Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services Officer (GBV/MHPSS Officer) at COCIN Community Development Programmes Molai

Job summary

The MHPSS Officer is responsible for delivering on-site and remote Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS), including responding to incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) in a timely, survivor-centred, and caring manner. The Counsellor works with GBV survivors, women engaging in survival sex, community partners, service providers and local authorities to prevent gender-based violence incidents from happening and to ensure that GBV survivors know which services are available to them and how to access them. In addition, the counsellor will provide on-site and remote individual and group support to other forcibly displaced people and vulnerable migrants to have improved mental health and psychosocial well-being helping them to access their rights. This goal may be achieved through three key outcome areas: (1) Family, community, and social structures; (2) promoting the psychosocial well-being and resilience of individuals and communities to develop healthy coping mechanisms; and (3) Individuals in need of mental health and psychosocial support utilize appropriate specific care, including referrals to specialty care when necessary.

Essential Functions:

• Provide individual and group counselling services and other short term therapeutic services to beneficiaries referred by COCIN/CBM officers and other stakeholders;
• Conduct psychosocial counselling to GBV survivors and other refugees experiencing other forms of trauma using highest levels of confidentiality and professional ethics and etiquette;
• Implement activities that are sensitive to the needs of vulnerable individuals. This includes, among others, psychological first aid, support, or self-help groups and other recreational and/or social support activities for the population;
• Together with the Project team plan workshops, trainings and capacity building for community case workers, leaders, and service providers;
• Contribute to the development of a reliable referral system with service providers in Nigeria including governmental institutions, civil society, and the private sector;
• Collaborate closely with the GBV and Protection Officer to provide outreach to encourage survivors to come forward and seek assistance;
• Provides accurate, timely and consistent analysis and reporting to Program Manager on program activities;
• Prepare and maintain a tracker for all activities conducted;
• Ensure constant and accurate upkeep of data (physical and electronic) to reflect the status of persons of concern by checking that all data fields are filled-in properly; manages and updates beneficiary files, as necessary;
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications & requirements:

• University degree in Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology, or related field with at least 2 years of experience in counselling, supporting survivors and/or social work experience;
• Familiarity with MHPSS and GBV guidelines;
• Extensive knowledge of group facilitation techniques and experience;
• Demonstrated understanding of gender and gender equality;
• Ability to develop work plans, meet deadlines and capture program progress for donor reports;
• Strong motivation to humanitarian work, service-oriented mindset, and sense of accountability to the populations COCIN serves;
• Demonstrated ability to think creatively and critically;
• Sense of initiative and capacity to work autonomously;
• Excellent computer skills; proficiency in Microsoft office suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook);
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills;
• Must be a team player and able to work with a range of diverse, vulnerable populations understanding of community-based approach required;
• The candidate should have keen awareness and good knowledge of psychosocial issues and the complexities of working on these issues with a refugee, returnee, and/or host community population;
• Ability to uphold the highest level of integrity and confidentiality.