Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

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

Job ID: 13250
Location: Kastina
Employment Type: Full Time
Caregory: Program Operations
Reports directly to: Program Manager
Staff directly reporting to this post: MHPSS Facilitators
Information Management: Child Protection Program

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

Role Purpose

• The MHPSS Officer will be responsible for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of MHPSS activities under the education and child protection project targeting conflict and climate affected children in Northwest Nigeria.
• The Officer will ensure integration of MHPSS into education interventions, strengthen the capacity of teachers and school staff, and support safe learning environments that promote children's emotional wellbeing and learning outcomes.
• The officer will also assist in providing clinical intervention children in distress and is required to travel to field sites regularly. 

Key Areas of Accountability
Technical Quality:

• Lead the design and implementation of MHPSS interventions integrated into education programming.
• Ensure the provision of age-appropriate, culturally relevant psychosocial support activities in schools and learning spaces.
• Conduct and support structured group and individual PSS activities with children, adolescents and caregivers.
• Work with teachers, school aunts, and school fathers to identify children with protection and psychosocial concerns and refer appropriately

Capacity Building & Supervision:

• Train and mentor teachers, school counsellors, education and PSS facilitators, school aunts and fathers on basic MHPSS principles, Psychological First Aid (PFA), and classroom-based psychosocial support.
• Establish and build the capacity of school aunts and fathers to provide nurturing, gender-sensitive, and responsive care to children, especially those showing signs of distress.
• Develop and adapt MHPSS training materials and tools for non-specialists in the school environment.

Coordination and Representation:

• Work closely with education, and child protection teams to ensure holistic support for children.
• Engage community and school-based support structures, including school aunts/fathers, in strengthening the MHPSS referral pathways.
• Participate in local coordination forums, including education and protection sub-sectors.
• Maintain effective communication with stakeholders including local authorities, schools, and community-based structures.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting:

• Develop tools to monitor MHPSS interventions within the education and child protection program.
• Contribute to regular reporting, success stories, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Support in needs assessments and baseline surveys focused on children and caregivers’ psychosocial wellbeing.

Safeguarding:

• Assess Safeguarding activities during field visits. 
• Assess the mainstreaming of safeguarding in programme operations

Other:

• To carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities within the overall function of MHPSS as and when requested by the supervisor.
• To be proactive in developing actions that will improve the activities they engage in while in schools and communities.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in psychology, Social Work, Education, Child Development, or related fields
• Minimum of 3 years experience in implementing MHPSS or Child Protection programs in humanitarian or development contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in integrating MHPSS into education programming.
• Experience working with children and adolescents in emergency or conflict-affected contexts.
• Knowledge of Psychological First Aid, community-based psychosocial support, and child protection principles.
• Fluent in English; knowledge of Hausa or local languages in Northwest Nigeria is a strong asset.
• Good report writing skills
• Willingness and capacity to be flexible and accommodating when faced with difficult and frustrating working conditions
• Commitment to Save the Children’s Child Protection Policy.

Skills and Behaviours (Our Values in Practice)
Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically  

Collaboration:

• 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
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong facilitation and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse teams and communities.
• Proven ability to build staff and community caregiver capacity.
• Demonstrated commitment to child safeguarding and protection principles.
• Ability to adapt to changing contexts and work under pressure.

Working Contacts:

• External: The job holder is required to have regular contact with other similar organizations, education and child protection institutions, children, community, and government departments.
• Internal: The job requires the job holder to have direct relationship with all staff and management at all levels in ensuring the organizational policies and procedures are adhered to and complied with.    

Application Closing Date
28th June, 2025; 12:59 PM.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online