Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Specialist (MHPSS) - Ukraine Refugee Crisis Response at Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and enable children to prepare for - and respond to - crises and adversity. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Specialist (MHPSS) - Ukraine Refugee Crisis Response

Location: Nigeria (Flexible)
Type of Role: Fixed Term
Reports to: Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist
Functional Area: Humanitarian
Travel required: Up to 60% time sometimes at short notice

The Role

• The conflict in Ukraine is resulting in a major humanitarian crisis with over 3 million people having fled to neighboring countries, and millions displaced within Ukraine. Plan International is responding to the crisis and working in partnership with civil society organisations in Poland, Romania, and Moldova to meet the key needs of those affected by the crisis as well as host communities.
• The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Specialist is responsible for supporting the development and technical quality of Plan International’s mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programming in country. This includes providing technical leadership and support on programme strategy, strengthening the capacity of partners on MHPSS, and ensuring the overall technical quality of Plan’s MHPSS programming.
• The MHPSS Specialist will report to the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist (Lead) and be expected to work closely with other CPiE staff, Plan’s partner civil society organizations, and other members of the Plan International team members, including those working in Education in Emergencies to ensure that MHPSS approaches and aligned across Plan’s programming.
• The position will initially be remote but may well be based in one of the 3 countries in the future. 
• The Ukraine Hub is a service-oriented structure to support initiation of activities, and to help find solutions to problems as and when arise. Creative thinking and identifying work arounds to problems faced will be a critical element of the role.

Accountabilities
Assessment and Programme Development:

• Contribute to development of Plan’s MHPSS programme and strategy, in collaboration with the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist.
• Develop program interventions that consider short-term and longer-term programming to respond to the evolving needs of populations from Ukraine, including vulnerable children.
• Ensure MHPSS programmatic and advocacy related activities are results-oriented and respond to needs identified in MHPSS needs assessments.
• Support identification of emerging MHPSS needs and gaps in the refugee response and conduct consultations with affected populations and other stakeholders as part of needs assessments.
• Work collaboratively with Plan’s other thematic sectors and cross-cutting areas, including education, gender and inclusion, and cash and voucher assistance to ensure that CPiE programming is coordinated and integrated whenever possible.

Technical Support and Implementation:

• Ensure that there is effective planning, implementation and coordination of inclusive MHPSS programming, that addresses the key child protection needs.
• Work closely with the rest of the Plan International team to ensure that the implementation of relevant activities are planned and implemented in a phased and prioritised manner, in full consultation and coordination with all relevant agencies.
• Conduct programme visits to monitor the implementation of MHPSS activities and work closely with partner staff, including psychologists and social workers based in mobile teams, to identify opportunities and constraints and any adjustments that are needed.
• Provision of mentoring and coaching: one-on-one support to partner staff, including psychologists and social workers
• Provide regular updates to the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist on progress, priorities and constraints related to MHPSS programme activities.

Capacity-strengthening and Technical Resources:

• In close collaboration with the CPiE Specialist, develop overall MHPSS capacity-building plans for Plan staff and implementation partners, including developing of capacity-building strategy.
• Develop, adapt and contextualize tools and guidance on MHPSS in line with global inter-agency standards and tools and Plan International’s guidance and technical resources.
• Develop, adapt, and ensure harmonization of MHPSS training packages, including content related to psychological first aid, group activities for child well-being, and socio-emotional learning. 
• Deliver trainings to Plan staff, partners, government representatives, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure MHPSS capacity-building strategy is adequately resourced across funding opportunities and integrated into Plan and partner workplans.
• Regularly updated Plan International team on progress related to partner capacity-building and feedback on technical tools and resources.

Partnerships:

• Conduct partnership scoping exercises to identify new opportunities for MHPSS programming in Plan’s overall response

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning:

• Work closely with the MERL & Information Management Specialist to design and develop appropriate monitoring, evaluation and learning systems for MHPSS. interventions, and promote safe participation and feedback of vulnerable populations
• Contribute to the evaluation of the implementation of MHPSS programs and draft recommendations for improved programme design.
• Contribute to reporting on Plan International Ukraine Response MHPSS output and outcome indicators

Coordination and External Representation:

• Represent Plan International in external networks and task forces, and actively participate in MHPSS Working Groups.
• Coordinate with international, national, and local-level stakeholders regarding policies, plans, and other initiatives on MHPSS for Ukrainian refugees.
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young Peopleand Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility.
• This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Key Relationships
Internal:

• Programme technical leads.
• Ukraine Hub
• National Organisations
• Global Hub departments (including humanitarian, finance, legal, funding)

External:

• Humanitarian ecosystem, including in-country and global clusters, UN agencies, international and national NGOs
• Civil Society Organisations and networks focused on the Ukraine response
• Institutional Donors
• Embassies and Delegations
• Youth groups

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Knowledge:

• University Degree in Psychology or another related field.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential. Knowledge of the national language(s) in country, Ukrainian or Russian language is an asset but not mandatory.
• Excellent knowledge of MHPSS programming approaches, particularly for children, adolescents, and young women, and available services and supports for vulnerable and marginalized groups such as refugees and migrants.
• Familiarity with the national child protection and MHPSS systems and education system considered and asset.
• Knowledge of MHPSS standards related to humanitarian action, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support considered an asset.

Experience:

• Proven progressively responsible professional experience in working with MHPSS or child protection mandated civil society organizations or government agencies.
• Experience working directly with children and families, including vulnerable or marginalized groups such as refugee or migrant populations.
• Experience designing programs and activities for children and families, including those in partnership with local civil society organizations and local authorities related to child protection, education, and health.
• Experience in delivering presentations or trainings to actors such as local authorities, civil society organizations, and volunteer groups.

Skills:

• Excellent communication skills and ability to develop well-argued plans for response that can be justified and delivered, persuasive of others.
• Excellent ability to build collaborative and respectful relationships with local organizations and government authorities.
• Excellent project design, participatory learning and monitoring and evaluation skills.
• Excellent teamwork skills and ability to ability to work independently.
• Excellent negotiation, representation, skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse team in a very sensitive environment.

Application Closing Date
18th May, 2022.