Humanitarian situation and needs:

Afghan mission is the oldest PUI mission, with first medical intervention launched in 1979 just after the Soviet Invasion.

Since then, the country has mostly been in conflict, with national armed groups and international forces, causing mass casualties and massive movements of population, within or out of the countries. In 2017, 438 000 people have been internally displaced (bringing the total number of displaced people to 1.7 million) and there has been an influx of more than 550 000 afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan. This high number of returns is putting pressure on host communities that are already strained by the conflict.

The achievements realized by the international community following the post-2001 intervention are now jeopardized by the intensification of conflict and violence and fragile governance. Indeed, due to the increase of the attacks, casualties, displacements and consequently, of the acute needs, the United Nations reclassified Afghanistan conflict from a protracted one to an active one. Many armed groups (mainly Taliban, Islamic State…) are threatening the Government of Afghanistan, struggling to impose its vision of development, despite continuous extended military, financial and political support, nationally and internationally.

Insecurity, economic concerns, governance issues and increased pressure on the delivery of services are pushing many Afghans to risk their lives fleeing to Europe, as they see no future in Afghanistan. Afghan refugees represent the third largest refugee group worldwide and the second largest contingent of asylum seekers to the EU.

In this scenario, with elevated pressure on aid actors, the capacity to deliver aid to the most in need in remote areas is jeopardized. Access on field remains one of the biggest challenges in Afghanistan, especially in some provinces, including Nangarhar and Kunar. The humanitarian crisis is looming as actors are overstretched and resources oriented to other crises. A high capacity to deliver aid is then required in such a complex environment where humanitarian needs are huge.

Our actions in the field:

PUI strategy is to address the fundamental needs of the Afghan population in respect with all humanitarian principles. Indeed, neutrality and impartiality are key principles to respect in order to enable humanitarian access to the affected populations. PUI has a strong health expertise in the country that can be used as an entry point to implement an integrated approach to support the population to regain their most basic needs and also to their self-sufficiency. Indeed, such problems as malnutrition and undernutrition request a multi sectoral and comprehensive response in order to decrease the prevalence of the phenomenon. Since the beginning of 2013, PUI in Afghanistan started interventions on emergency preparedness and medical interventions for conflict-affected populations. With constant increasing of civilian casualties from January 2014 to December 2017 (around 10,000 documented during the year 2017), it is indeed crucial to have health staff prepared and equipped for mass casualties, and also to implement responses to population displacements.

Due to the violent recent history of the country and the constantly increasing number of security incidents in the country, PUI is developing an advocacy plan for development of PFA in the country, in order to support the development of such activity countrywide.

Find out more about our response to the crisis. 

As part of our actions in Afghanistan, we are looking for a Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support Advisor.

The Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support Advisor will be working under the responsibility of the Health Coordinator in Jalalabad and will be in direct contact with the HQ Protection technical advisor and MHPSS techical advisor. He/She will be in charge of the development, implementation, monitoring and standardization of PUI MHPSS and protection activities in Afghanistan. Depending on the security situation he/she will be mainly based in the liaison office in Jalalabad (Nangarhar province, 2/3 time) with frequent trips to Kabul coordination office for coordination purposes and liaising with stakeholders at national level (1/3 time).

Tasks and Responsibilities: 

Programs: He/She will ensure implementation, oversight and monitoring of the activities related to psycho-social counseling of the program in the frame of PUI emergency response in Eastern Region; He/She will develop PUI internal capacity on MHPSS & protection related topics (Afghan  Mission and at organization level) by development of internal curriculums and human resources capacity building. He/She will be in charge of developing PUI protection and MHPSS department, enlarging the scope of activities implemented. He/she will develop and/or reinforce the quality assurance process for MHPSS activities following national and international standards.

Representation: He/She will liaise with stakeholders in Afghanistan working on mental health and psycho-social support and protection.

Strategy / Advocacy: He/She will ensure representation and lead advocacy process by national partners in Afghanistan (MoPH, International and National NGOs, local authorities) for development of protection and MHPSS response. As well as support the Health Coordinator in the design and inclusion of MHPSS activities in PUI programs and strategy.

Do not hesitate to look at the job description below for all the details you need.

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Languages: English is required, Dari or French are assets.

Knowledge and skills:

Good writing skills in English

Excellent training skills

Excellent planning skills

Required Personal Characteristics: 

Humanitarian experience.

Work experience in a confined and/or insecure location, previous working experience in Aghanistan or ongoing conflicts

Ability to work independently and with a sense of initiative and responsibility

High stress tolerance

Diplomatic and open-minded

Good analytic ability

Ability to organize and manage priorities

Ability to respect security rules

Ability to take into consideration the local environment and its political, economic and historical aspects

Monthly Gross Income: from 1 980 up to 2 310 Euros depending on the experience in International Solidarity + 50 Euros per semester seniority with PUI

Cost Covered: Round-trip transportation to and from home / mission, visas, vaccines…

Insurance including medical coverage and complementary healthcare, 24/24 assistance and repatriation

Housing in collective accommodation

Daily Living Expenses (« Per diem »)

Break Policy: Break every 2 months + break allowance

Paid Leaves Policy : 5 weeks of paid leaves per year + return ticket every 6 months