MHPSS Counsellor (Local Announcment)

Over the past few years, Afghanistan has witnessed a relative improvement in security and stability across much of the country. This has allowed humanitarian actors like INTERSOS to maintain uninterrupted access and expand services in areas that were previously hard to reach. Despite this progress, the humanitarian situation remains critical, with millions of Afghans continuing to face acute vulnerabilities due to prolonged economic hardship, natural disasters, and limited access to essential services.

In 2025, more than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, with food insecurity, child malnutrition, and displacement remaining key concerns. Natural disasters, such as floods and recent earthquakes, have further compounded the needs of already struggling communities.

INTERSOS continues to operate through a community-based approach with field bases in Kabul, Kandahar, and Zabul, delivering primary healthcare, nutrition, and protection services with a focus on women, children, and persons with disabilities. The organization enjoys strong community acceptance and collaborates closely with relevant national authorities, including maintaining the full participation of female staff in all activities.

While the operational environment is largely stable and conducive, funding shortfalls and systemic barriers such as restrictions on financial flows and administrative bottlenecks continue to impact the scope and scale of humanitarian response. Sustained support is crucial to ensure the continuity of life-saving services and to address the urgent needs of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations.

Entails the provision of counseling and psychosocial support services to vulnerable populations, including Child Protection (CP), Women and Girls at Risk of Gender-Based Violence (WGBV), and Individuals with Specific Needs (ISN) within IDP, Returnee, and host community settings, ensuring survivor-centered approaches, confidentiality, safety protocols, and non-discriminatory.

The role involves upholding and advocating for the understanding, adherence, and implementation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) principles to ensure the well-being and resilience of beneficiaries.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support INTERSOS to improve the quality of specialized services provided for most vulnerable cases.
• Ensure a correct individual psychological support for cases internally referred by INTERSOS case management teams.
• Ensure a correct individual psychological support for cases referred by other agencies, based on the coordination, interagency support, and mutual agreements.

Case management

• Provide a psychological assessment on selected cases referred by the caseworkers/social workers.
• Provide psychological support to cases referred by the case workers in line with case plan objectives.
• closely monitor and document the psychological recovery of cases referred by the caseworkers.
• If needed accompany the caseworkers during the home visits.
• Ensure the self-care program for all INTERSOS case workers.
• Informs the Protection Officer and Project Manager about any difficulty met in INTERSOS activities implementation or problems observed in team dynamics.
• Attend the awareness sessions arranged by CSMS & COVs, provide awareness on psychosocial stressors. Spread awareness in the community about psychosocial disorders and ways for treatment.

Support to collective PSS

• Support INTERSOS staff to improve the quality of specialized services provided (specialized psychological services - group therapy, individual counseling) for different target groups, including individuals at risk.
• Design activities with psychological purposes for vulnerable children, youth, women at risk and men attending collective PSS.
• Support INTERSOS social workers in organizing and conducting support groups for individuals at risk centers.
• Monitor the activities (awareness and support groups), conducted by the volunteers and social workers.
• Be available to train on psychological support and first aid INTERSOS staff when requested.

Reporting

• Produce and maintain accurate clinical records of the beneficiaries.
• Write technical reports on specific cases identified during the individual psychological support sessions.
• Case files and technical reports must be archived in locked and secure location; access to them should be restricted only to relevant, authorized protection program staff.
• Set up a monitoring system to evaluate the effectiveness and the impact of the planned individual and group psychological support intervention programs on the beneficiaries.
• Report to the supervisor any problems and/or training needs identified during the monitoring of social workers and caseworkers’ activities.
• Provide to the supervisor a bi-weekly and monthly reports on the activities conducted.
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Meetings and Trainings

• Participates in daily staff meetings.
• Participates in weekly internal case management meetings for Case Management.
• Compile with INTERSOS CP, PSEA and Data protection polices, Cash and case management SOPs.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality during its processing with case management beneficiaries.

• 1-3 Years as counselor dealing with children, vulnerable women, and/or PwSN at least.
• Education in counseling psychology, psychology, or any other related social sciences.
• English, Pashto, and Dari skills are required.
• Essential computer literacy (word, excel and internet).
• Previous experience in working with vulnerable women and girls and coordinating with International and national organizations operating in protection in emergencies is preferable.
• Previous experience working for an international NGO is preferable.
• Commitment to INTERSOS principles.
• Comply with all relevant INTERSOS policies and procedures.
• Adhere to strict confidentiality and information management standards and protocols, sharing information only in compliance with these standards.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to effectively present information and respond appropriately to questions from supervisor in the field.
• Availability to be based for the full week (Saturday to Thursday) in the center location (Zema, and Dinar Kheil health facilities of Kabul Province, if asked/required) to ensure the smooth implementation of activities

Respected Applicants, please visit the link below and fill in the required information.

https://forms.gle/bjeiTCTkJtGoxwwY7

Note: Priority will be given to local residents.

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted and called for a test/Interview.

Qualified People with Physical Disabilities and Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply