Child Protection Officer - Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPSS)

Volunteering Communications & PR Medical & Health

Overview

Support child protection and MHPSS initiatives for adolescents in Zambia.

You have:

• Professional experience in the field of child protection with focus on mental health and psychosocial support services.
• Experience working with Government or an NGO on child protection, child rights.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection and adolescent programming especially in the field of MHPSS.
• Computer skills (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, etc.).
• Experience in system strengthening for the prevention and response to Violence Against Children (VAC).
• Ability to speak any of the local languages used in North-Western Province is an added advantage.
• Good interpersonal, networking, and communication (verbal and written) skills.
• Excellent Facilitation skills.

Contract

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Children and adolescents in Zambia continue to experience multiple protection risks, including violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, child marriage, teenage pregnancy and psychosocial distress exacerbated by poverty, harmful norms, gender-based violence, disability exclusion, and limited access to mental health services. Weak community-based child protection systems, limited availability of adolescent-friendly mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, and insufficient service provider coordination contribute to unmet needs.

The prevalence of mental distress among the general population in Zambia stands at 16.9%, with adolescent proportions within the prevalence as follows: 29.7% experience depressive symptoms, 45.1% engage in problematic alcohol use, 31.3% report having suicidal thoughts, and 39.6% display suicidal behaviors. A retrospective analysis of Health Management Information System (HMIS) data from 2021 to 2023 shows a clear upward trend in adolescent substance use, with incidence rising from 0.35 to 0.68 per 1,000 adolescents. Over the same period, the incidence of diagnosed mental health disorders more than doubled with the most notable increases recorded in Lusaka and Northwestern Provinces. Furthermore, between January and October 2025, 54% of callers to Childline Zambia were adolescents, with 16% seeking MHPSS services and 18% reporting gender-based violence (GBV). Further, the case management system faces shortcomings at multiple levels, which restrict effective referral pathways, hinder coordination among stakeholders, weaken feedback mechanisms, and impede consistent tracking of cases.

UNICEF Zambia is supporting the Government of the Republic of Zambia in implementing a Programme dubbed, Equal Chances for Human Development (EC4HD) supported by the European Union, being implemented in 10 districts across Luapula and Northwestern Provinces. The specific objectives of the programme are;

1. Promote the well-being and development of young mothers and children by expanding and improving early childhood development and education (ECDE) infrastructure using smart and green technologies and enhancing health and nutrition services.
2. Decrease inequalities for female adolescents through improved access to education, health, protection and nutrition services.
3. Strengthen capacity of inter-ministerial & stakeholder coordination at national and sub-national level for improved service delivery in ECDE services for female adolescents, and enhanced synergies between education, health, social protection, and nutrition.

To enhance the protective environment for adolescents, UNICEF supports the Government of Zambia to strengthen case management, protection systems, and MHPSS at community, schools, health facilities levels and referral for specialized services. To support systematic integration of child protection into the EC4HD programme, UNICEF requires a Child Protection Officer with mental health professional programming experience to provide technical assistance, coordination support, and field-level monitoring to strengthen community child protection systems, referral pathways, and preventive and response services in MHPSS especially of adolescents.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, the Child Protection officer-MHPSS will play a lead role in the implementation of child protection programmes with a specific focus on strengthening duty bearer capacities in addressing MHPSS through the district and community-based systems.

S/he will support the development, coordination, and implementation of mental health and psychosocial support interventions within the child protection portfolio. The Child Protection Officer will work closely with relevant Government ministries, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), schools, health facilities, and community structures to strengthen integrated MHPSS services for vulnerable children and adolescents and their caregivers.

Additionally, S/he will undertake the following tasks under the Child Protection component of the EC4HD programme under two key pillars;

1. MHPSS Programming in 10 districts of Extended Urban and Human Development (EUHD): • Support the capacity building of service providers; health, education and social welfare sector, including teachers and community volunteers such as the Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs), Community Health Volunteers (CHV) etc., on handling of mental health of adolescents and support strengthen referral system through the harmonized case management system using the developed manual on MHPSS in all 10 districts of the EUHD. • Support government and CSO partners and UNICEF teams in all 10 districts in raising awareness among communities to promote demand for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support services. • Provide technical support to strengthen MHPSS services for children in conflict with the law, child victims and witnesses, including diversion, rehabilitation, reintegration, and recovery support

2. Child Protection Programming in 5 districts of Northwestern Province: • Facilitate multi-sectoral coordination across child protection, justice, health, education, and social welfare sectors to ensure integrated support services for affected children. • Contribute to the Strengthening of the cross-sectoral coordination with the Ministries of Community Development and Social Services, Health, Education, and local authorities to deliver integrated, community–based services targeting the most vulnerable adolescent girls in priority districts. • Support implementation of the ‘Mwana ni Munthu’ campaign through the distribution of all the materials accompanying the campaign. • Support the rollout of harmonized case management systems by strengthening the capacity of key stakeholders across sectors, including education, health, and social welfare. • Participate in the establishment of a results tracking and reporting mechanism to monitor progress, coverage, and outcomes across coordination, service delivery, campaign rollout, and case management.

• Build and maintain partnerships • Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness • Drive to achieve results for impact • Innovates and embraces change • Manages ambiguity and complexity • Thinks and acts strategically • Works collaboratively with others • Commitment to volunteerism and UN values, including solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, self-reliance, care, respect, integrity, trust and accountability.

• Professional experience in the field of child protection with particular focus on mental health and psychosocial support services, social development planning and management in child protection, adolescent programming, Gender Based Violence or related fields is required. • Experience working with Government or a non-governmental organization on child protection, child rights, is an added advantage. • Relevant experience in programme development in child protection and adolescent programming especially in the field of MHPSS. • Computer skills (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and others). • Demonstrated dedication to rural development, equity, and inclusion.
• Experience in system strengthening for the prevention and response to Violence Against Children (VAC). • Professionalism and ability to work with partner organizations including Government at provincial and district levels. • Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others. • Good interpersonal, networking, and communication (verbal and written) skills.
• Excellent Facilitation skills • Planning and organizing skills. • Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team. • Flexible and open to learning and new experiences.
• Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments, and living conditions. • Ability to speak any of the local languages used in North-Western Province is an added advantage.
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e., studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded.

Zambia is a land-linked, resource-rich country with sparsely populated land in the centre of Southern Africa. It shares its border with eight countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe) that serve as an expanded market for its goods.

Lusaka is the capital of the Republic of Zambia. The climate is sunny and temperate, but it can be very cold during few months, with freezing temperature at times especially during the night. It is therefore advisable to bring warm clothing and foresee using heaters and other heating options when necessary. As the commercial and cultural centre of Zambia, Lusaka has seen rapid development in recent decades, with reasonable transportation connections and widely spoken English making the city highly attractive to vacationers and experts alike. Unemployment and poverty are issues in the city, and beyond. Key industries for the region and Zambia as a whole, include mining, agriculture, and tourism. Like most Southern African cities, life in Lusaka will require some adjustments for a person moving from outside the region, but the potential rewards and opportunities for experiences are well worth the effort. Lusaka hosts several international organisation and embassies/diplomatic missions, therefore there is a very large community of expatriates from around the world. Housing is most of the time readily available and of good standard options are available. Most foodstuffs, beverages, household goods, furniture, and clothing, mostly imported from South Africa, Europe, and China while some ranges of local brands are available at a competitive price to imports. Meat, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables are reasonably priced and abundantly available.

The basic infrastructures roads, utilities, and telecommunications are of reasonable standard, although the city experiences power outages from time to time. Medical facilities are still largely inadequate, although several private clinics and hospitals provide reasonably good routine care. Several restaurants around the city serve local or international cuisine and there are numerous social and sports facilities (fitness, tennis, swimming, riding, golf, etc.) in the major hotels or in different establishments around the city. There are no major or special security concerns within Lusaka city limits. For more information, please visit http://zambiatourism.com.

The position will be based in Solwezi in the Northwestern Province of Zambia. Northwestern Province is undergoing rapid economic transformation driven primarily by the mining sector. Major expansions, such as the $2 billion Barrick Lawana project, the reopening of Kalengwa Mine, and operations at Kansenseli Gold Mine have contributed to 30,000 new jobs in the region, signaling heavy inward migration and rapid population shifts.

This mining-driven influx alters family structures, creates high mobility, stresses service delivery systems, and increases exposure to child protection risks. Additionally, the province is now recognized as Zambia’s “New Copperbelt”, but implementation gaps in governance, weak community engagement, and unequal benefit distribution create underlying vulnerabilities.

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Potential interview questions

Added 21 days ago - Updated 7 days ago - Source: unv.org