Location: Mekelle, Tigray Region

Reports To: Family Preservation Coordinator - Tigray

Department: Family Preservation

Grade: GC

Status: Full-Time

Position requires the successful completion of an extensive criminal background check.

Job Summary

The Psychosocial Support Officer (PSS Officer) plays a key role in AGCI’s Family Preservation Program in Tigray, working to strengthen families and support children impacted by conflict, trauma, and chronic vulnerability. The PSS Officer provides trauma-informed psychosocial support, counseling, assessments and case follow-up, home visits, family strengthening training, and life skills development for children and caregivers. The person works closely with the Family Preservation Coordinator in Tigray and the Family Preservation Manager to ensure children and families under AGCI’s care heal from trauma, improve wellbeing, and build resilience. The role also provides support to income-generating activities (IGAs), financial distribution, and case management for enrolled families.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct regular home visits to assess the emotional, psychological, and family needs of enrolled children and families.

• Develop individualized psychosocial care plans in collaboration with the Family Preservation Coordinator.

• Provide trauma-informed individual and group counseling sessions for children and caregivers affected by conflict, violence, and loss.

• Identify severe mental health cases and provide appropriate referrals to specialized service providers.

• Offer ongoing follow-up and other referrals for high-risk cases

• Conduct all assessments and case follow up in accordance with AGCI’s standard operating procedures and case management standards

• Document all goals, assessment, progress, contact, and case notesin AGCI’s case management system.

• Facilitate trauma-informed life skills training for children focusing on self-regulation, confidence building, communication, safety, and healthy relationships.

• Organize and deliver parenting skills training, including Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) principles, positive discipline, self-regulation, attachment-building techniques, and conflict resolution for caregivers.

• Conduct support group sessions for caregivers to strengthen coping skills, stress management, and resilience.

• Facilitate training sessions for children, caregivers, and community members on psychosocial wellbeing, child protection, mental health awareness, and parenting skills.

• Provide debriefing, psychosocial first aid, and emotional support during crisis situations

• Participate in the development, implementation, and tracking of case care plans for each child and family.

• Conduct routine assessment and follow-up visits to ensure families are progressing toward stability, and long-term resilience.

• Support families to access community services, school enrollment, health care, and other social protection systems.

• Coordinate with community structures, local administrations, schools, women and youth offices, and health centers for holistic support.

• Promote safe, nurturing, and protective environments for children at home and in the community.

• Support in developing beneficiary stories of impact and transformation for AGCI’s stories channel, marketing platforms, and other needs as necessary

• Assist the Family Preservation Coordinator in identifying appropriate IGAs plans for caregivers.

• Ensure accurate and timely entry of all psychosocial and case management data into AGCI’s case management system.

• Prepare weekly, monthly, quarterly, and bi-annual activity reports in collaboration with the Family Preservation Coordinator.

• Maintain highly confidential and ethical handling of all beneficiary data.

• Conduct all activities in accordance with AGCI’s code of conduct and Safeguarding Policy and standards, ensuring protection for children and beneficiaries remains AGCI’s primary objective.

• Report any suspected cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or protection concerns immediately and appropriately.

• Promote trauma-informed care, non-violent communication, and positive discipline practices across all program activities.

• Support AGCI vision trips and donor visits when required.

• Maintain punctuality, professionalism, and reliability in all aspects of work. Perform other tasks as assigned by the Family Preservation Coordinator or Manager.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Leadership & Culture

• Demonstrated ability to provide psychosocial support and counseling to trauma-affected individuals and communities.

• Ability to promote a trauma-informed, compassionate, and culturally sensitive environment.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills, with the ability to build trust-based relationships with children, caregivers, and community members.
  Integrity & Compliance

• Maintains a high level of discretion and confidentiality when handling sensitive personal, family, and case-related information.

• Strong understanding of safeguarding principles, child protection standards, trauma-informed care ethics, and relevant government and donor compliance requirements.

• Demonstrates sound judgment in identifying protection concerns, conducting risk assessments, and promptly escalating cases following established procedures.

Core Competencies

• Strong skills in delivering psychosocial support (PSS) and counseling services to trauma-affected children, youth, and families.

• Proven ability to conduct home visits, family assessments, and follow-up support rooted in a trauma- informed, strengths-based approach.

• Practical experience applying TBRI® (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) principles to promote healing, connection, and behavioral regulation.

• Skilled in facilitating parenting education, caregiver coaching, and life skills training for children, adolescents, and families.

• Excellent communication, case documentation, and reporting abilities.

• Highly organized with strong time-management skills to manage multiple cases and prioritize urgent needs effectively.

• Flexible, empathetic, detail-oriented, and solution-focused in responding to evolving family and community needs.

• Committed to continuous learning, professional development, and strengthening the quality of psychosocial and protection services.

Job Requirements

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, or a related field.

• Minimum of 5-8 years of experience in psychosocial support, family strengthening, or child protection preferably in an INGO or humanitarian setting.

• Experience working with children and families affected by conflict, trauma, or displacement required.

• Strong knowledge of trauma-informed care, psychosocial first aid, and case management.

• Experience facilitating life skills training, parenting sessions, group counseling, and community-based psychosocial activities.

• Familiarity with income-generating activities (IGA), household coaching, and community development is an advantage.

• Ability to write clear and concise reports in English and Amharic; proficiency in Tigrigna required

• Competency in using computers, case management systems, and basic data collection tools.

Work Environment

• Primarily office-based with required to home visits for supervision, counseling and assessment.

• May require occasional travel to other regions of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa.

• May require flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, or holidays, depending on program needs.

How To Apply

Application Process: Ensure that applicants are directed to use the following link to apply, as well as the email provided below:

Application: THIS LINK

Email: Please submit your cover letter and CV to HRethiopia@agci-network.net.