Terms of Reference – Lot B: Regional Counselling Psychologists

AWA will contract 1–2 counselling psychologists in each of seven cities (Durrës, Shkodër, Korçë, Gjirokastër, Elbasan, Vlorë and Fier), paid per session, to provide short-term psychological support to women in media close to where they live and work.

1. Background and objective

“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. It is funded by the European Union and implemented by Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA), the Center for Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) and the Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH).

Within WISA, AWA and the regional chapters of the Network of Women in Media (NWM) are setting up a confidential, trauma-informed wellbeing support mechanism for women journalists, media professionals and digital creators.

Objective of Lot B: to bring accessible, short-term psychological support to women in media outside Tirana, in person and online, for stress, burnout, workplace pressure, intimidation and online harassment. Complex or trauma-related cases are referred to the Lot A psychologists.

2. Scope of services

2.1 Individual counselling

• Short-term counselling, in person or online, for professional stress, burnout, workplace pressure, intimidation, psychological distress linked to public exposure and online harassment.
• An initial package of up to 6 sessions per beneficiary (50 minutes each). An extension of up to 4 further sessions may be approved by the Wellbeing Case Manager on the expert’s written, anonymised justification.
• First contact with the beneficiary within 3 working days of the referral.

2.2 Referral and coordination

• Early identification of trauma, violence or crisis situations and immediate referral to Lot A (crisis response) through the Case Manager.
• Referral to medical, legal or social services when required, through the project’s referral pathway.
• Participation in monthly clinical supervision (Lot C2) and in the coordination meetings of the mechanism (anonymised case discussion only).

2.3 Locations and volume

Location	Experts sought	Format
Durrës	1–2	In person and online
Shkodër	1–2	In person and online
Korçë	1–2	In person and online
Gjirokastër	1–2	In person and online
Elbasan	1–2	In person and online
Vlorë	1–2	In person and online
Fier	1–2	In person and online

Indicative volume: [●] sessions per expert per month, depending on demand. Applications from experts based in other cities are considered if they offer online sessions. Experts provide in-person sessions in a private, safe setting that guarantees confidentiality (their own practice or a space agreed with AWA).

3. Required profile

Minimum requirements

• Master’s degree in clinical psychology, counselling psychology, psychotherapy or a closely related field.
• Active membership of the Order of Psychologists of Albania (Urdhri i Psikologëve) or equivalent licence to practise.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in individual counselling.
• Proven experience in at least three of the following areas: work with women and girls; stress, burnout or trauma; survivors of violence; media professionals, activists or public-facing professionals; online harassment and psychosocial distress.
• Based in, or regularly practising in, the location applied for (except for online-only applications).
• Ability to deliver secure online sessions.
• Fluency in Albanian.

Assets

• Training in trauma-informed or gender-sensitive practice.
• Experience facilitating support groups.
• Knowledge of local support services (health, social, legal, police) in the region.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and data protection standards.
• Experience with NGOs or donor-funded projects.

Exclusion criteria

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;
• refuse the coded (anonymous) reporting procedure;
• 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.

4. How the mechanism works

4.1 Referral pathway

1. The beneficiary contacts the Wellbeing Case Manager, a designated AWA role bound by a non-disclosure agreement and kept separate from AWA management, regional coordinators and project partners.
2. The Case Manager carries out a short intake, assigns a beneficiary code and refers the case to the most suitable expert, usually the Lot B psychologist closest to the beneficiary. Only the code, the type of support and the authorised number of sessions are passed on.
3. The expert contacts the beneficiary and delivers the sessions. Session content stays between the expert and the beneficiary.
4. Extensions, referrals to Lot A or to external services, and case closure are agreed with the Case Manager by code only.

The register linking codes to identities is held only by the Case Manager, encrypted and stored separately from project files. In small cities, where beneficiaries and experts may know each other, the beneficiary may ask to be referred to an expert in another city or online.

4.2 Confidentiality

No personal or identifiable information about beneficiaries may be shared with AWA, regional coordinators, project partners, the donor or any third party, except:

• with the beneficiary’s explicit written consent;
• where there is an immediate risk to the life or physical safety of the beneficiary or another person;
• where disclosure is required by Albanian law or by a court order.

In each of these cases, only the minimum necessary information is shared.

4.3 Trauma-informed approach

Experts apply approaches sensitive to trauma, gender-based violence, online harassment and professional stress, and avoid any practice that may re-traumatise the beneficiary.

4.4 Safeguarding

Experts comply with the WISA Safeguarding Protocol and Code of Conduct. Any concern involving project staff, partners or other experts is reported to the Safeguarding Focal Point, without revealing the beneficiary’s identity unless she consents or there is an immediate risk.

4.5 Data protection and secure practice

• Only the minimum necessary information is collected, in line with Albanian legislation on personal data protection.
• Online sessions take place on end-to-end encrypted or password-protected platforms agreed with AWA. Sessions are never recorded.
• Clinical notes remain the property and responsibility of the expert, are stored securely and are never transmitted to AWA.

5. Reporting and verification

Reporting must allow AWA to justify every payment to the European Union without revealing who the beneficiaries are.

5.1 Monthly session log (attached to each invoice)

Field	Example
Beneficiary code	WISA-B-KO-007
Date and duration	12/11/2026, 50 min
Format	Online / in person
Type of service	Individual / referral
Session number in the package	2 of 6
Beneficiary’s confirmation	Signature or electronic confirmation with code only
Expert’s signature	—

5.2 Quarterly anonymised report

• number of beneficiaries and sessions;
• types of services provided and referrals made;
• general, non-identifiable thematic trends in the region;
• systemic recommendations for the mechanism and for media employers, where relevant.

In locations with very few beneficiaries, figures are reported only at national level, so that no one can be identified.

5.3 Never reported: names of beneficiaries, session content, diagnoses, clinical notes or personal histories.

5.4 Audit and controls. Under the EU grant contract, the European Commission, OLAF and the European Court of Auditors may verify that the services were delivered. Experts keep session logs and beneficiaries’ confirmations for [●] years after the end of the project and make them available, in coded form, for such checks. The code–identity register is disclosed only if strictly required by the auditors, under their confidentiality obligations.

6. Contracting and payment

6.1 Modality. Selected experts sign a service contract on a fee-per-session basis, valid until the end of the WISA project, [end date], with the possibility of extension.

6.2 Fees. Applicants submit their financial offer in the format below. Amounts are gross, in ALL, and include all taxes and contributions due by the expert.

Fee item	Unit	Offered rate (ALL, gross)	Ceiling set by AWA
Individual session, in person	50-minute session		[●]
Individual session, online	50-minute session		[●]
Travel for in-person sessions outside the expert’s city	trip	actual cost, pre-approved	[●]

6.3 Payment. Monthly, against an invoice or payment request and the session log (section 5.1). Experts registered with a NIPT issue an invoice; for others, AWA withholds tax in line with Albanian legislation.

6.4 No guaranteed workload. Inclusion in the pool does not guarantee a minimum number of sessions. Only sessions authorised by the Case Manager and delivered are paid.

6.5 Documents to sign

• Service contract;
• Non-disclosure agreement;
• Conflict of interest declaration;
• Data protection and confidentiality undertaking;
• Safeguarding compliance declaration and Code of Conduct.

Any breach of confidentiality or safeguarding obligations results in immediate termination of the contract.

7. Application and evaluation

7.1 Application documents

1. CV (maximum 4 pages);
2. motivation statement (maximum 2 pages), answering: (a) how you would support a journalist experiencing burnout and online harassment; (b) how you protect confidentiality in a small community where people know each other; (c) when and how you would refer a case to a trauma specialist;
3. copies of diplomas and relevant certifications;
4. proof of membership of the Order of Psychologists or equivalent licence;
5. location applied for, availability (days, hours) and in-person and online capacity;
6. financial offer in the format of section 6.2;
7. at least one professional reference;
8. signed self-declaration on exclusion criteria and conflict of interest.

Send the application to awa.albania@gmail.com with the subject line Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot B – [city], by [deadline].

7.2 Evaluation criteria

Criterion	Points
Counselling experience and qualifications	20
Experience with stress, burnout, trauma or gender-based violence	20
Gender-sensitive approach and experience with women	15
Confidentiality, ethics and safeguarding (motivation statement and interview)	15
Local presence and knowledge of local support services	15
Availability, in person and online	10
Cost-effectiveness of the financial offer	5
Total	100

Applications scoring at least 65 points are invited to a 30-minute online interview. Candidates are ranked per location; the highest-ranked are contracted and the others remain on a reserve list.

7.3 Contact. Questions: awa.albania@gmail.com, until [deadline for questions].

This document has been produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.