Public Call for Expressions of Interest: Pool of Psychologists and Wellbeing Experts

Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) is establishing a national pool of psychologists and wellbeing experts to support women journalists, media workers and digital creators across Albania, under the EU-funded WISA project. Applications are open for three lots until 16 November.

About WISA and the Wellbeing Support Mechanism

“Weaving Digital Safety: Albania’s Women Media Network Initiative” (WISA) strengthens media freedom and journalists’ safety in Albania, with a focus on women journalists and media workers. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by AWA, the Center for Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) and the Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH).

Within WISA, and together with the regional chapters of the Network of Women in Media (NWM), AWA is setting up a confidential, trauma-informed wellbeing support mechanism. It offers free psychological and emotional support to women in media who face:

• professional stress and burnout;
• online harassment and technology-facilitated violence;
• workplace pressure and intimidation;
• psychological distress linked to public exposure;
• gender-based violence and trauma;
• crisis situations requiring urgent support.

The experts selected through this call will form the pool that delivers these services.

The three lots

The pool is divided into three lots. Each lot has its own Terms of Reference (ToR), published with this call; please read the ToR of the lot you apply for.

Lot	Profile	Main services	Location	Contracting modality	Indicative number of experts
A	Trauma-informed clinical and crisis psychologists / psychotherapists	Individual trauma-informed counselling for complex cases; crisis response within 24 hours; referral to psychiatric and specialised services	National coverage, mainly online; in person in Tirana	Framework agreement: monthly availability fee + fee per session	2–3
B	Regional counselling psychologists	Short-term individual counselling (stress, burnout, harassment, intimidation); referral of complex cases to Lot A	Durrës, Shkodër, Korçë, Gjirokastër, Elbasan, Vlorë, Fier (in person and online)	Fee per session	1–2 per location
C1	Group wellbeing facilitators	Group wellbeing sessions for NWM regional chapters; psychoeducation and resilience workshops; training of peer supporters	Regional chapters and online	Fee per activity	2–3
C2	Clinical supervisor	Monthly supervision of all pool experts; consultation on complex cases; prevention of vicarious trauma; quality assurance	Online and Tirana	Framework agreement: monthly fee	1

Candidates may apply for more than one lot. The clinical supervisor (C2) may not deliver direct services under Lots A or B, to keep supervision independent.

Who can apply

The call is open to individual professionals who meet the minimum requirements of the lot they apply for. In summary:

• a university degree (Master level) in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, psychotherapy or a related field, as specified in each ToR;
• active membership of the Order of Psychologists of Albania (Urdhri i Psikologëve) or an equivalent licence, where the profession requires it;
• the minimum years of professional experience set in each ToR (from 5 to 10 years, depending on the lot);
• proven experience with women, trauma, stress, violence or online harassment;
• fluency in Albanian.

Applicants will not be considered if they:

• refuse to sign the confidentiality, safeguarding and data protection documents;
• require the sharing of beneficiaries’ identities or session content with third parties;
• hold an elected or appointed political office, or a leadership role in a political party;
• hold an ownership or management role in a media outlet;
• use unverified or unethical therapeutic practices;
• have a confirmed ethics complaint or disciplinary measure from a professional body.

How to apply

Send one application per lot, by email, to awa.albania@gmail.com before the deadline. Each application must contain:

1. CV (maximum 4 pages);
2. motivation statement (maximum 2 pages), answering the questions set in the ToR of the lot;
3. copies of diplomas and relevant certifications;
4. proof of professional licence or membership of the Order of Psychologists, where applicable;
5. completed application information: city/location, availability, online and in-person capacity, areas of expertise, working languages;
6. financial offer, using the fee format set in the ToR of the lot (gross amounts in ALL, stating your tax status);
7. at least one professional reference (name, role, contact);
8. signed self-declaration on exclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interest.

Use the following email subject lines:

Lot	Subject line
A	Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot A
B	Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot B – [city]
C1	Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot C1
C2	Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot C2

Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be evaluated.

Selection process and timeline

Applications are assessed by an evaluation committee of at least three members appointed by AWA, including at least one external expert in psychology. Each member signs a declaration of impartiality and confidentiality.

1. Administrative check: completeness of the application and compliance with the minimum requirements.
2. Technical scoring: against the criteria in the ToR of each lot (100 points). Only applications scoring at least 65 points pass to the next step.
3. Interview: a 30-minute online interview, focused on case management, confidentiality and ethical dilemmas.
4. Pool list: candidates are ranked per lot and location. AWA will contract the highest-ranked candidates; the others remain on a reserve list.
5. Notification: all applicants will be informed in writing of the outcome.Key conditions

• No guaranteed workload. Inclusion in the pool does not guarantee a minimum number of assignments. Services are requested according to beneficiaries’ needs.
• Duration. The pool is active until the end of the WISA project, (2028), with a possible extension.
• Confidentiality. Experts never share beneficiaries’ identities or session content with AWA, its partners or the donor. Reporting is anonymised and aggregated, as set out in the ToR.
• Documents to sign. Selected experts sign a service contract or framework agreement, a non-disclosure agreement, a conflict of interest declaration, a data protection undertaking and a safeguarding compliance declaration.
• Zero tolerance. AWA applies zero tolerance to harassment, discrimination, abuse of power and breaches of confidentiality or safeguarding. Any breach ends the collaboration immediately.

Step	Date
Publication of the call	2 Nov
Deadline for questions	9 Nov
Deadline for applications	16 Nov

Applicants’ personal data

AWA processes applicants’ personal data only for this selection, in line with Albanian legislation on personal data protection. Data of unsuccessful applicants are kept for the period required by the grant’s audit and record-keeping obligations and then deleted.

Contact

Questions may be sent to awa.albania@gmail.com until the deadline for questions. Answers of general interest will be shared with all applicants.