JOB DESCRIPTION

 

TITLE: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Project Officer

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Program

Operation Egypt Country Office

LOCATION: Cairo, Egypt

GRADE: 4

CONTRACT LENGTH:. 12 Month

Contingent upon confirmation of funding and project duration

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ORGANISATION PROFILE / PROGRAMME SUMMARY:

Save the Children International is the world’s leading independent organisation for children. We work in 120 countries and work, together with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. In Egypt, Save the Children International has been working to ensure that children’s rights are respected, protected and promoted since 1982. We carry out both long-term development work and, more recently emergency humanitarian work.

This project is part of Save the Children Egypt’s portfolio, aiming to provide comprehensive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services for displaced Individuals in Egypt, including Palestinian medical evacuees and their accompanying family members.

The project seeks to enhance the well-being and resilience of affected individuals through a multi-layered approach that combines community-based psychosocial support, specialized counselling, and referral to advanced mental health care when needed, while also linking with Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) interventions to alleviate financial stress among the most vulnerable families.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Project Officer will play a key role in leading and supervising the implementation of MHPSS activities.

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring the high-quality delivery of community-based psychosocial support to displaced Palestinians in Egypt, including medical evacuees and their family members.

The Officer will supervise the MHPSS field team, ensure the consistent application of SCI’s technical standards and intervention models, and provide continuous guidance, supervision, and capacity-building support to frontline staff.

In addition, the role will ensure effective coordination with internal teams, such as Case Management, Child Protection, Education and CVA components and contribute to planning and reporting and promote learning and quality improvement across all MHPSS interventions.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Project Manager

Dotted Line: MHPSS TA

Staff directly reporting to this post: 5 Psychologists and MHPSS coordinator.

Close coordination with the other project Officers, Senior officers and other MHPSS team members from different projects.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Project Implementation

• Lead and oversee the implementation of community-based MHPSS activities under the project, ensuring high-quality, timely, and well-coordinated delivery of services.
• Supervise and provide ongoing technical guidance to the MHPSS field team to ensure interventions are implemented in line with SCI standards, agreed models, and practice guidelines.
• Provide regular individual and group supervision sessions to field staff and offer day-to-day support on challenging cases when needed.
• Ensure that all psychosocial support interventions are evidence-informed, child-friendly, and culturally appropriate.
• Review and approve monthly activity plans and support the team in adjusting implementation schedules when necessary.
• Conduct regular field visits to observe sessions, assess quality, and provide on-the-job coaching and feedback to facilitators and psychologists.
• Ensure smooth coordination with internal project components (such as Case Management, Child Protection, Education, and CVA) to provide comprehensive and integrated support to beneficiaries.
• Ensure compliance with project work plans, budgets, and MEAL systems, and contribute to adaptive planning based on field learnings.
• Promote children’s meaningful participation and inclusion in all psychosocial activities.
• Ensure SCI’s Child Safeguarding and Code of Conduct policies are effectively implemented and mainstreamed within all activities.
• Support staff professional development through coaching, feedback, and capacity-building activities.

2. Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare concise and analytical reports, success stories, and case studies on a monthly and quarterly basis, reflecting progress, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Maintain accurate and organized records for all MHPSS activities, including group and individual sessions, and ensure data confidentiality.
• Work closely with the MEAL team to ensure regular monitoring, data collection, and integration of feedback into program design.
• Ensure all documentation is properly archived in line with SCI standards and donor requirements.
• Share timely updates with the Project Manager and contribute to donor and internal reports as required.

3. Coordination and Collaboration

• Coordinate closely with the MHPSS Technical Advisor to ensure technical quality and consistency across interventions.
• Maintain active collaboration with Case Management, CP, and CVA teams to ensure holistic and coordinated service delivery.
• Participate in internal learning events and contribute to developing best practices.
• Represent the MHPSS component in internal coordination meetings as assigned by the Project Manager.

4. Emergency Preparedness and Response

• Support the implementation of SCI emergency response plans when needed, ensuring that children’s rights, dignity, and well-being are prioritized.
• Demonstrate flexibility and readiness to adapt responsibilities in response to emerging needs or urgent situations.

5. General Responsibilities

• Uphold and promote Save the Children’s policies and practices related to Child Safeguarding, Code of Conduct, Health and Safety, and Diversity and Inclusion.
• Demonstrate commitment to Save the Children’s values and humanitarian principles in all activities and interactions.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice) Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.

• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.

• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others. Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters.

• Values diversity as a source of competitive strength.

• Approachable and active listener.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.

• Willing to take disciplined risks. Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity. Confidentiality and Data Protection:

• Ensures that beneficiaries’ data are kept confidentially and in line with data protection policies.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor”s degree in psychology, sociology, development, political science, related studies, or relevant work experience.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology; having master’s degree is preferable.

• Minimum of 4-5 years of experience in development/humanitarian aid; previous experience in Psychosocial support field is required.

• Previous management experience is required.

• Highly developed interpersonal, communication skills, writing and organizational skills.

• Good training and facilitation skills.

• Fluency in English and Arabic (spoken and written) is required.

• Previous experience working with refugee/marginalized communities is required; preferably with previous experience working with UASC.

• Commitment to Save the Children values and Child Safeguarding.

Additional Job Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

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