Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer at Street Child - Adamawa & Borno

Street Child is a UK charity working to protect vulnerable children and improve access to education in some of the poorest communities in the world.  We work in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nepal and since November 2016, Street Child has been involved in the Humanitarian response in North East Nigeria.

Street Child works in the fields of education, child protection and livelihoods, working to deliver sustainable solutions and create maximum impact. Our work combines counselling, family mediation, business support, school building, teacher training and child protection.  We were a key player in the Ebola crisis and led the global response for children orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We deliver all our programmes through local partners and, since 2008, together we have built/renovated over 200 schools and are now helping to educate over 40,000 young people.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer

Locations: Mubi, Adamawa & Maiduguri, Borno
Contract: 6month with 3 months probation (with the possibility of extension dependent on funding).
Starting from: As soon as possible.

Role Purpose
The purpose of this position is two-fold:

• To support the MHPSS unit to oversee quality improvements in Street Child’s mental health and psychosocial support interventions for children affected by the conflict in NE Nigeria; and
• To assist the MHPSS unit in providing clinical intervention to children in distress.
• Manage all street child Nigeria child help desk across all project locations
• The MHPSS Officer is required to travel to field sites as recommended by the CP manager
• In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

Key Areas of Accountability

• Support to MHPSS programming activities across projects.

Provide support, in the MHPSS Programming which includes:

• Ensuring assistance is provided to children affected by the conflict in a dignified, respectful, equitable, and inclusive manner that supports their resilience
• Assisting children in acute distress and alleviating their stress, for instance ensuring that all staff/partners are trained on PFA and feel confident to use it
• The mainstreaming of inter-agency guidelines (e.g. IASC MHPSS guidelines) and standards (e.g. CPMS) across the different sectors of program activities delivered by SC and its partners
• The use of structured and manualized MHPSS techniques
• The participation of parents and caregivers in MHPSS activities
• Support structured MHPSS activities for groups of boys and girls of different age groups, with particular attention to survivors of SGBV, unaccompanied children, and other children who present with signs of poor mental health and distress
• Identify MHPSS service providers and agree on referral pathways for children with severe mental disorders

Proposed Outputs:

• Individual counseling sessions with children and beneficiaries were required to discuss complex cases.
• Be available on call/skype if any urgent matters arise that staff would like to share regarding their casework or his/her personal well being
• Monthly progress reports to the CP manager to highlight needs and gaps.
• Development of peer/reflective practices with teams
• Support current MHPSS practices, reflecting on a cross-sectoral approach.
• Structured MHPSS activities for boys and girls, organized in age-appropriate groups with a clear
• Ensure the database of all MHPSS responses is backed-up on a bi-weekly basis.

Reporting:

• Keep the Child Protection Programme Manager informed on the activities of the project by providing relevant correspondence, reports, and meeting minutes as well as making regular updates.
• Responsible for prompt submission of all reports to the Child Protection Program Manager.
• Work closely with implementing partners to prepare and submit reports on approved frequency to the Programme Manager.
• Supervise the partners’ PSS facilitators to ensure regular follow-up of MHPSS response.
• Identify gaps in service provision to children with special attention to UASC and CAAFAG and proactively refer and advocate for those gaps to relevant in coordination with the CP Manager.

Networking:

• Responsible for coordination and liaising between Street Child and local partners/other
• agencies/local government/local communities/displaced community, as regards to Street Child’s Child Protection program in conjunction with the Program Manager.
• Represent Street Child at the stakeholders meeting as necessary e.g. MHPSS Working Group

Requirements & Experience

• A qualified psychologist; or a professional with equivalent proven experience.
• 3 years’ experience in mental health and psychosocial programming for IDPs.
• Experience working in the Humanitarian context.

Specification:

• Nigerian Nationals Only. Female candidates encouraged to apply.

Child safeguarding:

• Our work with children to keep them safe is the most important thing we do. We are committed to the safeguarding of children in all areas of our work.
• Street Child incorporates appropriate job responsibilities to specific staff positions to support and ensure effective implementation of organizational strategies to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse.

Core Values:

Commitment to Street Child mission, vision and values, and the ability to convey with enthusiasm Street Child’s role in accompanying and serving forcibly displaced people and in advocating for their right to protection and a life in dignity;

• This role will involve working with vulnerable people and children and requires relevant knowledge of safeguarding principles
• High integrity, honesty, and confidentiality; ability to deal tactfully and discreetly with situations, people, and information;
• Acceptance of diversity and inclusion as a core value.
• Willingness to work in flexible, sub-optimal, stressful, and unstable environments.

Language:

• Fluency in English and excellent writing skills.
• Ability to communicate clearly and sensitively in Kanuri and Hausa an advantage
• Technical skills.

Behaviors:

• Excellent interpersonal, listening, and communication skills;
• Ability to positively influence others and successfully reconcile differences;
• A self-starter with a strong results orientation and with high levels of integrity, credibility, and dependability;
• An energetic team player who can effectively collaborate, and who can stand alone when necessary;
• Ability to work in international settings and with various departments to implement successful approaches to Education;
• Demonstrated ability to work and deliver under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Willingness to work in the flexible, sub-optimal, stressful, and unstable environment;
• Commitment to Street Child mission, vision and values, and the ability to convey with enthusiasm Street Child’s role in accompanying and serving forcibly displaced people and in advocating for their right to protection and a life in dignity;
• High integrity, honesty, and confidentiality; ability to deal tactfully and discreetly with situations, people, and information;
• Ability to coordinate and manage a wide range of program staff and provide solutions to arising internal and external challenges.
• Acceptance of diversity and inclusion as a core value.

Terms and Conditions

• Contract is for 6 months with 3months probation and renewable according to performance review, with an initial probationary period of three months.
• The salary will be proportioned to the candidate's experience and balanced to the Street Child salary scale.

Application Closing Date
14th February, 2022.