Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is a grassroots civil society organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York. In particular, WAW works to help Afghan women and girls exercise their rights to pursue their individual potential to self-determination, and to representation in all areas of life—political, social, cultural, and economic. WAW relentlessly advocates for women’s rights and challenges the norms that underpin gender-based violence to influence attitudes and bring about change.

Job Summary: 

The MHPSS Counselor focuses on strengthening the psychosocial wellbeing of returnees, IDPs, and host communities. The role involves providing structured, non-clinical psychological interventions (such as PM+) and facilitating group-based support to help individuals regain daily functioning and social connection. A core component of this role is regular participation in MHPSS Technical Supervision to ensure the quality and safety of community-based interventions.

Main Responsibilities:

• Provide individual counseling using brief, scalable, and evidence-based psychosocial protocols (e.g., Problem Management Plus - PM+) to help clients manage distress and practical problems.
• Facilitate structured group PSS sessions aimed at building coping skills, emotional regulation, and social support networks.
• Conduct Psychological First Aid (PFA) for individuals in immediate crisis and assist them in stabilizing their environment.
• conduct  MHPSS needs assessment and wellbeing mapping to identify the specific stressors facing IDPs, Host communities and returnees.
• Deliver structured psychoeducation sessions to individuals, families, and community groups to normalize psychological distress, promote positive coping mechanisms, and provide information on emotional self-regulation and stress management.
• Lead mental health awareness sessions to reduce stigma and promote the "Help-Seeking" behavior for mental health and psychosocial concerns.
• Act as a bridge between the community and formal services; identify individuals with complex mental health conditions and ensure a safe referral to clinical mental health services or protection actors.
• Follow up on referred cases to ensure the individual is accessing the necessary social, health, or livelihood support.
• Attend mandatory MHPSS Technical Supervision meetings to review cases, ensure adherence to psychosocial protocols, and maintain professional boundaries Ensure all community-based initiatives are "Do No Harm" compliant and culturally adapted to the local context.
• Maintain secure and confidential records of sessions, focusing on functional goals and psychosocial progress.
• Any other tasks assigned by the line manager.

• Bachelor’s in psychology, social work, clinical psychiatry, or trained by MOH , or received accredited  training by IPSO
• Accredited training certificate in psychosocial counseling or health social counselling  is highly desirable 
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience (years of accredited training is counted)
• Fluent in both Pashto and Dari

Interested Afghan applicants should submit a cover letter along with their CVs in one PDF file explaining their interest in and suitability for the position. Please indicate the vacancy number (VA#1561 MHPSS Counsellor, Paktia clearly in the cover letter and in the subject line of your email and send it to: hr@womenforafghanwomen.org

Note: Kindly avoid sending your educational and work certificates at this stage of recruitment. Applications received after the closing date without mentioning the location in the subject line of the email will not be considered.