Senior Counselor

Senior Counselor: Job Description

Department: Counseling

Location:Pune

Reports to: AO Lead

Role Purpose

Provide clinical, programmatic and operational support to Counseling interventions across Pune and Nagpur. The role combines direct therapeutic work with mentoring Junior Counselors, stakeholder coordination, documentation, Monitoring & Evaluation reporting and field implementation. The person must be able to work independently and in teams, handle crisis situations, and maintain high standards of clinical practice and documentation. At Prakruthi, we have a strong team of passionate, dynamic counselors supporting survivors across India. We're looking for a Senior Counselor to join us and help strengthen the work we do in Pune.

Key Responsibilities

1. Counselor Mentoring & Clinical Support

• Mentor Junior Counselors and help them plan field activities, survivor interventions and documentation.

• Hold regular case discussions and guide intervention plans, especially in complex cases.

• Identify training or supervision needs and report them to leadership.

• Support recruitment and onboarding when required.

• Attend Multi-disciplinary Unit calls and coordinate with stakeholders during raid and rescue operations.

• Provide immediate post-rescue psychosocial support to survivors.

• Support and accompany Junior Counselors during field-based post-rescue interventions.

• Respond to crises involving survivors or stakeholders, and coordinate with internal teams on urgent or sensitive cases.

2. Stakeholder Engagement & Coordination

• Coordinate with multidisciplinary, government and external stakeholders for project implementation and approvals.

• Attend stakeholder meetings and liaise with authorities during post-rescue and survivor support processes.

• Build and maintain working relationships with stakeholders in Pune and Nagpur.

3. Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting

• Work with the Monitoring & Evaluation team to meet reporting deadlines.

• Review counseling reports and documentation for accuracy before submission to authorities.

• Complete and coordinate Quarterly Progress Reviews.

• Maintain the Leadership Dashboard.

• Prepare for Case Review Audits and Case Management Meetings.

• Identify reporting gaps and follow up with counselors.

• Support implementation of Counseling projects across Pune and Nagpur.

• Track progress against targets and timelines.

• Escalate operational challenges and help leadership maintain project continuity and quality.

Key Deliverables

• Post-rescue psychosocial support provided when required

• Regular mentoring, case discussions and clinical guidance for Junior Counselors

• Counseling reports reviewed and submitted on time

• Oversee and complete the Monitoring & Evaluation requirements, Quarterly Progress Reports, Case Review Audits and Case Management Meetings

• Leadership Dashboard updated regularly

• Project targets for Pune and Nagpur tracked

• Stakeholder approvals followed up

• Field support maintained across both locations

Required Skills & Competencies

Essential

• Master's in Counselling Psychology or Clinical Psychology

• Experience working with vulnerable populations, children/adolescents or trauma survivors

• Strong grasp of trauma-informed approaches and psychosocial support

• Ability to conduct individual and group counseling

• Good documentation and report-writing skills

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

• Ability to work with multidisciplinary teams, independently, and across multiple responsibilities

• Ability to handle sensitive and crisis situations calmly

Desirable

• Experience in working with the child protection system

• Experience working with the Child Welfare Committee, District Child Protection Unit, Police, Department of Women and Child Development or Anti Human Trafficking Unit

• Experience in clinical supervision or mentoring

• Experience in project reporting and target tracking