Lead, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

About the role

The Lead, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) provides senior technical leadership and day‑to‑day oversight of Save the Children’s global MHPSS support to country offices. Reporting to the Head, Learn Breakthrough, the role manages a team of advisors, contributes to strategic planning, new business development and resource allocation, and drives collaboration and innovation across the Learn portfolio.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the provision of country‑office facing technical support for MHPSS, adapting strategies to evolving needs.
• Line‑manage a team of technical experts, fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment and continuous professional development.
• Ensure rapid‑onset emergency technical support and coordinate team efforts across multiple awards and activities.
• Deputise for the Head, Learn Breakthrough when required, maintaining strategic and operational continuity.
• Advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion within programmes and ensure sector interventions are accessible to all children.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to innovate and integrate new sector solutions.

Required profile

• Extensive experience working in humanitarian and development settings, designing, implementing and evaluating programmes.
• Strong technical expertise in MHPSS interventions and the ability to adjust strategies to evolving priorities.
• Proven leadership and people‑management experience, including managing global technical teams.
• Analytical and problem‑solving skills with a track record of translating data into actionable improvements.
• Experience in capacity building, training and mentoring staff and local partners.
• Demonstrated success in developing high‑quality proposals and strategic plans for donor‑funded projects.
• Knowledge of compliance and quality‑assurance processes for donor awards.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder‑engagement abilities.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% and work in challenging environments on short notice.