MHPSS Officer at Street Child (Borno & Adamawa)

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: MHPSS Officer

Locations: Maiduguri, Borno and Adamawa
Job Schedule: Full time
Job Category: Policy & Development
Reports To: Protection Programmes Manager
Contract Term: 1-year fixed term with possibility of extension
Working Hours: Monday to Thursday 8:30am - 5:15pm, Friday 8:30am - 1:30pm

Overview

• 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 desks 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 where required to discuss complex cases.
• Be available on call/skype if any urgent matters arise that a staff would like to share regarding their casework or his/her 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.
• He/she will undertake any role or responsibility assigned by the child protection program manager.

Reporting:

• Keep the Child Protection Programed 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 Programmed 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 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

Gross Salary
NGN 588,790.78 / Month

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.