MHPSS Coordinator at SOS Children Villages

We work to prevent family breakdown and care for children who have lost parental care, or who risk losing it. We work with communities, partners and states to ensure that the rights of all children, in every society, are respected and fulfilled.

We are non-governmental and non-denominational. We respect all religions and cultures and work with trusted partners in places where we can contribute to social development.

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The MHPSS Coordinator will lead the planning, implementation, and supervision of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions within SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria’s humanitarian and emergency response project.
The role ensures that children, young people, families, and communities affected by crises receive quality, evidence- based, and culturally appropriate psychosocial care in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) MHPSS Guidelines and SOS Children’s Villages’ child care and protection framework.
The Coordinator will work closely with child protection, education, health, and livelihood teams to ensure an integrated and holistic response.

Responsibilities
Programme Leadership and Coordination:

Lead the design, implementation, and scale-up of MHPSS activities within the humanitarian project.
Ensure MHPSS interventions, such as Psychosocial First Aid (PFA), Problem Management Plus (PM+), Team Up, Referrals Pathways to clinical services, and other structured individual and group support activities are in line with international standards (IASC Guidelines, Sphere Standards, WHO mhGAP).
Integrate child-focused MHPSS activities and relevant care approaches such as Trauma-informed Care, Child-friendly Spaces, Child Safeguarding and Protection and Caregiver Support Groups into the emergency response.
Coordinate MHPSS activities across project sites, ensuring consistency and quality of interventions.
Represent SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria in MHPSS and Protection cluster meetings, inter-agency working groups, and donor forums.

Capacity Building and Supervision:

Train and supervise SOS MHPSS Hub Members, Lay Counsellors, Social Workers, and Volunteers in evidence-based interventions (e.g., Problem Management Plus, Psychological First Aid, TeamUp).
Provide technical supervision and mentoring to trained MHPSS Field Workers delivering group-based and individual psychosocial interventions.
Facilitate self-care and well-being initiatives for frontline workers to reduce burnout and secondary trauma.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

Bachelor’s degree in psychology, Social Work, Mental Health, Public Health, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).
Minimum of 3 years experience in MHPSS programming, with at least 2 years in humanitarian or emergency response.
Strong knowledge of IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings and humanitarian standards.
Experience in program design, coordination, and implementation in crisis-affected contexts.
Proven track record in capacity building, training, and technical support.
Strong program management, coordination, and organizational skills.
Excellent facilitation, training, and mentoring abilities.
Strong communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills with diverse stakeholders.
Proficiency in monitoring, evaluation, and reporting tools.
Ability to adapt to rapidly changing emergency contexts.
Commitment to child safeguarding, protection, and humanitarian principles.
High emotional intelligence, empathy, and cultural sensitivity.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
Ability to foster collaboration in multi-sectoral responses.
Resilience, flexibility, and ability to work in challenging environments.