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About Bal Raksha Bharat
Bal Raksha Bharat (also known as Save the Children) is India's leading independent child rights organization. It is a member of the Save the Children movement that operates globally with the mission to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives. We are working towards three breakthroughs in the way the world treats children by 2030:
- No child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday
- All children learn from a quality basic education and
- Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We run programs in the remotest corners of India and urban areas in the areas of Health & Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Livelihood & Economic Wellbeing in order to facilitate quality education, healthcare and protection from harm and abuse and life-saving aid during emergencies to children
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ROLE PURPOSE
The Psycho – Social Counsellor will support high-quality implementation of the mental well-being and psychosocial health pillar of Project across assigned schools in Chennai & Coimbatore. The role will support age-appropriate social-emotional learning, positive body image, stress management, mindfulness, anti-bullying and peer-support activities, while strengthening help-seeking and referral pathways for children requiring additional support. The role will work closely with teachers, school counsellors/focal persons, children, parents and other stakeholders off Health project. Also will support structured well-being activities, including classroom sessions and school-based mindfulness practices, using approved program resources. The position will work under the supervision of the Project Coordinator and in close coordination with the Project Lead, technical experts, MEAL function and school stakeholders, ensuring child-centred, inclusive implementation.
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SCOPE OF ROLE
Scope: The person will support delivery of the mental health, psychosocial well-being and social-emotional learning components across assigned Project schools in Coimbatore / chennai, contributing to the project's target of 10 schools in each district and the wider 20-school demonstration model. The role will focus on school-level implementation of age-appropriate well-being activities, mindfulness practices, positive body image and anti-bullying messaging, peer support, digital well-being and help-seeking skills. The role will also support teachers and school focal persons to use approved activity guides; facilitate student feedback; strengthen linkages with referral services; support parent and family engagement; planning, maintain accurate documentation, logistics and contribute to monitoring, learning and sustainability.
Role Dimensions: Development context; school-based implementation; mental health and psychosocial well-being-focused field support; child participation; school stakeholder engagement; gender and inclusion; referral support.
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KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The key area of accountability required will be as follows:
- Support the Project Coordinator in planning and sequencing mental well-being, psychosocial support and social-emotional learning activities across assigned schools in line with the approved annual workplan, quarterly milestones and school activity calendar.
- Support implementation of the Well-being Curriculum, including activities designed to strengthen emotional and social competencies, using approved activity guides and materials.
- Facilitate or co-facilitate age-appropriate, participatory activities on emotional literacy, recognising and expressing emotions, self-esteem, strengths identification, empathy, communication, healthy relationships and peer support, as assigned and within programme protocols.
- Support activities on positive body image, appreciation of body diversity, healthy messaging around weight and reduction of teasing, bullying and weight stigma.
- Support structured activities on stress management, relaxation, coping skills and self-care, including guided reflection, breathing, mindfulness and grounding practices.
- Support school-based mindfulness routines, including short breathing, guided relaxation or mindful movement activities embedded in assemblies, classroom routines or other approved school spaces.
- Support schools to establish and use Calm Down Corners or other agreed quiet, sensory-friendly spaces that enable children to practise self-regulation.
- Support awareness and skills-building on digital well-being, healthy technology use and managing screen use and social media influences in age-appropriate ways.
- Promote help-seeking behaviour by helping children identify trusted adults and support systems, and by reinforcing safe ways to seek assistance for emotional or psychosocial concerns.
- Support Health Champions to understand and promote positive mental well-being, peer support, anti-bullying messages and appropriate help-seeking without placing counselling or clinical responsibilities on student champions.
- Support orientation, practice and mentoring of teachers, School Health and Wellness Ambassadors and designated school focal persons in use of approved well-being activity guides and simple classroom-based practices.
- Coordinate with school counsellors/focal persons, teachers, School Wellness Committees and school leaders to strengthen implementation and identify children who may require additional support through established school and government referral pathways.
- Support structured referral mechanisms and follow-up documentation for children requiring specialised mental health or psychosocial support, including linkages identified by the programme with relevant services such as Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) and Tele-MANAS, as applicable to the school context.
- Support parent and family engagement activities on child emotional well-being, positive body image, stress, supportive communication and healthy digital habits using approved programme materials and approaches.
- Observe participation patterns and implementation barriers, especially those affecting girls, children with disabilities, children experiencing stigma or other vulnerable groups, and share practical recommendations with the Project Coordinator.
- Undertake regular school visits and provide implementation feedback on session quality, participation, teacher engagement, use of materials and emerging psychosocial concerns or implementation challenges.
- Support routine collection of programme monitoring information, including session coverage, participation, teacher orientation, student feedback, referrals and follow-up; maintain accurate and confidential records.
- Support timely collection and submission of MIS/MEAL data and other programme information; conduct basic data checks and immediately flag inconsistencies or gaps to the Project Coordinator.
- Document child and teacher feedback, innovations, implementation challenges, success stories and good practices related to mental well-being and psychosocial programming for programme learning and reporting.
- Support approved communication and advocacy activities, including school assemblies, campaigns, digital well-being messages, anti-bullying initiatives and dissemination activities.
- Contribute to sustainability by supporting teachers, Health Champions and School Wellness Committees to progressively take ownership of mental well-being activities and integrate them into routine school systems.
- Ensure all activities are aligned with BRB policies and project protocols on child safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection, gender equality, inclusion, accountability and ethical engagement with children.
- Any other task assigned by the line manager
Key Performance Indicators
- % of planned mental well-being/SEL activities delivered using approved approaches and within agreed timelines.
- % of targeted students reached through planned mental well-being, psychosocial and social-emotional learning activities.
- % of assigned schools implementing agreed well-being actions through School Wellness Action Plans or routine school systems.
- % of planned teacher/Health Champion orientations or mentoring activities completed with appropriate documentation.
- % of children identified through programme mechanisms as requiring additional support who are appropriately referred and followed up, with confidentiality maintained.
- Timeliness and completeness of session, participation, feedback, referral and MIS records.
- Quality/fidelity of mental well-being session delivery as assessed through supervision/observation.
- Quality of student/teacher feedback, learning, adaptations and good practices documented from assigned schools.
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BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability - Takes ownership for timely and quality delivery of assigned mental well-being activities, accurate records and follow-up of commitments.
Ambition - Demonstrates drive to achieve programme targets and contribute to emotionally healthy, inclusive and supportive school environments.
Collaboration - Works constructively with teachers, school leaders, children, parents, school counsellors/focal persons, field colleagues, technical teams and relevant government/health stakeholders.
Creativity - Uses engaging, participatory, experiential and age-appropriate approaches such as reflection, role play, problem-solving activities, storytelling and mindfulness while maintaining programme fidelity.
Integrity - Maintains honesty, confidentiality, careful documentation and ethical conduct in all programme interactions.
Empathy and child-centredness - Uses active listening, respectful, non-judgmental and non-stigmatising communication, recognising children's different experiences, identities, abilities and support needs.
Learning orientation - Uses supervision, student feedback, monitoring data and field experience to strengthen the quality and relevance of psychosocial and well-being activities.
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QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Child Development, Education, Behavioural Sciences. Or any other related postgraduate qualification/diploma will be an added advantage.
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EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Minimum: 2–3 years of relevant experience in school-based mental health, psychosocial support, child/adolescent development, social-emotional learning, counselling support, youth development, NGO/development programmes or community-based child programmes.
Preferred: Demonstrated experience in facilitating age-appropriate psychosocial or social-emotional learning sessions; mindfulness/relaxation activities; positive body image and anti-bullying initiatives; peer-support approaches; digital well-being; teacher or student orientation; referral and follow-up support; and documentation/MIS. Experience with School Health and Wellness Programme, RKSK, District Mental Health Programme, Tele-MANAS or related school-based well-being initiatives will be an advantage.
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KEY COMPETENCIES
Technical competencies
- Strong understanding of age-appropriate child and adolescent mental well-being, psychosocial support and social-emotional learning concepts.
- Ability to facilitate structured, participatory and non-stigmatising activities on emotional literacy, self-esteem, positive body image, stress management, healthy relationships, bullying prevention, digital well-being and help-seeking using approved programme resources.
- Ability to demonstrate simple mindfulness, breathing, relaxation, grounding and self-regulation practices appropriate for school settings.
- Ability to support teachers and school focal persons to integrate short well-being activities into classroom routines, assemblies and school schedules.
- Good group facilitation, communication and child engagement skills, including the ability to create psychologically safe and inclusive spaces for participation.
- Ability to recognise concerns requiring additional support at a basic first-level programme level and facilitate referral through approved pathways without making independent clinical diagnoses or treatment decisions.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriately handle sensitive information relating to children and families.
- Ability to support peer-led initiatives through Health Champions while maintaining clear boundaries around peer support and referral.
- Basic understanding of school health and adolescent health platforms and referral services relevant to the programme.
Other skills:
- Basic computer skills, including MS Office/Excel and use of digital data collection/MIS tools.
- Good documentation, record-keeping, reporting and time-management skills.
- Ability to travel regularly to assigned schools and conduct field-based programme activities.
- Strong understanding of safeguarding, gender equality, inclusion and ethical engagement with children.
- Generic Competencies
- Being the Voice of Children: Utilizes being part of a global movement to promote change in the policy and public sphere on child-related issues.
- Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Drives an enabling environment for gender equality and inclusion, prioritizing the most deprived and marginalized children.
- Builds & Strengthens Partnerships: Inspires others to embrace the values and principles that underpin partnerships and the localization agenda.
- Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and in work with colleagues and peers.
- Empathy, active listening and non-judgmental engagement with children, families, teachers and school stakeholders.
- Commitment to confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding and ethical engagement with children and communities.
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Additional job responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
The Psycho – Social Counsellor will support preventive and promotive mental well-being and psychosocial activities in line with programme protocols. The role will facilitate first-level identification and referral through approved pathways and will not independently diagnose mental health conditions or provide clinical treatment beyond the scope of the role and approved programme responsibilities.
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CHILD SAFEGUARDING (Strike out whichever is not applicable)
Level 1: NOT APPLICABLE for this role.
Level 2: NOT APPLICABLE as the primary safeguarding classification for this role.
Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in programmes or visit programmes; therefore a police check will be required.
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Child Safeguarding
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
The role holder must comply with all BRB child safeguarding policies and procedures and immediately report any safeguarding concern through the prescribed mechanisms.
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Safeguarding our Staff
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the BRB's anti-harassment policy.
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Equal Opportunities
Bal Raksha Bharat aims to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. Women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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