Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer

Save the Children International is recruiting a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer to support its Child Protection in Emergencies programme in Yobe State.

The position is a full-time national role. The successful candidate will report to the Child Protection Coordinator and supervise facilitators involved in delivering psychosocial support activities.

Role Purpose

The MHPSS Officer will implement and oversee mental health and psychosocial support activities for children, adolescents and caregivers. The officer will ensure that services are integrated into Child Protection and Education in Emergencies programmes while strengthening community-based support systems.

The role will promote children’s wellbeing, resilience, participation and safeguarding in line with recognised humanitarian and child-protection standards.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Implementation and Technical Quality

• Lead the implementation of structured psychosocial support activities, group sessions and individual support.

• Deliver age-appropriate, gender-sensitive and inclusive psychosocial services for children, adolescents and caregivers.

• Support the implementation of child-focused approaches such as HEART and We Thrive.

• Integrate psychosocial support into Education in Emergencies activities and promote safe and supportive learning environments.

• Support child-friendly spaces, peer-support groups and other community-based MHPSS interventions.

• Promote child participation, resilience building and positive coping strategies.

Identification, Basic Support and Referrals

• Identify children and caregivers who require focused or specialised mental health support.

• Provide Psychological First Aid and basic psychosocial support when appropriate.

• Establish and maintain safe, confidential and accessible referral pathways.

• Refer individuals requiring additional support to case-management, health or specialised mental-health services.

• Work with Child Protection caseworkers to include psychosocial support in individual case plans.

• Maintain strict confidentiality and protect all case-related information.

Integration with Child Protection and Education

• Provide emotional stabilisation support to children facing protection risks.

• Support caregivers of vulnerable or high-risk children.

• Work with education teams to introduce social and emotional learning and psychosocial activities in schools.

• Build teachers’ capacity to identify distress and provide basic emotional support.

• Ensure MHPSS considerations are included in relevant cash and voucher assistance activities.

Capacity Building

• Train and mentor staff, volunteers, teachers and partners on Psychological First Aid.

• Build participants’ knowledge of basic psychosocial support, stress management and self-care.

• Strengthen safe identification and referral practices.

• Support the development of locally appropriate training materials and tools.

• Promote staff-wellbeing activities to reduce burnout and secondary trauma.

Community Engagement

• Conduct community awareness activities on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

• Promote positive coping mechanisms and reduce stigma associated with mental-health conditions.

• Engage community leaders, caregivers and children in creating safer and more protective environments.

• Ensure community messages are culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive.

Safeguarding and Protection

• Ensure that all activities comply with child safeguarding and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse standards.

• Identify and address protection risks connected to MHPSS activities.

• Ensure that services are delivered in safe, private and accessible locations.

• Apply “do no harm” principles throughout implementation.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Collect and report MHPSS programme indicators.

• Monitor participation, wellbeing, coping and changes experienced by children and caregivers.

• Use qualitative and quantitative tools such as observations, feedback mechanisms and wellbeing scales.

• Maintain accurate and confidential activity and referral records.

• Prepare regular activity reports, lessons learned and examples of good practice.

• Work with the MEAL team to improve data quality and ethical data use.

Coordination and Emergency Response

• Participate in MHPSS Technical Working Groups and other coordination platforms.

• Coordinate with government health and social-welfare services and humanitarian actors.

• Support mapping of MHPSS providers and available referral services.

• Provide rapid psychosocial support during displacement, attacks, disasters or other emergencies.

• Support the establishment of safe spaces for children and caregivers during emergencies.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work or another relevant field.

• Minimum of three years of relevant post-NYSC experience.

• Previous experience delivering Psychological First Aid and other MHPSS activities.

• Experience working in Child Protection or Education programmes, particularly programmes with an MHPSS component.

• Ability to manage confidential information with discretion.

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to work independently and take initiative.

• Fluency in English is required.

• Knowledge of Hausa is desirable.

Child Safeguarding

The position involves regular contact with children and young people. The successful candidate must comply with Save the Children’s safeguarding, equal-opportunity, health and safety policies. The recruitment process will include appropriate reference and background checks.

Application Notice

Save the Children does not require candidates to pay money or offer favours at any stage of the recruitment process.