MHPSS Officer at Lake Chad Peace and Development Initiative

Role Overview: 

The MHPSS Officer will lead psychosocial support activities tailored to project participants, emphasizing participatory and non-formal educational approaches to strengthen psychosocial cohesion and resilience. The aim is to restore routine, promote positive coping mechanisms, and instill dignity for the future among crisis-affected boys and girls, in accordance with humanitarian coordination standards and cultural sensitivities in Northeast Nigeria. 

Specific Duties and Responsibilities: 

1. Lead one-on-one and group counselling support sessions for project participants and caregivers;
2. Build resilience & coping skills in individuals and communities;
3. Conduct sensitization sessions and prepare weekly/monthly activity schedule as the need arises, and ensure availability, safe storage, and maintenance of psychosocial support (PSS) materials;
4. Keep records of new beneficiaries, daily attendance, and submit reports (accurate & on time) as the need may require;
5. Coordinate psychosocial support (PSS) activities, including work-plans, deployment, and tracking;
6. Provide technical guidance, supervision, and on-the-job training to PSS teams, and supervise project assistants and PSS volunteer team as the need arises; 
7. Offer MHPSS technical support and in-service supervision, and develop and implement capacity-building plans and trainings;
8. Conduct field monitoring, evaluations, impact assessments and psychometric assessments on MHPSS;
9. Meet stakeholders (civil society, leaders, law enforcement) for outreach and community awareness on MHPSS;
10. Oversee screening, referral, and assistance for vulnerable project participants, trafficking survivors, etc.
11. Uphold safeguarding, \"Do No Harm\", compliance and LCPD’s Code of Conducts;
12. And any other task assigned by the HRM Unit and your Line Manager/Supervisor in line with the core values of LCPD (Integrity, Discipline. Efficiency, Accountability and Sacrifice). 

Key requirements: 

1. M.Sc Clinical Psychology, M.Sc Developmental Psychology, M.Ed Special Education, Masters in Humanitarian Studies/Disaster Management, and M.Ed Guidance & Counselling; will be given more priority;
2. At least three years of experience in psychosocial and mental health programs, with a substantial background in disaster and humanitarian crisis situations; 
3. Track record of experience in MHPSS strategy development, program design, training, and technical support; 
4. Experience in humanitarian coordination and clinical supervision with an MHPSS background;
5. Knowledge of MHPSS Capacity Building, Community-based Psychosocial Support Programs, and IASC and UN Guidelines (ie. Psychological First Aid); 
6. Sound understanding of the safeguarding SOPs, Child Protection Laws, Confidentiality and the applicability;
7. Strong leadership and management skills; 
8. Sound understanding of the core humanitarian/MHPSS principles, 5 Ws and its applicability;
9. Experience working in Northeast Nigeria, most preferably on Education in Emergencies Response; 
10. Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Google Sheets/Docs, Report Writing (in humanitarian context), Outlook, and Excel; 
11. Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English and Hausa Languages;
12. Ability to multitask, be organized, flexible, adapt, and work well under pressure; 
13. Experience in developing and delivering coaching and training manuals and guidelines to a range of audiences across different agencies;
14. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with partners, donors, and stakeholders;
15. Demonstrated capacity for teaching & coaching, engaging approaches to training, and orientation session delivery.