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About MSF USA | Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international organization that provides medical care to the people who need it most. The organization cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, and social exclusion in more than 70 countries. MSF offers medical humanitarian assistance solely based on need, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or politics. Our international project teams include medical, logistical, and administrative staff, most of them hired locally and working with their own communities. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality. We also bear witness and speak out about the experiences of our colleagues and patients. 

MSF USA is one of 24 sections supporting the global movement, primarily through staff recruitment, fundraising, advocacy, and communications. We welcome candidates who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us in working toward MSF’s social mission.

Psychologist and Mental Health Specialist

Our Mental Health Officers (MHOs) play a crucial role in our projects, providing psychological first aid to survivors of natural disasters and counseling HIV patients. Trauma is often the most painful aspect of surviving a conflict or disaster or living with a disease, and mental healthcare is vital for recovery.

Responsibilities

As a mental health specialist with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), you will support people suffering from post-traumatic stress related to a conflict situation or disaster, survivors of sexual violence, or people being treated for HIV/AIDS and/or tuberculosis. Your work will be mostly clinical. You will also have to recruit, train, and supervise locally hired mental health professionals, who will then ensure the continuity of care. You will have to adapt tools to local cultural needs and contexts as well as to changing circumstances.

As a mental health specialist, you will be responsible for supporting the program and the team by suggesting improvements in line with MSF’s objectives and strategies, providing individual clinical consultations, organizing psycho-pedagogical activities and organizing training sessions for the team.

Requirements

  • Available to work 9 to 12 months
  • Must be actively licensed to practice as a clinical and/or counseling psychologist
  • Minimum 2 years clinical experience (post-training) in a multi-disciplinary setting treating patients with psychotherapeutic and/or counseling methods.
  • Previous experience in a low resource setting (priority given to those with experience working in a humanitarian context)
  • Experience with a range of psychotherapeutic methods/approaches such as systemic, cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, or client-centered
  • At least 6 months of clinical experience within the last two years
  • Professional experience supervising, managing, or training staff
  • Experience in developing psycho-educational tools and/or ‘train the trainer’ courses/tools
  • Professional experience in mental health issues associated with at least TWO of the following areas:
    -  HIV/AIDS
    -  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
    -  Sexual violence
    -  Trauma
    -  Tuberculosis (TB)

Assets

  • French or Arabic language (B2 or above)
  • Experience with migrants experiencing trauma, internally displaced people, and/or refugees
  • Experience with short-term therapy
  • Experience across the full scope of mental health care provision for adults, adolescents, and children
  • Experience with individual, family, and group counseling
  • Experience in community-based psycho-social or trauma-focused programs
  • Experience in adapting recognized and accepted therapeutic techniques in consideration of local cultural contexts
  • Experience with adherence counseling and/or patient education for chronic diseases

Before you apply

As you consider applying to undertake an MSF assignment, it is essential that you have a well-informed and realistic personal reflection. Assignments often mean long hours with a heavy workload, basic living conditions, and working and living in often chaotic and volatile environments.

Security and Safety

Because Doctors Without Borders’ purpose is to bring medical assistance to people in distress, the work may occur in settings of active conflict, or in post-conflict environments, in which there are inherent risks, potential danger and ongoing threats to safety and security. MSF acknowledges that it is impossible to exclude all risks, but it does its utmost as an organization to mitigate and manage these risks through strict and comprehensive security protocols.

International staff will be fully informed of the risk associated with a potential assignment before accepting a particular posting. Working for MSF is a deeply personal choice; individuals must determine for themselves the level of risk and the circumstances in which they feel comfortable based on a full and transparent understanding of the possibilities they may face. Once in the assignment, all MSF staff must strictly observe security rules and regulations; failure to do so may result in dismissal.

Terms of Employment

MSF staff are employees with a salary and benefits. 

MSF encourages the completion of multiple assignments. There are many possibilities for professional growth within the organization in the medical, non-medical, and coordination streams.

Final Thoughts

As you consider applying to undertake an MSF assignment, is it essential that you have a well-informed and realistic personal reflection. Assignments often mean long hours with a heavy workload, basic living conditions, and working and living in often chaotic and volatile environments.

Despite such challenges, thousands of people have worked with MSF over the years and found their experiences in the field to be deeply rewarding, even life-changing. More than anything else, being an MSF international worker means acting in solidarity with people facing unimaginable medical challenges. Your presence alongside people in times of need sends a profoundly meaningful and human message: “You are not forgotten.”

MSF-USA is dedicated to creating a diverse, impartial, and inclusive workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other differences as per applicable laws. We also provide reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices. We encourage individuals from underrepresented communities in the Humanitarian Aid sector to apply.

If you have a disability and require accommodations to use our website for applying for a position, please get in touch with Human Resources at employment.msfusa@newyork.msf.org. We consider reasonable accommodation requests on a case-by-case basis.

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