Mental Health & Psychosocial (MHPSS) Officer

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Mental Health & Psychosocial (MHPSS) Officer

Job Identification: 16926
Location: Yobe
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Team / Programme: Child Protection in Emergencies
Grade: 4

Role Purpose

• The MHPSS Officer will implement and oversee psychosocial support activities for children and caregivers, ensuring integration with Child Protection and EiE programmes, strengthening community-based support systems, and promoting wellbeing, resilience, and safeguarding in line with international standards.

Child Safeguarding:

• As part of these responsibilities, the post holder will support the establishment of child safeguarding systems, promote a culture of keeping children safe, and ensure that potential harm to children (by our own staff and/or as a result of how we do our work) is identified and addressed on an ongoing basis.
• Level 3. The responsibilities of this post may require the post holder to have regular contact with children and young people. In the overseas context, all posts are considered to be level 3.
• The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position-related responsibilities identified in the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Key Areas Of Accountability
Programme Implementation and Technical Quality:

• Ensure integration of MHPSS into EiE activities, including safe and supportive learning environments.
• Deliver age-appropriate, gender-sensitive, and inclusive MHPSS services for children, adolescents such as HEART and We Thrive, and for caregivers.
• Lead implementation of MHPSS interventions (e.g., structured PSS, group activities, individual support) in line with IASC MHPSS Guidelines and CP Minimum Standards.
• Support rollout of community-based MHPSS approaches (e.g., child-friendly spaces, peer support groups).
• Promote child participation and resilience-building approaches in programming.

Case Identification, Basic Support, and Referrals:

• Provide basic psychosocial support and Psychological First Aid (PFA) where appropriate.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and data protection for all case-related information.
• Work closely with Child Protection caseworkers to integrate MHPSS into case plans.
• Identify children and caregivers in need of focused or specialized mental health support.
• Ensure safe and confidential referral pathways to case management, health, or specialized services.

Integration with Child Protection and EiE:

• Support integration of MHPSS within CP case management, including:
  • Ensure MHPSS considerations are embedded in CVA programming (e.g., reducing stress-related risks).
  • Integrate SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and psychosocial activities in schools
  • Emotional stabilization of high-risk children
  • Caregiver support
  • Collaborate with EiE teams to:
  • Build teachers’ capacity to provide basic emotional support

Capacity Strengthening:

• Train and mentor staff, volunteers, teachers, and partners on:
  • Promote staff wellbeing initiatives to reduce burnout and secondary trauma.
  • Safe identification and referrals
  • Stress management and self-care
  • Basic psychosocial support skills
  • Psychological First Aid (PFA)
  • Support development of training materials and tools adapted to local context.

Community Engagement and Awareness:

• Conduct community sensitization on:
  • Mental health awareness
  • Positive coping strategies
  • Reduction of stigma associated with mental health
• Engage community leaders, caregivers, and children to:
  • Ensure messaging is culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive.
  • Promote acceptance of MHPSS services
  • Strengthen protective environments

Safeguarding and Protection Risk Mitigation:

• Ensure all MHPSS activities adhere to child safeguarding and PSEA standards.
• Identify and mitigate protection risks linked to MHPSS programming.
• Ensure services are delivered in safe, confidential, and accessible spaces.
• Apply do no harm principles in all interventions.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):

• Support collection and reporting of MHPSS indicators, including:
  • Changes in child wellbeing and coping
  • Participation rates
  • Use qualitative and quantitative tools (e.g., observation, feedback, wellbeing scales).
• Ensure integration of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), including feedback mechanisms.
• Contribute to learning and adaptation of MHPSS programming.

Coordination and Representation:

• Support mapping and strengthening of MHPSS service providers and referral systems.
• Participate in MHPSS Technical Working Groups, and other relevant coordination platforms.
• Coordinate with:
  • Government social welfare and health services
  • Health, CP, and EiE actors

Information Management and Reporting:

• Prepare regular activity reports.
• Work closely with MEAL teams to ensure data quality and ethical data use.
• Maintain accurate and confidential records of MHPSS activities and referrals.
• Ensure proper documentation of:
  • Good practices
  • Lessons learned

Emergency Response and Preparedness:

• Support establishment of safe spaces for children and caregivers.
• Integrate MHPSS into emergency education and protection response plans.
• Provide rapid MHPSS response during emergencies (e.g., displacement, attacks, disasters).

Requirements
Essential:

• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills and discretion with confidential information
• Fluent in English and Hausa is desirable
• Experience in Psychological First Aid, and other psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities
• Minimum of BSc in Psychology, social worker or relevant field experience.
• Minimum 3 years post NYSC
• Ability to work independently and proactively
• Experience working in Child Protection programs, Education, including those with MHPSS component

Behaviours (Values in Practice):
Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values

Ambition:

• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.
• sets ambitious and challenging goals for him or herself and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others

Collaboration:

• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.
• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.
• Integrity: