Mental Health & Psychosocial Support & Child Protection Associate

Organizational Context

UNICEF operates in challenging environments globally, dedicated to saving children's lives, defending their rights, and helping them reach their full potential. In the Pacific region, UNICEF's strategy focuses on ensuring children and communities are resilient to climate and environmental shocks. Vanuatu, an island nation, faces significant stressors affecting children's well-being, including climate-related emergencies and social adversities. Strengthening mental health and psychosocial support is crucial for child protection and resilience.

Job Purpose

This role supports UNICEF's "I Support My Friends" initiative in Vanuatu, a peer-to-peer program designed to enhance mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for children and adolescents within school settings. The initiative trains young people to identify and support peers in distress, guided by trained adults using psychological first aid principles. The position is critical for strengthening the quality of MHPSS implementation, promoting child safeguarding, and ensuring lessons learned inform future programming, contributing to a safer and more supportive environment for children in Vanuatu.

Responsibilities

The National UN Volunteer will support the rollout of the "I Support My Friends" program in Vanuatu under the guidance of UNICEF's Child Protection team and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training. Key duties include assisting with the planning and coordination of rollout activities, supporting the organization and delivery of training sessions for facilitators, school staff, children, and adolescents, and providing mentoring and follow-up support to trained adults. The role involves documenting implementation progress, challenges, and lessons learned, ensuring adherence to child safeguarding and MHPSS principles, and supporting safe referral pathways. Additionally, the volunteer will facilitate communication among stakeholders, prepare reports, and provide general program support for child protection and MHPSS activities.

Work Experience

A minimum of one month of experience is required, with one year of relevant experience preferred. This includes experience in social work, psychology, community development, or related programs. The candidate should possess strong communication and reporting skills, be adaptable to challenging environments, work effectively in multicultural teams, and demonstrate self-motivation and the ability to meet deadlines. Familiarity with child rights and volunteerism is also desirable.

Skills

Key competencies include accountability, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, judgment, decision-making, planning, organization, professionalism, and self-management. Specific areas of expertise include community development, education, and youth engagement. The role requires excellent interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to work collaboratively with diverse partners.

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