Call for Syrian Experts: Health, Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) – Syria

Contract Type: Individual Consultancy; Project-Based

Eligibility: Syrian nationals or non-Syrian consultants currently residing in Syria only

Trust Consultancy & Development (TCD) is seeking experienced consultants to join its roster of experts in Health, Public Health, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), health systems and community-based health services to support upcoming evaluations, assessments, research, Third-Party Monitoring (TPM), programme design and advisory assignments in Syria.

Selected consultants will be included in TCD's consultant roster and may be considered for future short-term consultancy opportunities based on their technical expertise, geographical experience, availability and the requirements of specific assignments.

Primary geographic scope: Syria

About the Call

Trust is expanding its roster of experts with strong technical and practical experience in health, public health, primary healthcare, mental health, psychosocial support, community health and health-system strengthening.

We are particularly interested in experts with recent, first-hand knowledge of Syria's health and MHPSS context, including access to essential health services, health-system capacity, needs of conflict-affected and displaced populations, mental health and psychosocial needs, health workforce challenges, and approaches to strengthening inclusive, accessible and resilient health services.

Areas of Expertise

Applicants should have strong experience in one or more of the following:

• Public health and primary healthcare (PHC), including essential health services, community health, preventive care, health promotion and integrated service delivery;

• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), including community-based MHPSS, psychological first aid, individual and group interventions, psychosocial activities and integration of MHPSS into health and other humanitarian services;

• Mental health services, including clinical and non-clinical interventions, referral pathways, case management, community mental health and integration of mental health into primary healthcare;

• Health systems strengthening, including health governance, service delivery, health workforce, health information systems, referral systems, quality of care and institutional capacity development;

• Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH), including reproductive, maternal and newborn health, child health, adolescent health and integrated service delivery;

• Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including reproductive health services, family planning, maternal health and access to appropriate and inclusive services;

• Communicable and non-communicable diseases, including prevention, surveillance, case management, continuity of care and community-based approaches;

• Emergency and humanitarian health, including health responses in conflict, displacement and emergency settings, emergency preparedness, outbreak response and continuity of essential services;

• Community-based health and outreach, including community health workers, mobile teams, health awareness, risk communication and community engagement;

• MHPSS for children, adolescents and youth, including psychosocial wellbeing, resilience, social-emotional support, caregiver support, safe spaces and school/community-based interventions;

• Protection-sensitive and inclusive health/MHPSS services, including services for persons with disabilities, older persons, women and girls, displaced populations, returnees and other groups facing barriers to accessing services;

• Health workforce development, including training, supervision, capacity building, staff wellbeing, supportive supervision and competency development;

• Quality of care and patient-centred services, including service standards, patient experience, accountability, safeguarding, confidentiality and feedback mechanisms;

• Health and MHPSS research, monitoring and evaluation, including needs assessments, baselines/endlines, evaluations, health facility assessments, service mapping, outcome measurement, mixed-method research and Third-Party Monitoring;

• Health information and data, including health information systems, epidemiological analysis, health indicators, surveillance, data quality and evidence-based planning;

• Health policy, coordination and institutional strengthening, including health planning, coordination mechanisms, localization, capacity development and engagement with health authorities and humanitarian/development actors.

Qualifications & Experience

Applicants should have:

• Syrian nationality and current residence in Syria, or be a non-Syrian consultant currently based in Syria;

• A relevant university degree in medicine, public health, psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, health sciences, epidemiology, health management or another relevant field;

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience; senior/lead experts should preferably have 10+ years;

• Recent professional experience related to health and/or MHPSS in Syria, preferably within the last three years;

• Demonstrated experience conducting or contributing to health/MHPSS assessments, evaluations, research, programme design, TPM or technical advisory assignments;

• Strong understanding of Syria's health context, health system, service-delivery challenges, population health needs and barriers to accessing health and MHPSS services;

• Experience engaging with health authorities, health facilities, healthcare workers, community-based organizations, affected communities, NGOs, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders;

• For MHPSS specialists, demonstrated understanding of MHPSS frameworks, referral pathways, community-based approaches and appropriate ethical and safeguarding considerations;

• Strong research, analytical, facilitation and report-writing skills;

• Arabic fluency; professional English is strongly preferred.

International Organization & Donor Experience

Previous experience with WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, IOM, World Bank, UN agencies, EU/ECHO-funded programmes, international NGOs, Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement actors or other organizations working on health and MHPSS is a strong advantage.

Experience with relevant international approaches and standards, including WHO health-system frameworks, IASC MHPSS Guidelines, humanitarian health standards, community-based MHPSS, primary healthcare, health-system strengthening and quality-of-care approaches, should be clearly highlighted.

Applicants should indicate relevant assignments, including the client, assignment, year, role and main responsibilities.