About Ubumi Prisons Initiative

Ubumi Prisons Initiative works to improve health and wellbeing for people living in Zambian correctional facilities and their children, through evidence- and rights-based health and mental health interventions as well as rehabilitation and reintegration support.

Role purpose

The Senior Mental Health Adviser – Mental Health & SUD provides overall technical and clinical leadership for Ubumi’s mental health and substance use portfolio across correctional settings.

The role focuses on defining approaches, ensuring quality, strengthening capacity, and translating evidence into practice across Ubumi’s mental health and SUD work.

Core responsibilities

1) Technical leadership and programme support

• Provide technical leadership in the design and continuous improvement of evidence-informed mental health and SUD interventions.
• Develop and adapt tools and approaches, including screening and assessment pathways, referral mechanisms, group curricula, and relapse-prevention strategies.
• Provide ongoing technical guidance to programme implementation in collaboration with programme staff.
• Ensure interventions are trauma-informed, context-appropriate, and aligned with ethical and safeguarding standards.

2) Clinical oversight and supervision

• Provide clinical oversight of mental health and SUD services, including case formulation approaches and care planning frameworks.
• Deliver specialised counselling/therapy support where appropriate and support staff delivering services.
• Establish and guide safe and appropriate approaches to managing clinical risk, including self-harm risk and referral pathways.
• Promote high standards of documentation, confidentiality, and ethical clinical practice.

3) Training, workshop design and facilitation

• Design and facilitate training and capacity-building workshops for:
• Zambia Correctional Service health staff and relevant correctional staff
• Peer supporters and inmate-led initiatives
• Ubumi staff and partners
• Develop structured training packages, facilitator guides, and learning materials.
• Strengthen capacity on trauma-informed care, SUD, motivational approaches, stigma reductioni across programmes

4) Mentorship and capacity strengthening

• Provide mentorship and technical supervision to Ubumi staff and Zambia Correctional Service health staff.
• Support the establishment of structured supervision systems, including case discussions, reflective practice, and continuous skills development.
• Contribute to building sustainable in-system capacity for mental health and SUD support.

5) Research and learning

• Contribute to research design, including development of research questions, indicators, and data collection tools.
• Provide technical oversight to data collection processes, ensuring ethical and high-quality implementation.
• Support training of research assistants and contribute to interpretation of findings.
• Produce technical inputs for reports, policy briefs, and learning outputs that translate evidence into practice.

6) Advocacy and stakeholder engagement

• Provide technical expertise to advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening mental health and SUD services in correctional settings.
• Engage with duty bearers, partners, and networks to promote evidence-based and rights-based approaches.

7) Fundraising and proposal support

• Contribute technical inputs to concept notes, proposals, and donor reports related to mental health and SUD.
• Support articulation of evidence, approaches, and results for external audiences.
• Contribute to identifying and developing fundable approaches based on programme learning.

8) Technical leadership within the health function

• Lead on technical standards, quality assurance, and best practice within Ubumi’s mental health and SUD work.
• Support the development of guidelines, tools, and internal frameworks.
• Promote a culture of ethical practice, safeguarding, learning, and continuous improvement.

Required profile (experience and competencies)

• Advanced qualification in Psychology, Psychiatry, Mental Health, (Master’s strongly preferred; relevant professional registration/licensing required)
• At least 8 years working experience
• Demonstrated experience delivering SUD interventions (assessment, counselling/therapy, group work, relapse prevention), ideally in complex or low-resource settings.
• Strong capability in workshop design and facilitation for diverse audiences.
• Experience contributing to research design and supporting data collection processes with strong ethical practice.
• Proven ability to mentor and supervise others in clinical or psychosocial practice.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including working with government and institutional partners.
• Advocacy skills with the ability to communicate evidence-based and rights-based approaches.
• Experience contributing to proposals and donor reporting is an advantage.
• High integrity and strong commitment to safeguarding, confidentiality, and ethical mental health practice.
• Willingness and ability to travel within Zambia.

Working conditions

• Based at Ubumi’s Lusaka office with regular visits to correctional facilities across the country
• Work may involve exposure to distressing environments; structured reflection and staff wellbeing support are prioritised
• Applicants should note: This is a mission-driven role with salary levels aligned to the non-profit sector

Safeguarding and compliance

Ubumi maintains a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and requires adherence to safeguarding policies and codes of conduct. Background and reference checks may be required as part of recruitment.

• Provide technical leadership in the design and continuous improvement of evidence-informed mental health and SUD interventions.
• Develop and adapt tools and approaches, including screening and assessment pathways, referral mechanisms, group curricula, and relapse-prevention strategies.
• Provide ongoing technical guidance to programme implementation in collaboration with programme staff.
• Ensure interventions are trauma-informed, context-appropriate, and aligned with ethical and safeguarding standards.
• Provide clinical oversight of mental health and SUD services, including case formulation approaches and care planning frameworks.
• Deliver specialised counselling/therapy support where appropriate and support staff delivering services.
• Establish and guide safe and appropriate approaches to managing clinical risk, including self-harm risk and referral pathways.
• Promote high standards of documentation, confidentiality, and ethical clinical practice.
• Design and facilitate training and capacity-building workshops for: Zambia Correctional Service health staff and relevant correctional staff, Peer supporters and inmate-led initiatives, Ubumi staff and partners.
• Develop structured training packages, facilitator guides, and learning materials.
• Strengthen capacity on trauma-informed care, SUD, motivational approaches, stigma reductioni across programmes.
• Provide mentorship and technical supervision to Ubumi staff and Zambia Correctional Service health staff.
• Support the establishment of structured supervision systems, including case discussions, reflective practice, and continuous skills development.
• Contribute to building sustainable in-system capacity for mental health and SUD support.
• Contribute to research design, including development of research questions, indicators, and data collection tools.
• Provide technical oversight to data collection processes, ensuring ethical and high-quality implementation.
• Support training of research assistants and contribute to interpretation of findings.
• Produce technical inputs for reports, policy briefs, and learning outputs that translate evidence into practice.
• Provide technical expertise to advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening mental health and SUD services in correctional settings.
• Engage with duty bearers, partners, and networks to promote evidence-based and rights-based approaches.
• Contribute technical inputs to concept notes, proposals, and donor reports related to mental health and SUD.
• Support articulation of evidence, approaches, and results for external audiences.
• Contribute to identifying and developing fundable approaches based on programme learning.
• Lead on technical standards, quality assurance, and best practice within Ubumi’s mental health and SUD work.
• Support the development of guidelines, tools, and internal frameworks.
• Promote a culture of ethical practice, safeguarding, learning, and continuous improvement.

• Workshop design and facilitation
• Mentorship and supervision
• Stakeholder engagement
• Advocacy
• Research design
• Data collection
• Clinical practice
• Trauma-informed care
• Substance use disorder interventions
• Ethical practice
• Safeguarding
• Confidentiality

• Advanced qualification in Psychology, Psychiatry, Mental Health (Master’s strongly preferred)
• Relevant professional registration/licensing