Position: Adolescent Mental Health Facilitators (6) positions & Adult Mental Health Facilitators (7 positions)
Reporting to: Mental Health Supervisor

Locations:
Adolescent Mental Health Facilitators (Wakiso (3 positions) and Mayuge (3 positions for Luganda and Lusoga speakers)
Adult Mental Health Facilitators (Mayuge (3 positions for Luganda and Lusoga speakers), Mbarara (2 positions), 2 tele-therapy (Acholi/Langi speakers)
Direct reports: None

About StrongMinds
About StrongMinds StrongMinds ( www.strongminds.org ) treats depression among women of all ages in Africa, where access to mental health treatment is extremely limited. To date, StrongMinds has treated more than 70,000 women with depression in Uganda and Zambia. We are the only organization scaling a solution to depression in Africa with a potential to serve millions in the next ten years.
StrongMinds Uganda is looking for dynamic, suitably qualified and experienced nationals to fill the vacant positions of Adolescent Mental Health Facilitators (6 positions) & Adult Mental Health Facilitators (7 positions)

About the Role
The Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) is a dynamic individual, who runs group therapy sessions (either via tele-therapy or in-person) for various community groups including but not limited to urban low-income settlements, rural communities, school going adolescents, refugees and host communities and/or pastoral communities affected by depression. They mobilize, screen, recruit into groups and provide treatment using the Interpersonal Group Therapy Technique. In some communities, the MHF is responsible for training and coaching members of the Village Health Teams to provide the same therapy services while maintaining a high standard of quality. MHFs are expected to be vibrant, energized individuals full of empathy and compassion for the communities we serve, being able to engage them in small groups to discuss issues that are affecting them and come up with solutions. They will also work with community leaders, to create favorable environments for people (particularly women and girls) affected by depression to not only recover but thrive.

With other MHFs, the MHF works collaboratively with the Monitoring and Evaluation Departments; Data Engineer, Program Department Leadership sharing their experiences and learning so as to better the StrongMinds Model. The MHF should be accessible to and approachable by refugees and host communities. He/she should be able to work independently in the catchment area allocated building the necessary networks and partnerships to ensure successful cycles of group therapy sessions. They should strive to exhibit StrongMinds’ values, and understand their role in safeguarding vulnerable communities.

Key Areas of Accountability
Serving communities with depression
• Identify, diagnose, recruit adults or adolescents suffering from depression into IPT-Groups The MHFs also train members of the village health teams to deliver IPTG to members of their community.
• Educate district personnel, community leaders and both formal and informal community structures on depression, its effects, the costs on inaction and benefits of treatment so that they can encourage and support people with depression to complete the course of treatment.

• Constantly seek to identify, understand, document and report the participants’ barriers to help-seeking and participation in group therapy sessions. Communicate these with supervisors and work together with both the refugees and your team to find and test innovative solutions to address this.
• Specifically pay attention to, monitor, document and report any increased risk of stigma towards refugees and their families due to their participation in the programme.
• Follow the prescribed IPT-G sessions guidelines make sure that you create a safe environment for refugees to discuss depression, their interpersonal relations, how the depression is currently affecting their lives.
• Follow–up and track participant attendance and participation and document progress to assess IPT-G efficacy.
• Work with the SMU team, refugees, community leaders, and key stakeholders to explore whether this group-based depression treatment and prevention programme works for Different vulnerable groups who face barriers in accessing services.
• Identify refugees who can volunteer to lead IPT groups in their communities to be trained in an adapted peer led therapy curriculum.
Networking and partnerships
• Map and actively engage relevant stakeholders to ensure their buy-in and ownership of the mental health program.
• Interface with the management and administration of the districts, or refugees to monitor overall impact of the group sessions on the refugees and the host communities.
• Raise awareness and understanding of depression and mental health more broadly among community members and the unique community groups.
• Identify barriers to success and report them to SMU Management supporting to find innovative solutions to these barriers.
Data collection and reporting
• Maintain accurate records including the collection of qualitative data (using both electronic and paper based tools) and ensure timely reporting based on the SMU calendar.
• Contribute to the understanding of the overall monitoring and evaluation questions as shall be set by the SMU management and M&E team/department.
Management and selfcare.
• Attend and participate in weekly debriefing meetings with your team and supervisor
• Participate in face to face or online meetings with your supervisor
• Attend and participate in all trainings organized by SMU.
• Set aside time for selfcare to avoid burnout.
• Identify and report any instances in which you notice feelings of conflict between yourself and the client or clients (transference, counter transference, set boundaries are violated, secondary trauma and compassion fatigue).

Job specifications
• A good understanding of depression and how to treat it using talk and group therapy.
• Be highly attune to counselling, self-help and participatory methodologies that will interest refugees and host communities and facilitate them to open up and discuss sensitive topics related to depression.
• Proven experience of working with refugees and host communities.
• Proven experience in community outreach and mobilization specifically for vulnerable groups like women and children.
• An understanding of group dynamic and how to manage these in group therapy settings.
• Able to provide constructive feedback to the supervisor with the aim of enriching the experience of the refugees and host communities/benefiting from the program.
• Able to apply techniques that will find and retain refugees and host communities so as to maintain high attendance and adherence rates.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience working with vulnerable communities.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to develop, inform and sustain professional relationships, partnerships and networks.
• Good command of the English Language & the local languages where we operate. The Local languages will be tested during interviews.
• Ability and willingness to undertake physical movements between and within communities mostly by public means.
• Adhere to the Child protection/ safeguarding policy and code of conduct.

Desired Personal attributes include but are not limited to.
• Attention to detail.
• Self-driven and able to work under minimum supervision.
• Brave Adventurous, Inquisitive, and willing to learn.
• Trustworthy and honest
• Problem solver
• Leader with the boundaries of organizational rules, standards and guidelines
• Open minded and flexible.

Education
• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Guidance & Counseling, Community Psychology, Social Work, Social Administration, Development Studies; Nursing or any relevant health or social work qualification.
• Diploma holders with the above qualifications with more than one year experience in IPT-G will be considered.

The Mental Health Facilitators will be required to model StrongMinds core Values below
• We are people-focused.
• We think big and act fast.
• We are data-driven.
• We do what we say and say what we do.
• We believe in collaboration, not competition.