Terms of Reference Psychosocial support field assistants on MHPSS

Training of Psychosocial support field assistants on MHPSS

Project: Holistic Reintegration of Demobilised Youth Combatant in North Karamoja

1. Background
   1. Organisation

The Justice and Peace Department of Kotido Catholic Diocese (JPD-K) is one of the 7 Social Service Departments of Kotido Catholic Diocese. The Diocese was founded in 1991 and JPD-K created in 2014. The Organization has been registered in 2009 under the number: T.37517/C.I.NO.643 (Trustees of Kotido Diocese). JPD-K works in the sectors of peacebuilding, conflict transformation and environmental and land management. As a Department of the Diocese, JPD-K works on issues affecting Diocesan territories. These comprise the Districts of Abim, Kotido, Kaabong and Karenga. The Department also engages in cross-border interventions with neighbouring sub-regions (e.g. Acholi) and countries (e.g. Kenya and South Sudan).

1. Project

JPD-K is implementing a Project titled “Holistic Reintegration of Demobilized Youth combatants in Northern Karamoja” in Kotido and Kaabong Districts. The overall objective of the project is to consolidate peace in North Karamoja through the reintegration of the disarmed youth. The Project is constituted by two components: (1) socioeconomic reintegration and (2) psychosocial reintegration/reinsertion of the disarmed youth.

Northern Karamoja, has endured decades of armed conflict, cattle rustling, marginalization, and chronic poverty. Many young people in the region were formerly engaged in armed groups, often due to social exclusion, lack of livelihood opportunities, and prolonged exposure to violence. While recent disarmament initiatives by the government and development partners have reduced active conflict, the psychosocial scars of war remain deep and unaddressed.

Demobilized youth combatants face serious challenges during reintegration into their communities, including trauma, social stigma, identity crises, family rejection, substance abuse, and mental health disorders such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Unfortunately, access to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services remains severely limited, with few trained personnel in the region and weak referral systems.

• Purpose, Scope and Objectives
  • Purpose

To address the gap highlighted above, JPD-K is seeking experienced consultants to develop and deliver a tailored capacity-building training for Psychosocial Support Assistants (PSAs), focusing on Problem Management Plus (PM+), a WHO-endorsed, scalable psychological intervention for individuals exposed to adversity. These PSAs will form a critical human resource to deliver basic psychosocial support and facilitate community-based recovery and reintegration of youth ex-combatants in the region. The training will enhance the knowledge, skills, and confidence of the PSAs to:

• Deliver structured, culturally adapted psychosocial support using PM+;
• Identify and respond to common mental health conditions;
• Promote resilience and reintegration;
• Establish safe referral and follow-up mechanisms in collaboration with health and protection systems.

• Specific Objectives

The consultancy will:

• Develop a comprehensive, training program, contextually relevant training curriculum based on the PM+ model and humanitarian MHPSS best practices, including cognitive based therapy, interpersonal therapy;
• Train cadres 8 Psychosocial Support Assistants (PSAs) and Kotido District;
• Provide support to psychosocial officer to developed training session tools to assess understanding of the PSA during and after the training
• Equip PSAs with practical skills in PFA (Psychological First Aid), communication, case identification, problem-solving, and stress management;
• Strengthen the PSAs’ understanding of ethics, cultural competence, and confidentiality in MHPSS work;
• Establish clear monitoring, referral, and supervision protocols aligned with Uganda’s national MHPSS framework;
• Produce a final technical report, including pre/post training evaluations, feedback analysis, and recommendations for future scale-up

• Scope

The consultant will be tasked with developing a comprehensive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Capacity building training package for MHPSS community outreach and MHPSS response in disaster and crisis prone areas. During the training, following will need to be addressed:

• Basic psychosocial support key concepts, principles, skills, communication skills
• Recognize the importance of MHPSS in emergency/crisis contexts.
• MHPSS core principles
• MHPSS pyramid 
• Psychological First Aid
• Cognitive based therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT) 
• Introduction to Problem management plus module (PM+) and assessment tools.

The consultant will need to use interactive and adult-learning methods including role-plays, scenario-based learning, and peer feedback.

• Deliverables
• Curriculum design – (a) Customize/adopt the Problem Management Plus module (PM+) intervention to reflect the cultural, linguistic, and psychosocial realities of Karamoja; (b) Integrate components of Psychological First Aid (PFA), trauma-informed care, cognitive based therapy, interpersonal therapy, gender and, conflict resolution, and reintegration
• Training materials – Facilitator’s Manual; Trainee Handbook; Practical tools (case studies, role plays, checklists); PowerPoint presentation; Pre/post-test tools
• Training Delivery – (a) Deliver a five days intensive training session to 8 PSAs in Kotido; (b) Use interactive and adult-learning methods including role-plays, scenario-based learning, and peer feedback; (c) Facilitate daily reflections and mentoring sessions during the training; (d) Provide ongoing remote coaching or mentorship support post-training (optional depending on funding).
• Final evaluation and report – (a) Conduct pre- and post-training assessments to measure knowledge and skills acquisition; (b) Collect qualitative feedback to assess confidence, relevance, and usability; (c) Submit comprehensive reports with: Training session reports per batch; Participant database and attendance; Recommendations for follow-up, supervision, and refresher training.

• Timeframe

The consultancy will be implemented over a 1-month period starting from the second half of July 2025 and ending in mid-August 2025.

• July: Inception, curriculum development, and material preparation.
• August: Training delivery in two batches, Evaluation, reporting, and closure.

• Qualification and experience
  • Master’s degree in Public Health, Clinical Psychology, Counselling, Social Work, or related fields.
  • Minimum 5 years of experience in MHPSS programming and training, especially in humanitarian or post-conflict settings.
  • Experience in supporting reintegration processes of ex-combatants in in-conflict and/or post-conflict settings is a strong advantage.
  • Certified experience in delivering PM+ or related structured interventions.
  • Strong understanding of Karamoja’s socio-cultural context and youth reintegration dynamics.
  • Excellent training, facilitation, and report writing skills.
  • Fluency in English. Working knowledge of Ngakarimojong is an added advantage

• Evaluation Criteria

S/N	Criteria	Maximum Points
1	Technical Proposal (methodology, contextual relevance, innovation)	35
2	Experience and qualifications of the team	35
3	Financial proposal (cost-effectiveness, value for money)	30
Total		100

• How to apply

Interested consultants or consulting firms are invited to submit the following:

• Expression of interest including a Technical and Financial Proposal.
• CV of the consultant(s) including 2 referees.
• A list of similar assignments conducted in the past and evidence attached.
• Any other information deemed relevant.

The above-mentioned documents shall be submitted to procurement@jpd-k.org with in copy nicola.carradori@jpd-k.org, robert.ilukori@jpd-k.com  and francisco.oyugi@jpd-k.org no later than the 14/07/2025.