Child Protection MHPSS Officer

International Rescue Committee · Mykolayiv

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

This position will be based in Mykolaiv, with regular travel to IRC intervention areas and partner/government/community locations required.

Under the direct supervision of the Child Protection (CP) Manager, the CP Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Officer will serve as the field-level technical focal point for child and caregiver MHPSS. In line with IRC Ukraine's transition toward partner-, government-, and community-led delivery, the role will focus primarily on strengthening the quality, sustainability, and accessibility of community-based psychosocial support rather than large-scale direct implementation by IRC.

The Officer will provide technical accompaniment to IRC CP staff, partners, government counterparts, community committees, volunteers, and facilitators to implement and sustain evidence-based PSS and parenting approaches, including Now I'm Stronger (NIS), Supporting Adolescents and Families in Emergencies (SAFE), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Safe at Home, and other approved approaches. The Officer will coordinate and mentor community volunteers/facilitators, observe and follow up field implementation, support local actors to progressively lead quality PSS activities, and contribute technical expertise to safe, child-friendly assessments and consultations involving children when needed.

The position will retain a limited direct-service function by accepting selected referrals from CP Case Management and providing short-term psychological consultation or crisis support within professional competencies, while referring cases requiring specialized mental health care. Based on program needs and agreed collaboration, the Officer may also be temporarily seconded or embedded with selected governmental or non-governmental actors to provide technical accompaniment, mentoring, quality improvement, and support institutionalization of effective MHPSS/PSS practices.

Primary Responsibilities:

Technical MHPSS Support, Referrals and Program Quality

• Serve as the main field-level CP MHPSS technical focal point and provide practical guidance to CP staff, partners, government counterparts, and community actors on psychosocial support for children, adolescents, and caregivers.
• Receive selected referrals from CP Case Workers and provide limited short-term psychological consultation, crisis support, and psychoeducation within professional competencies; facilitate safe referral to specialized mental health, protection, health, or other services when required.
• Support Case Workers and partner staff to recognize psychosocial distress, respond safely, communicate appropriately with children and caregivers, and understand when specialized referral is needed.
• Maintain knowledge of relevant MHPSS services and referral pathways and promote confidentiality, informed consent/assent, safeguarding, inclusion, and Do No Harm principles across supported activities.

Community-Based PSS, Volunteers and Field Follow-up

• Lead technical support for community-based PSS activities and support communities and local actors to increasingly organize and sustain safe, inclusive, and age-appropriate activities with reduced reliance on IRC direct implementation.
• Coordinate, mentor, and provide technical follow-up to community volunteers, facilitators, committees, and other community structures involved in child, adolescent, caregiver, or family-focused PSS activities.
• Support activity planning, facilitator preparation, scheduling, safe participant engagement, referral linkages, and practical problem solving with volunteers and community actors.
• Conduct regular field visits to observe implementation, provide on-the-job coaching, identify quality gaps, agree corrective actions, and follow up implementation and facilitator progress.
• Jointly organize or co-facilitate community events, group activities, awareness sessions, and PSS initiatives with partners, government counterparts, volunteers, and community structures when these contribute to capacity transfer and sustainability.

Evidence-Based PSS and Parenting Approaches

• Support adaptation, roll-out, quality assurance, and sustainability of IRC evidence-based approaches, including NIS, SAFE, SEL, Safe at Home, and other approved child, adolescent, and caregiver interventions.
• Train, coach, and mentor partner staff, government service providers, community facilitators, and volunteers to deliver selected approaches safely and with appropriate fidelity to core program principles.
• Provide refresher sessions, observation, supportive supervision, and practical coaching; document recurring implementation gaps and coordinate additional technical support where needed.
• Work with partners and public service providers to embed effective PSS and parenting approaches within existing community, social, education, child protection, or other relevant services where feasible.

Partner, Government and Secondment Support

• Build effective working relationships with relevant government institutions, municipal services, local NGOs, and other child protection/MHPSS service providers and jointly identify priority technical support needs.
• Provide ongoing technical accompaniment, mentoring, consultation, and targeted capacity strengthening to counterparts, with an emphasis on applying learning in day-to-day practice and improving the quality and continuity of services for children and families.
• Where agreed by IRC and the receiving organization, undertake temporary secondment/embedded technical support with selected governmental or non-governmental actors, working under a defined scope to strengthen MHPSS/PSS practice, systems, supervision, referral, and sustainability.
• Participate in joint assessments, planning, implementation reviews, service-quality monitoring, and follow-up with partners and government actors, ensuring agreed actions are tracked and addressed.
• Support local actors in line with IRC's partnership principles, promoting two-way learning and avoiding substitution for functions that can be sustainably led by partners or public institutions.

Child-Sensitive Assessment and Data Collection Support

• Support CP technical, MEAL, partner, and other relevant colleagues to plan and conduct assessments, consultations, and data collection involving children using child-sensitive, age- and developmentally appropriate, participatory approaches.
• Contribute to the adaptation and use of child-friendly data-collection tools and methods, including age-appropriate individual interviews, small-group discussions or other participatory methods where suitable, ensuring accessibility and inclusion for children with different needs and abilities.
• Where appropriately trained and authorized, participate directly in data collection with children and provide practical guidance to colleagues and facilitators on child-friendly interviewing, voluntary participation, informed consent/child assent, confidentiality, safeguarding, recognizing distress, safe stopping, and referral pathways in line with approved protocols and Do No Harm principles.

Capacity Strengthening, Coordination, Monitoring and Reporting

• Provide targeted MHPSS training, coaching, and case-based consultation to CP staff and, as agreed, external actors on psychosocial distress, supportive communication, child development, caregiver support, safe referral, and other priority topics.
• Coordinate closely with IRC Health MHPSS, CP Case Management, government engagement/institutional support, community-based programming, WPE, Protection and Rule of Law, Partnerships, and MEAL colleagues to ensure complementary approaches and clear referral pathways.
• Participate in relevant local and national CP/MHPSS coordination mechanisms and technical discussions and represent IRC when delegated by the CP Manager.
• Maintain concise work plans, activity records, training/coaching documentation, referral records where applicable, and relevant indicators; contribute to CP reporting, donor inputs, assessments, proposals, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Track emerging psychosocial needs, service gaps, implementation challenges, and good practices from field work and communicate priority findings and recommendations to the CP Manager and relevant technical colleagues.

Other Duties

• Follow IRC security procedures and consistently promote professional conduct, child safeguarding, confidentiality, accountability, equality, and respect in all activities.
• Perform other relevant duties requested by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC Child Protection programming.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Position directly/administratively reports to: Child Protection Manager

Direct reports: None. The role coordinates and technically mentors community volunteers/facilitators but does not line-manage them unless formally assigned.
Other internal contacts: CP Case Worker; Government Engagement/Institutional Support Officer; central CP technical and capacity-strengthening colleagues; Health MHPSS; WPE; Protection and Rule of Law; Community-Based Programming; Partnerships; MEAL; Grants and other relevant functions.
External contacts: Government and municipal child protection/social service actors, local NGOs and partners, community committees, volunteers and facilitators, service providers, MHPSS/CP coordination structures, and other relevant stakeholders.

Requirements

The Child Protection MHPSS Officer will need to meet the requirements below:

• University degree in Psychology; relevant postgraduate or professional training in child psychology, counselling, clinical psychology, or MHPSS is an asset.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience providing psychological or psychosocial support to children, adolescents, and/or caregivers, preferably in humanitarian, protection, social service, or community settings.
• Experience working with children affected by violence, displacement, conflict, family separation, or other protection risks, with sound understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, informed consent/assent, and ethical practice.
• Demonstrated experience in community-based MHPSS/PSS programming and in training, coaching, mentoring, or technically supporting staff, partners, volunteers, community facilitators, or government service providers.
• Experience with structured child/adolescent PSS, SEL, caregiver/parenting, or similar evidence-based approaches is highly desirable.
• Experience working with Ukrainian government/municipal institutions, local NGOs, or community structures is strongly desirable; readiness to undertake temporary secondment/embedded technical support arrangements when required.
• Ability to provide short-term psychological support within professional competencies and recognize when specialized mental health referral or additional technical supervision is required.
• Experience supporting ethical, child-sensitive assessments or consultations with children, including age-appropriate interviewing/participatory methods and application of consent/assent, safeguarding, confidentiality, and distress/referral protocols, is an asset.
• Strong facilitation, communication, relationship-management, field follow-up, and problem-solving skills, with ability to work independently as a technical focal point and collaboratively across teams.
• Good organization, documentation, basic reporting, and computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Languages: Fluent Ukrainian; Russian desirable; working proficiency in English. Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field, partner, government, and community locations, subject to security and access conditions.

This position will be based in Mykolaiv, with regular travel to IRC intervention areas and partner/government/community locations required.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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Child Protection MHPSS Officer

• Serve as the main field-level CP MHPSS technical focal point and provide practical guidance to CP staff, partners, government counterparts, and community actors on psychosocial support for children, adolescents, and caregivers.

• Receive selected referrals from CP Case Workers and provide limited short-term psychological consultation, crisis support, and psychoeducation within professional competencies; facilitate safe referral to specialized mental health, protection, health, or other services when required.

• Support Case Workers and partner staff to recognize psychosocial distress, respond safely, communicate appropriately with children and caregivers, and understand when specialized referral is needed.

• Maintain knowledge of relevant MHPSS services and referral pathways and promote confidentiality, informed consent/assent, safeguarding, inclusion, and Do No Harm principles across supported activities.

• Lead technical support for community-based PSS activities and support communities and local actors to increasingly organize and sustain safe, inclusive, and age-appropriate activities with reduced reliance on IRC direct implementation.

• Coordinate, mentor, and provide technical follow-up to community volunteers, facilitators, committees, and other community structures involved in child, adolescent, caregiver, or family-focused PSS activities.

• Support activity planning, facilitator preparation, scheduling, safe participant engagement, referral linkages, and practical problem solving with volunteers and community actors.

• Conduct regular field visits to observe implementation, provide on-the-job coaching, identify quality gaps, agree corrective actions, and follow up implementation and facilitator progress.

• Jointly organize or co-facilitate community events, group activities, awareness sessions, and PSS initiatives with partners, government counterparts, volunteers, and community structures when these contribute to capacity transfer and sustainability.

• Support adaptation, roll-out, quality assurance, and sustainability of IRC evidence-based approaches, including NIS, SAFE, SEL, Safe at Home, and other approved child, adolescent, and caregiver interventions.

• Train, coach, and mentor partner staff, government service providers, community facilitators, and volunteers to deliver selected approaches safely and with appropriate fidelity to core program principles.

• Provide refresher sessions, observation, supportive supervision, and practical coaching; document recurring implementation gaps and coordinate additional technical support where needed.

• Work with partners and public service providers to embed effective PSS and parenting approaches within existing community, social, education, child protection, or other relevant services where feasible.

• Build effective working relationships with relevant government institutions, municipal services, local NGOs, and other child protection/MHPSS service providers and jointly identify priority technical support needs.

• Provide ongoing technical accompaniment, mentoring, consultation, and targeted capacity strengthening to counterparts, with an emphasis on applying learning in day-to-day practice and improving the quality and continuity of services for children and families.

• Where agreed by IRC and the receiving organization, undertake temporary secondment/embedded technical support with selected governmental or non-governmental actors, working under a defined scope to strengthen MHPSS/PSS practice, systems, supervision, referral, and sustainability.

• Participate in joint assessments, planning, implementation reviews, service-quality monitoring, and follow-up with partners and government actors, ensuring agreed actions are tracked and addressed.

• Support local actors in line with IRC's partnership principles, promoting two-way learning and avoiding substitution for functions that can be sustainably led by partners or public institutions.

• Support CP technical, MEAL, partner, and other relevant colleagues to plan and conduct assessments, consultations, and data collection involving children using child-sensitive, age- and developmentally appropriate, participatory approaches.

• Contribute to the adaptation and use of child-friendly data-collection tools and methods, including age-appropriate individual interviews, small-group discussions or other participatory methods where suitable, ensuring accessibility and inclusion for children with different needs and abilities.

• Provide targeted MHPSS training, coaching, and case-based consultation to CP staff and, as agreed, external actors on psychosocial distress, supportive communication, child development, caregiver support, safe referral, and other priority topics.

• Coordinate closely with IRC Health MHPSS, CP Case Management, government engagement/institutional support, community-based programming, WPE, Protection and Rule of Law, Partnerships, and MEAL colleagues to ensure complementary approaches and clear referral pathways.

• Participate in relevant local and national CP/MHPSS coordination mechanisms and technical discussions and represent IRC when delegated by the CP Manager.

• Maintain concise work plans, activity records, training/coaching documentation, referral records where applicable, and relevant indicators; contribute to CP reporting, donor inputs, assessments, proposals, and documentation of lessons learned.

• Track emerging psychosocial needs, service gaps, implementation challenges, and good practices from field work and communicate priority findings and recommendations to the CP Manager and relevant technical colleagues.

• Follow IRC security procedures and consistently promote professional conduct, child safeguarding, confidentiality, accountability, equality, and respect in all activities.

• Perform other relevant duties requested by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC Child Protection programming.

Direct reports: None. The role coordinates and technically mentors community volunteers/facilitators but does not line-manage them unless formally assigned.

Other internal contacts: CP Case Worker; Government Engagement/Institutional Support Officer; central CP technical and capacity-strengthening colleagues; Health MHPSS; WPE; Protection and Rule of Law; Community-Based Programming; Partnerships; MEAL; Grants and other relevant functions.

External contacts: Government and municipal child protection/social service actors, local NGOs and partners, community committees, volunteers and facilitators, service providers, MHPSS/CP coordination structures, and other relevant stakeholders.

• University degree in Psychology; relevant postgraduate or professional training in child psychology, counselling, clinical psychology, or MHPSS is an asset.

• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience providing psychological or psychosocial support to children, adolescents, and/or caregivers, preferably in humanitarian, protection, social service, or community settings.

• Experience working with children affected by violence, displacement, conflict, family separation, or other protection risks, with sound understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, informed consent/assent, and ethical practice.

• Demonstrated experience in community-based MHPSS/PSS programming and in training, coaching, mentoring, or technically supporting staff, partners, volunteers, community facilitators, or government service providers.

• Experience with structured child/adolescent PSS, SEL, caregiver/parenting, or similar evidence-based approaches is highly desirable.

• Experience working with Ukrainian government/municipal institutions, local NGOs, or community structures is strongly desirable; readiness to undertake temporary secondment/embedded technical support arrangements when required.

• Ability to provide short-term psychological support within professional competencies and recognize when specialized mental health referral or additional technical supervision is required.

• Experience supporting ethical, child-sensitive assessments or consultations with children, including age-appropriate interviewing/participatory methods and application of consent/assent, safeguarding, confidentiality, and distress/referral protocols, is an asset.

• Strong facilitation, communication, relationship-management, field follow-up, and problem-solving skills, with ability to work independently as a technical focal point and collaboratively across teams.

• Good organization, documentation, basic reporting, and computer skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel.

• Languages: Fluent Ukrainian; Russian desirable; working proficiency in English. Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field, partner, government, and community locations, subject to security and access conditions.