Technical Advisor I – Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies (MHP

Position duration: 18 months (tentative July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027)

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:  

You will support the integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies (MHPSS) across all RAPID program interventions, providing technical guidance in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality standards, donor requirements, and industry best practices. Through your expertise, advice, and influence, you will help ensure that MHPSS approaches are effective, adaptive, and innovative, ultimately strengthening the quality and impact of programming for vulnerable populations.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in MHPSS and Staff Wellbeing in humanitarian response, that effectively engage partners, donors and governments.Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, inclusion, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to regional and County Program teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to quality staff-care of CRS staff and partners living and working in disaster affected contexts by supporting directly through trainings, planning, consultation, and individual support, and by coordinating with relevant staff in GPR, HSSU as needed.
• Contribute to regional and Country Program efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in MHPSS. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in MHPSS programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff.
• Facilitate training to CRS and partner staff in topics related to psychosocial support; social cohesion; staff wellbeing and safe and dignified programming.
• Provide guidance to CPs and regions in ensuring all MHPSS activities promote right relationships and avoid causing conflict, and guidance as needed to HRD teams on integration of social cohesion principals in humanitarian sectors.
• Liaise with relevant CRS departments, regions and country programs to promote synergy and use of standard approaches in MHPSS. Coordinate closely with colleagues working in peacebuilding and social cohesion to on approaches to integration, and the place of MHPSS across the Humanitarian Development and Peacebuilding nexus.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in the area of MHPSS to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Represent CRS at relevant interagency, donor and network events, as well as key conferences.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Required Languages – Fluent English required. Professional level in either French, Spanish, or Arabic is a plus.

Travel– Must be willing and able to travel 50% of the time.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: HRD team members; CRS Country Program Heads of Program, Program Managers and Protection Policy point persons; CRS Regional Staff, HQ Departments.

External: Peer organizations and networks,CI Members, FBO, INGOs; partner organizations; USG agencies; universities, and consultants.

Originally posted on Himalayas