Programme Officer (MHPSS & Peace Building)

Details

Mission and objectives

Established in 1951, The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a dynamic and growing inter-governmental organization, with 166 member states, and committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits all. IOM works to ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need including refugees and internally displaced people. IOM in The Gambia has had small operational presence in the country since 2001 when The Gambia became a member state to IOM. From 2001 to July 2017, the IOM Country Office only had between 1 – 3 staff, primarily tasked to implement Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) projects to return and reintegrate relatively small numbers of Gambian migrants from European countries. However, with the change in government in January 2017, emerging from Yahya Jammeh’s 22 years of dictatorial regime to “The New Gambia,” led by the coalition government of President Adama Barrow, the country is seeing an influx of donor interest and funding to support its peaceful, consolidated transition to democracy and development. IOM in The Gambia is also accordingly expanding its operation with a new project, “EUTF-IOM Joint Initiative on Migrant Protection and Reintegration: The Gambia,” funded by the European Union’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and signed in June 2017 to be implemented over a 3-year period. The expectations are high among the public for the Government to succeed in dealing with the challenge of irregular migration, marked by mass out-migration of youth over the recent past.

Context

The UN Volunteer will join IOM Gambia’s dynamic growing team. Specifically, the UN Volunteer will support the Office’s Migration Health Unit (MHU) programming, one of the Office’s most important and critical programme areas, the main objectives of which comprise ensuring the safe and dignified return of stranded Gambian migrants enroute to Europe, through the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR), mainly, from Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and North Africa, and supporting the efforts of the Government of The Gambia to ensure the sustainable and holistic reintegration of returnees in The Gambia. Furthermore, the UN Volunteer will support community-led initiatives in migrants’ communities of return through community engagements in the form of community-based MHPSS, aimed at building resilience and recovery, whilst also promoting grounds for reconciliation and social cohesion between returning migrants, families, and communities. The assignment involves undertaking duty travel as required to provide technical guidance to partners and beneficiaries at the Basse Sub-office and other regions in The Gambia

Task description

Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Mission (CoM) and direct supervision of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer, and in collaboration with relevant units the successful candidate will be responsible for programme support in the area of MHPSS and Peacebuilding in Banjul and Basse sub-office, The Gambia, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support community dialogues to resolve or prevent potential conflict and promote healing and reconciliation. • Support community dialogues to resolve or prevent potential conflict and promote healing and reconciliation. • Engage community leaders including young people in socially inclusive community-led initiatives for an integrated approach to psychosocial support and social cohesion • Lead to identify potential conflict drivers in communities and mapping of sustainable community based MHPSS and peacebuilding intitiaitives for sustainable peace and development. • Attend IOM internal discussions on MHPSS and Peacebuilding for evidence-based and conflict-sensitive planning and programming. • Support to mainstream peacebuilding approaches in IOM’s programming through con-sultations with different programmes, and relevant partner agencies. • Lead in designing guidelines that will support an integrated support to MHPSS and Peacebuilding. • Create a repository for all toolkits on MHPSS and Peacebuilding and continue to rec-ommend best ways to make use of the tools for programme development. • Support in building partnerships and liaison with key government and non-governmental partners on MHPSS on peacebuilding approaches and support reviews and adoption of best practices. • Design and deliver training to partners on community-based MHPSS and peace initia-tives using the IOM manual for community-based MHPSS. • Supervise community based MHPSS and peacebuilding initiatives and provide monthly/quarterly progress reports and recommendations guidelines. Support to highlight the impact of migration and displacement on mental health and psycho-social well-being and social cohesion for project development • Undertake duty travel as required to provide technical guidance to partners and beneficiaries. • Perform other duties as required.