for equal opportunities for everyone. We establish positive action measures for those who, due to functional or social diversity and/or cultural exclusion, belong to groups that are underrepresented in the positions we offer. Therefore, no candidate with a valid profile will be rejected for functional diversity or for being culturally or socially excluded due to birth, ethnicity, sex, gender, or any other personal, social, or cultural condition”.

Médicos del Mundo promotes internal careers.

We thank all candidates for their interest in MDM.