Moldova: Senior advisor in community mental health

Organization: Trimbos Institute
Country: Moldova
Closing date: 13 Oct 2014

Vacancy for senior advisor in Community Mental Health (part-time, 50% working time equivalent)

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has contracted the Consortium led by the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Institute) to implement the project “Support to the Reform of Mental Health Services in Moldova" (2014-2018). The overall goal of the project is to support the mental health system reform in Moldova with revised legal and regulatory framework and financial mechanisms, built on the model of community-based mental health services that will be developed, tested and implemented in 4 districts. The envisaged impact is the improvement of wellbeing of mental health service users through equitable access to effective mental health services at community level, closer to their homes. The project pursues three primary objectives: provide access to community-based mental health services (primary care, community-based care, acute inpatient mental health services in district hospitals), improve intersectoral cooperation in the implementation of the new model of community-based care, and create an enabling environment for mental health service users to exercise their rights through advocacy and awareness raising activities. The personnel structure of the PIU will include: 1 local project manager; 3 senior advisors, 1 communications and anti-stigma advisor, 1 chief accountant, 1 administrative assistant, 1 translator/interpreter and 1 driver/logistics assistant.

Job description:

Under the supervision of the project leader and the consortium team, the incumbent will be expected to carry out the following tasks and responsibilities at the national level:

• Coordinate the process of revising the mental health legislation and regulatory framework, including clinical guidelines to enable services to function and ensure access to community-based mental health care;
• Provide support, as required, to PIU staff and project team for revision of financial mechanisms to ensure sustainable functioning of the community-care model of mental health services;
• Coordinate the process of revision and/or development of pre-service and in-service curricula for specialist medical (doctors and nurses) and non-medical professionals (clinical psychologists and social workers) working in mental health in line with the new model of mental health care proposed by the project;
• Coordinate the capacity building process for health professionals to provide evidence-based mental health care in 4 project districts, and nationwide, through training and other related activities;
• · Serve as a focal point for the setting up of community-based specialised mental health services in 4 districts, covering secondary (community mental health centres and (regional general hospitals) and tertiary care (psychiatric hospitals);
• Provide support to the development and testing of the quality management system for mental health services in 4 project districts;
• Coordinate intersectoral partnerships for community-based mental health services in 4 project districts;
• Serve as a focal point for enabling local and national stakeholders to play a facilitation role in implementing a new model of mental health care in Moldova;
• Provide technical input for the communication and anti-stigma strategy;
• Ensure linkages between development of specialised mental health services with the integration of mental health in primary care, in coordination with the international focal point on primary care and the senior advisor on primary health care in the PIU;
• Carry out other tasks, as required by Project Leader and Local Project manager

Requirements

Education: Advanced degree in a relevant field (psychiatry, clinical psychology). A PhD degree will be considered as an asset.

Professional Experience

The incumbent should possess:

• At least six years of professional working experience in mental health services;
• Demonstrated track record in developing community-based mental health initiatives and services;
• Sound knowledge of evidence based treatment and models of care in mental health;
• Previous experience with developing national protocols for mental health conditions;
• Previous experience with training and building multidisciplinary teams;
• A strong network of stakeholders in mental health in Moldova;
• Experience in writing and editing technical documents and proposals;
• Familiarity and experience with results-based management;
• The ability to support the project manager in writing relevant project documents

Skills and competencies:

The incumbent should be able to:

• Work effectively with experts and key stakeholders
• Ability to work in multidisciplinary and international teams
• Excellent track record in writing technical reports

Language skills

Romanian, English and Russian

How to apply:

Interested candidates should submit their applications in English (Letter of intention, CV, relevant recommendation letters and references) with the subject line “Senior advisor in Community Mental Health” by Monday, October 13th 2014 to the following e-mail address: ipetrea@trimbos.nl.