THIS IS A GLOBAL ROLE THAT CAN BE BASED OUT OF ANY COUNTRY WHERE CRS HAS REGISTRATION OR A PEO IN PLACE TO HIRE STAFF. THIS IS A REMOTE TELECOMMUTER POSITION.

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 120 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

The Psychosocial Support Advisor supports the implementation of CRS’ health, safety and security strategy with the focus on promoting psychosocial well-being and maintaining resilience of CRS staff and partners.  This operational position combines technical knowledge of mental health with best practices for psychosocial support to ensure effective prevention, mitigation, and response to promote staff well-being and resilience. The Psychosocial Support Advisor is part of the Health, Safety and Security Unit (HSSU) and reports to Senior Advisor for Psychosocial Response and Resilience.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Program Development and Implementation:
  • Lead the design, implementation, and evaluation of mental health, well-being and psychosocial support initiatives contextualized to CRS’s global workforce based on regional and country specific needs.
  • Collaborate with Country Program leadership, to assess local psychosocial support needs and to develop support and mitigation strategies to promote a healthy workplace.
  • Identify trends and potential risks related to staff care and well-being and develop early intervention strategies to address emerging issues before they escalate.
• Capacity Building and Training:
  • Develop and deliver training sessions (virtual and in-person) on psychosocial response, Psychological First Aid, mental health awareness, and workplace well-being strategies for staff and managers of CRS and partners.
  • Build the capacity of staff in effective psychosocial response through mentoring, coaching, and skills development initiatives.
• Crisis Intervention and Critical Incident Response:
• Coordination of psychosocial response interventions to critical incidents, crises, emergencies, and evacuations.
• Implementation of response interventions when needed, including just-in-time psychosocial support, focused support outreach, coordination of group support, family outreach, referrals and warm handoff to Employee Assistance Programs, and post-incident care to facilitate staff’s recovery.
  • Ensure that psychosocial support interventions are culturally appropriate and adapted to the diverse contexts and local cultures within CRS’s global workforce.
  • Work closely with Country Programs and other departments to identify culturally appropriate and contextually relevant approaches to staff care, mental health and well-being, adapting materials, and support services accordingly.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting:
  • Monitor the implementation and impact of psychosocial support programs, collect data, and prepare regular reports to assess outcomes and inform programmatic decisions.
  • Contribute to organizational learning and best practices in psychosocial support through documentation, case studies, and dissemination of lessons learned.
  • Collaborate with agency stakeholders including Safeguarding, Global People Resource (GPR), and Humanitarian Response to integrate psychosocial support into overall staff care strategy and Health, Safety and Security related policy and procedures.
  • Advocate for the inclusion of psychosocial well-being in broader organizational policies and strategic plans, ensuring alignment with global staff care goals.
• Cultural and Contextual Adaptation:
• Cross-functional Collaboration and Advocacy:

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an accredited university, with Master’s or Doctoral degrees preferred.
• Valid and active license (example:  LPC, LCPC, LCSW, etc.) to practice independently and in good standing without complaints against their license, as per country requirements where based.
• Minimum 6 years of post-graduate professional experience in psychological health services. [AM1] [ET2]
• Experience in evidence-based treatments, trauma-informed care, and understanding of mental health issues in humanitarian aid workers.
• Experience in health promotion and resilience training curriculum development, and virtual/in-person training facilitation.
• Demonstrated experiencing managing psychosocial impact of health, safety, and security events

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrates ability to work effectively as part of a team with the relationship building skills to work collaboratively and effectively with key stake holders
• Independent practitioner who is self-motivated to meet deadlines with evidence of problem solving and critical thinking
• Ability to demonstrate trauma informed approach when involved in case, incident and/or emergency management
• Good time management skills and ability to prioritize and work under pressure
• Demonstrated ability to work in sensitive situations with partner organizations
• Strong intercultural-cultural skills
• Ability to train and convey information to a variety of personnel on various skill levels
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills
• Excellent writing skills and communication skills
• Diplomatic, able to manage conflict and move groups toward consensus
• Good judgment and sound decision-making skills
• Excellent organization and planning skills, detail-oriented, ability to work on multiple tasks simultaneously
• Strong initiative and self-motivated, with a commitment to humanitarian principles
• Able to work without close supervision, specifically with remote management
• Proficiency in virtual communication tools (email, video conferencing, chat, phone) and proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Able to work flexible hours when needed, including off-hours and weekends for critical incident response

Preferred Qualifications

• A strong background in critical incident response, crisis management, sexual violence response, and culturally adaptive counseling.
• Previous experience in humanitarian aid sector, in MHPSS programming, or organizational staff care.

Required Languages – Fluency in French, Arabic, Spanish is highly desirable.

Travel – Up to approximately 30% of the time, primarily to/within the various regions, and sometimes in remote areas with minimal amenities available.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff.  When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals.  These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – consistently takes responsibilities for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity – consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission.  Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Supervisory Responsibilities – None

Key Working Relationships [AM3]

Internal:  Organizational Development, Employee Relations, REDI, Regional People Officers, Safeguarding, PIQA, Humanitarian Response Department, Regional Safety and Security Advisors

External:    Service providers contracted with CRS for Employee Assistance Programs and Critical Incident Support, partner organizations working in humanitarian aid

What We Offer 

CRS offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, life insurance, vision, generous retirement savings plan and the opportunity to work in a collaborative, mission-driven culture that is committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. 

Note: All interested applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. 

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.

 CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Catholic Relief Services works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.  Catholic Relief Services’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.  We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is committed to safeguarding program participants, community members, staff and volunteers from all forms of exploitation and abuse.  The successful candidate is expected to sign and adhere to CRS´ Code of Conduct.

CRS talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people – especially children and vulnerable adults – to live free from abuse and harm.

Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. 

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

General Requirements

CRS offers are contingent on the selected candidate’s ability to legally work where the position is to be performed. Every government has a unique set of work permit eligibility requirements.  All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside a home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical clearance; some work permit processes require clearing a separate government administered medical examination.

CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.