MHPSS Assistant

Confidential

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Posted date	13th December, 2024	Last date to apply	28th December, 2024
Country	Pakistan	Locations	Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Dir lower, Haripur
Category	Program Management
Salary	PKR120,000 - 130,000
Type	Full Time	Positions	6
Experience	2 years

This position is open on a rolling basis and will be filled upon the availability of a suitable candidate.

Job Profile

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Assistant will work under the supervision of the MHPSS Senior Officer, providing psychosocial support to individuals in distress, such as refugees and disaster survivors. Responsibilities include managing Organization toll-free helpline, offering counseling, stress and anger management, referral support, and ensuring confidentiality. The role involves building referral mechanisms with health institutions, maintaining beneficiary data, and adhering to Organization protection and safeguarding policies while supporting project implementation. This role will work closely with technical coordinator – MHPSS, Project leads and relevant field teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. Counseling and Emotional Support

- Provide empathetic counseling in a safe, non-judgmental space for project participants to express feelings.

- Maintain and update a directory of relevant service providers for referrals.

-Offer psychosocial first aid, one-on-one counseling, and follow-ups through helpline and community visits.

- Deliver education and support tailored to beneficiaries' needs, ensuring confidentiality of cases.

2. Assessment

- Conduct and update psychosocial assessments of beneficiaries regularly.

- Perform profiling interviews, maintain accurate data entry, and identify cases needing specialized support.

- Facilitate psychosocial group activities and recruit/monitor Community Health Care Volunteers at the village level.

3. Monitoring

- Oversee and support Community Health Care Volunteers in program districts.

- Verify and maintain records of session beneficiaries and address course corrections as needed.

4. Psychoeducation

- Educate and aware participants on coping mechanisms, stress management, and self-care techniques to build resilience.

- Organize workshops, group sessions, and support groups to foster mutual support and community bonding.

5. Referrals

- Consult with Senior MHPSS officer and Technical Coordinator MHPSS when necessary for management of referrals

- Coordinate with healthcare professionals and mental health specialists to provide necessary referrals.

6. Documentation

- Maintainaccurate, confidential records of client interactions and helpline calls.

- Document activities per SOPs, generate reports, and ensure data security.

- Participate in relevant project meetings and maintain up-to-date case logs.

7. Cultural Sensitivity

- Respect diverse cultural backgrounds by adapting support approaches with cultural sensitivity.

Behavior and Conduct

Will ensure the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in Organizational code of conduct and safeguarding policies

Will be a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members

Will ensure own actions and the actions of the team members they manage do not impact the safety of the team and the vulnerable communities we serve

Will ensure external stakeholders are aware of Organization conduct and reporting mechanisms

Report any concerns

Person Specification

Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role.

Essential criteria

Minimumbachelor's degree in psychology and experience in a field related to humanitarian assistance, emergency response and development, especially with refugee programming.

Minimum of 2 years related working experience in psychology, social work, community mobilization and mental health with proven track records. Desirable if certified in Psychosocial First Aid or another mental health certification

Proven experience responding to and managing sensitive psycho-social/protection / safeguarding matters in a confidential manner

Experience in providing training sessions to beneficiaries on psycho-social issues.

Good oral and written English, Urdu and Pashto communication skills

Understanding of changing dynamic of Afghan refugees and host communities

Proven track record of engagement with refugee programming

Experience in providing training sessions to project participants on psychosocial issues

Good oral and written English, Urdu and Pashto communication skills

Cultural sensitivity and awareness around confidentiality and ethics

Willingness and ability to travel in other locations of the project

Desirable criteria

Proactive and compliant with the project targets

Experience in Refugee and host programming

Familiar with new developments in MHPSS field

Empathy and the ability to establish rapport with desired individuals and communities.

Knowledge of mental health and psychosocial support principles and best practices.

Understanding of Safeguarding and Protection principles

We are equal opportunity employer.

Requirements