The Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh), with its headquarters in Lausanne and an office in Zurich, is the leading Swiss child rights organization with more than 2,000 employees worldwide. We stand together with children to uphold their rights, protect their lives, and improve their well-being. We achieve this through innovative programmes focused on health, migration, and access to justice, specially designed to have a positive and sustainable impact.

Tdh has been working in Afghanistan since 1995 and carries out projects related to Child Protection, Mother and Child health, and Livelihood Programs in Kabul, Balkh, Kunar, and Nangarhar provinces.

Job Summary :

Under the direct supervision of project officer in Balkh province, she/he is responsible for providing individual and group psychosocial support and basic mental health counselling services to vulnerable individuals, including children, adolescents, and adults affected by conflict, displacement, poverty, gender-based violence, or other psychosocial stressors. The position ensures that services are delivered in a confidential, ethical, culturally appropriate, and good manner, in line with national and international MHPSS standards.

Main responsibilities:

Key tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Services:

• Conduct individual and group counselling sessions to address stress, trauma, grief, and other psychosocial issues.

• Provide psychological first aid (PFA) and emotional support to clients in crisis.

• Use standard psychosocial assessment tools to identify needs, risks, and appropriate interventions.

• Maintain confidential and secure case records and follow organisational data protection protocols.

• Provide mental health and case management services and consider the confidentiality and do no harm principle while providing case management.

• Ensure all aspects of work are in line with Tdh MHPSS intervention guidelines, key aspects of Psychological First Aid (PFA), and relevant aspects of the IASC guideline

2. Referral & Case Management:

• Identify and refer clients to specialised services (medical, protection) as needed.

• Strengthen and maintain referral pathways with relevant service providers.

3. Community Outreach & Awareness:

• Lead awareness sessions on mental health, coping strategies, stress management, and psychosocial wellbeing.

• Engage communities to reduce stigma related to mental health issues.

• Conduct community mobilisation activities in coordination with supervisors and partners.

• Prepare and deliver training for the purposes of capacity-building on psychosocial support, including PFA and case management trainings, where appropriate

4. Reporting & Coordination:

• Prepare daily/weekly/monthly reports on counselling activities, referrals, and outreach and submit to the supervisor regularly.

Child Protection

• Child Protection: Use observation skills to detect any behavioral changes or specific vulnerability in children that may be a reason for concern and share these observations with the immediate supervisor and the social workers' team at joint weekly staff meetings to determine appropriate responses.

• Ensure that all child protection-related activities are in line with child protection minimum relevant standards, and enhance program/activities based on CPMS.

Safeguarding Policy ( Global Code of Conduct)

• Global Code of Conduct ( GCC ) Child Safeguarding Policy (CSP), Policy on the Protection from sexual exploitation and Abuse ( PSEA ), Directive on staff misconduct at workplace and GBV, Operational Risk Management: Undertake to adhere to the Terre des hommes safeguarding policy and the principles connected to children's rights

• Undertake to ensure the best possible practical implementation of the safeguarding policy (Global Code of Conduct) and the management of operational risks in his/her area of intervention and within his/her team.

• Make sure all volunteers and visitors sign/underset and Tdh Global code of conduct at a glance and my commitment to child safeguarding.

Safety & Security

• Report instantly if you observe any security threat, hear any report or any suspicion, rumors about the safety of the staff and its beneficiaries

• Strictly follow Tdh security policy and the regional security plan.

• Ensure and facilitate prompt sharing of information and action on all events relating to security issues

Education :

Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counselling, Mental Health, or related field

Nationally recognised MHPSS/psychosocial counselling certification/diploma is a plus

Experience / Skills :

3 years of experience in BPHS clinics as a psychosocial counsellor or in public hospitals

Working experience in rural areas of the country, especially in Balkh province

Able to provide MHPSS individual and group counselling to the beneficiaries

Languages:

Fluency in oral and written communication in Pashto and Dari, including representation, liaison, and negotiation skills.

Tdh General Code of Conduct and Ethical Policies :

• Commits to promoting and complying with the Global Code of Conduct, systematically reporting any violations of the Code through Tdh's formal reporting mechanisms and dealing with any violations of procedures and processes appropriately.

• Raises awareness of the Foundation of the risks of policy non-compliance, violence, and abuse, and related rights, towards children, community members, and our own employees.

• Undertakes to comply with key ethical policies and guidelines, including the Safeguarding Policy, the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy, the Conflict-of-Interest Policy, and other policies related to the prevention of terrorist financing and criminal activities, as well as workplace behavior.

• Commits to putting values and principles into practice through exemplary behavior, in full compliance with the Code of Conduct, and always respecting established procedures and processes.

• Commits to developing a compliant and enlightened management culture within the organization and in our work with children and the communities in which we operate.

Procedure:

Only complete applications (updated and accurate CV + covering letter) received through the Tdh online application platform will be processed. All information provided must be complete, truthful, and verifiable, as any discrepancies may affect your eligibility in the recruitment process.

Additional documents (diplomas, work certificates, etc.) will be requested at a later date. 

Please note that

- Only applications submitted through the online platform will be considered. Applications submitted by email, in person, or through other means will not be accepted.

- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stages of the recruitment process.

- Tdh upholds the principles of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, and maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward any harm, abuse, or exploitation of children or vulnerable adults by staff, representatives, or partners.

- Female candidates and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Tdh values the diversity, perspectives, and contributions each individual brings to the team. 

References :

Please note that all job offers will be subject to satisfactory references and checks (criminal record and anti-terrorism funding check). Terre des hommes will ask the Human Resources of previous organisations to provide references on any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment, as well as fraud and corruption, during employment, or incidents under investigation at the time the candidate left employment.

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to apply through the Tdh online application platform via the following link:

https://jobs.tdh.org/en-GB/jobs/internal/b0e93b71-e05e-4df5-b3b9-c9a34acbde80