Liberia: Mental Health Program Manager

Position Title: Mental Health Program Manager
Reports To: County Director, Maryland County
Location: Maryland County, Southeast Liberia

Organizational Profile:
Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Position Overview:
The Mental Health Program Manager will be responsible for coordinating and implementing the PIH Mental Health program in Liberia, especially as it relates to the development of a continuum of mental health care in 3 counties throughout the Southeast of Liberia. The position will work collaboratively with the PIH Liberia clinical team, the Ministry of Health mental health unit and the PIH Mental Health Program in Boston, and will report to the Clinical leadership of PIH Libeira and the county director of Maryland County. The position is based primarily in Maryland County at JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital, with travel to Grand Kru and Grand Gedeh counties and Monrovia as required.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Collaborate and coordinate with the PIH mental health team to develop, implement and manage the PIH mental health work plan and associated budget in line with national MOH strategic plan.
• Apply PIH care delivery models to mental health services in Liberia, linking community-based case finding and follow up with activities at health center and county hospital levels to facilitate treating patients in the least restrictive way possible.
• Facilitate the quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation of PIH mental health programs in Liberia on all levels, in collaboration with the PIH Liberia mental health team and local and Boston based M&E teams.
• Work with PIH Liberia mental health team and PIH mental health program to implement screening tools, treatment protocols and evidence based guidelines for mental health services in line with MOH protocols and guidelines, working at the JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital.
• Ability to supervise mental health specialists working in counties in the Southeast to ensure program deliverables are being achieved.
• Coordinate and collaborate on integrating mental health activities with other services and departments including SQS mentoring, HIV/TB, social work, nursing, and community health, especially around task sharing.
• Work with local and Boston teams to adapt training curricula for all levels of mental health services to the Liberia context.
• Coordinate with the PIH Liberia mental health team to implement training of mental health clinicians, nurses, physicians, pharmacists and community health workers in evidence-based mental health treatments.
• Communicate regularly with mental health clinicians and social workers working in PIH-supported counties and provide programmatic support for mental health related activities and initiatives.
• Liaise with research programs associated with PIH to support translation of findings from research to clinical service delivery.
• Liaise and collaborate as needed with other institutions working on mental health, including IRC, WHO, the Carter Center, Mother Patern College, IMC and others, to ensure that the IMB mental health program is well integrated with other mental health educational initiatives in Rwanda.
• Collaborate with the Mental Health Unit at the central MOH on all levels to ensure that PIH Liberia mental health programming is well aligned with Liberia’s national strategy for mental health
• Actively participate in the strategic planning of PIH's mental health program activities in Liberia and globally.
• Serve as a representative of mental health related projects in Liberia, to coordinating activities with other departments in Liberia and Boston, including finance, communications, development, advocacy, M&E, nursing, and training as appropriate.
• Coordinate and participate in regular mental health team meetings, as well as other meetings as needed at the county, regional and national level.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors level in clinical psychology or Bachelors in mental health with a training background in nursing required. At least 3 years of clinical practice in mental health field desired.
• Demonstrated interest in public health.
• Experience living in and working in a resource-limited setting required. Prior experience in Liberia a plus.
• Experience providing program support and training in mental health.
• Experience working collaboratively with partners and donors on implementing mental health programming desired.
• Computer skills in word processing and spreadsheet programs (Microsoft Office applications)
• Ability to work independently and take initiative. Must be a quick learner, able to multi-task and re-prioritize easily.
• Strong organizational skills and a demonstrated competence to assess priorities and manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment and to meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member in a complex environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills required. Ability to interact professionally with culturally diverse staff, clients, and partners.
• Willingness to work outside of regular office hours, if needed
• Proficient in English
• Flexibility and an ability to think creatively.
• Interest in social justice and health care issues.
• Ability to live in Liberia full-time required.

Online applications only, please apply through our website.