Psychosocial Counsellor

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Psychosocial Counsellor

FAITH is recruiting Psychosocial Counsellors for its peer-led community mental health outreach program, which supports female sex workers, transgender women sex workers, women living with HIV, and women who use drugs. The project trains peer community outreach workers to provide basic psychosocial support, early identification, and follow-up, with referral pathways for advanced care.

1. Total number of positions: 7  

2. Timeline: Up to 14 months starting March 2026.

3. Project districts: Lalitpur, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, and Kaski

4. Key Responsibilities

4.1 Capacity strengthening and supervision of community outreach team

• Conduct psychosocial training for peer outreach workers based on the approved manual 
• Hold daily (often evening or early-morning) case review sessions with outreach workers to plan individualized support for each beneficiary using the validates tools. 
• Guide the team on documentation, psychological first aid, basic counseling skills, risk assessment, referral pathways, self-care, and professional boundaries.
• Provide ongoing mentoring and technical backstopping to outreach workers.
• Identify training and refresher needs and suggest practical solutions.

4.2 Field monitoring and community support

• Conduct weekly field monitoring visits to outreach sites to observe sessions, provide on-site coaching, and meet beneficiaries.
• Troubleshoot community-level challenges faced by outreach workers and suggest adjustments to the approach.
• Document field findings, trends, risks, and recommendations for program improvement.

4.3 Clinical and psychosocial counseling

• Provide individual psychosocial counseling to beneficiaries who require specialized care.
• Use trauma-informed, rights-based, non-judgmental approaches.
• Maintain confidential case notes, follow-up plans, and basic risk assessments.

4.4 Referral and coordination

• Establish and maintain referral linkages with relevant mental health, GBV, and social support facilities.
• Identify cases needing psychiatric assessment, medication, or emergency response and facilitate referrals.
• Support beneficiaries through the referral process and ensure follow-up.

4.5  Documentation, reporting and ethics

• Ensure updated, accurate digital records of each case (from screening to closure) in coordination with the MEL team. 
• Contribute to monthly reports, including non-identifiable case summaries, trends, and key recommendations.
• Ensure strict adherence to confidentiality, informed consent, safeguarding, do-no-harm, and survivor-centered principles.

5. Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Psychology or Counselling (Master’s preferred).
• At least 5 years of counselling experience; 
• At least 3 years of experience mental health projects, experienced with targeted beneficiaries is an advantage.
• Driving (two wheelers) license.  

6. Priority will be given to

• Candidates based in project districts. 
• Women from indigenous, ethnic, Dalit, and marginalized communities.
• Candidates with experience supervising frontline workers or community-based teams.

7. Application Process

• Submit a cover letter with previous and expected salary (reasonable market range) and two references (one from current/last employer).
• Submit a CV with date of birth, recent photo, and work experience.
• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
• Email your application to faithvacancy@gmail.com with the subject “Applying for Psychosocial Counsellor”.