Psychologist (Crisis Preparedness)

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) aspires to be a world-class organisation in delivering safety and security for our people. In pursuing our mission to make Singapore our Safe and Secure Best Home, we remain always constant and true to our core values of Honour and Unity. The Psychologist (Crisis Preparedness) develops and delivers HTPD’s psychological initiatives to support and enhance the capability of the Home Team (HT) in the area of community crisis preparedness and response. The jobholder will conduct research on issues affecting community resilience (including mental health, misinformation, and hate incidents), and develop evidence-based interventions to strengthen pre-crisis community preparedness. This role involves collaborating with stakeholders across MHA and other ministries to implement comprehensive psychological support strategies.

• Develop and provide psychological research services in community crisis preparedness domain o Identify and coordinate the ongoing psychological research needs of all Home Team Departments (HTDs) in the domain of community crisis preparedness o Identify research objectives and conceptualise the design of research initiatives in this area o Undertake research on behavioural sciences and psychological aspects of community crisis preparedness. • Lead the development, review and revision of psychology-based training to promote HT officers and community members (e.g. grassroot leaders) knowledge and skills in this domain o Design training curriculum, methodology and undertake content development for relevant topics, including crisis communication, mental health support skills for trauma management, issues to be aware of and strategies to restore community resilience and cohesion post crisis. o Create lesson plans and maintain adherence to professional standards for various training programmes in this domain o Develop training materials and aids required for respective training interventions o Evaluate training effectiveness and materials (e.g. slides, handouts, readings, other resources) of training modules and provide recommendations for enhancements • Lead provision of training interventions to HT and external stakeholders o Coordinate and work with relevant HTDs, other ministries and community stakeholders on their training needs in this domain o Coordinate and deliver training at various platforms on community crisis preparedness (e.g. HT courses, internal seminars, community events) • Community of practices on the psychology of community crisis preparedness and response o Maintain benchmarking and active engagement with strategic partners of HTPD with regards to crisis and command leadership o Locally, to maintain working linkages with various HTDs, external Ministries and community stakeholders to facilitate the development and maintenance of community preparedness to crisis. o Internationally, to maintain working links with international agencies and associations that are involved in the research and training in the relevant aspects of this domain. The job holder reports directly to Deputy Director, Community and Communications Psychology, and Director and Chief Psychologist HTPD.

 At least 2-3 years of psychologist professional work experience, preferably in crisis and trauma, and mental health safety and security contexts  Have a good grasp of knowledge in crisis and disaster psychology, resilience and safety domains  Possess good knowledge and experience of crisis and trauma operations, and organisational and community mental health  Possesses strong critical thinking and analytical skills  Possesses strong writing ability to translate technical terms and psychological concepts for the layperson  Ability to work under extreme pressure and tight deadlines without guidance and supervision and in areas with limited precedence  Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, is sensitive in interpersonal interactions and cultural practices  Ability to carry oneself and deliver professionally in external stakeholder engagements; confident and clear communicator  Ability to work independently as well as within teams, and is decisive