Social Worker – Health & Wellness

Social Worker_ Health & Wellness

“A world where every child is safe, educated, loved”; Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS) established in 2007, is a non-governmental, apolitical, and not for profit organization. Our mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal’s children. We do this by providing quality education, a safe environment, and through inspiring others while putting the children first, strengthening families and our communities. Most at-risk and disadvantaged children are provided with inclusive quality education at Kopila Valley School (KVS), one of the greenest schools in Nepal, made from the earth and nestled on a campus with a commitment to building sustainable programs. Along with lifelong gift education to the disadvantaged children, we support their family members to improve their living standards and make it sustainable through holistic programs ranging from children’s home, health and wellness through women empowerment to career guidance/counseling, and scholarships for further studies. Environmental sustainability is one of the guiding principles and a way of life whatever we do!

Health & wellness is one of the important programs of KVSS that provides health services and emergency response to our students and local community. It spreads promotional, preventive and basic curative healthcare services to students of KVS, staff and guardians along with some community outreach programs. Main components of the health & wellness program include clinic, nutrition support through local and organic foods, mental health and counseling support and family development program. Family Development Program is for social wellbeing to create a positive support circle, and strengthen families to be able to resolve their issues by themselves and the individuals in the family can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

We do this with our funding partner BlinkNow Foundation and in close ties with the local government and communities.

Position Summary: Social Worker; Health & Wellness

You should have patience and enthusiasm about working with children and their family members to provide support for their overall growth and development through individualized assistance plans.

Under the leadership of Associate Manager; health and wellness, the Social Worker is responsible to identify needs of individual students and their family members to help meet those needs whenever possible. S/he will be providing individual, family and community level support, including awareness, psychoeducation, referral support and encouragement to develop willingness and enthusiasm by strengthening their resilience to cope with unpleasant situations and trauma. S/he is excellent at interpersonal skills, planning and implementation of family development programs and wellbeing of children through extensive engagement, follow ups and support.

As an organization, KVSS is committed to ensuring that each beneficiary is safe, healthy, and able to use opportunities provided by Kopila Valley School and the other programs as much as possible. You will be an important part of maximizing what each beneficiary takes away from Kopila Valley, and maintaining the loving and caring atmosphere. The incumbent is adept at coordinating and collaborating with a diverse team to provide holistic care and support to children and families KVS/KVSS serving.

Work Location: Birendranagar-4, Surkhet

Reports to: Associate Manager- Health and Wellness

Direct reports: None

The Main Responsibilities

Planning, Assessment, Support and Referral

• Assess students and family’s needs, situations, strengths, and prepare interventions plans provide support to determine their goals
• Develop and implement intervention plans to improve students and family’s needs well-being and address challenges
• Advocate for students and family’s needs to access necessary resources, services, and benefits
• Provide counseling and emotional support to students and family’s needs facing personal or social challenges
• Together with team members, map potential stakeholders for emergency services and other referral support services
• Coordinating with KVS and supervisor, recommend for relevant referral support within and outside Kopila Valley

Documentation, Case Management, and Program Review

• Maintain accurate and confidential records of students and families, documenting all interactions and services provided while ensuring proper data recording (with strict confidentiality) into online and offline portal of Kopila Valley
• Monitor and evaluate students and family’s progress, adjusting plans as necessary
• Coordinate with other service providers, agencies, and community resources to ensure comprehensive care
• Organize periodic review and reflection meetings to evaluate program results, participate in program development and adaptation and assist in designing new initiatives to improved outcomes.
• Using tools like participatory rapid appraisal, participate in the specific development and evaluation of programs to meet the needs of the community
• Provide input and support to review program guides, including Family Development Program (FDP) for program adaptation per evolving context
• Understand the core value of child first and advocate for student’s well being and rights within the school, family and community
• Organize community training, workshops and other events focused on social issues, parenting and education to raise awareness about educational equity and social justice issues within the community
• Assist in the design and implementation of new initiatives aimed at improving students and family’s outcomes

Community Outreach and Education

• Strengthen school-parent relationships by improving communication and understanding of children’s learning barriers, and provide individual and group sessions for academic, emotional, and social support.
• Develop and implement outreach programs to raise awareness about the services offered by the organization, conducting home visits, family meetings, workshops, and seminars on relevant social issues and available resources.
• Provide individual and group sessions to students going through academic, emotional and family/social difficulties
• Conduct workshops and seminars on relevant social issues and available resources.
• Plan and execute networking visits of like minded organizations and organize events to strengthen Referral system of KVSS
• Foster relationships with community members, stakeholders, and partners to enhance service delivery

Additional expectations

• Takes ownership of change and engage and encourage innovation
• Build positive working relationships and environment in the organization by bringing solutions to the discussion table
• Report to the manager on a weekly and real time basis in case of urgent activities
• Acts swiftly to respond emergency circumstances and humanitarian assistance activities of the organization
• Build and maintain a strong relationship with the staff, students, teachers and relevant stakeholders
• Attend weekly staff meetings, and share operational updatesThe above list of responsibilities is not comprehensive, and the social worker may be required to take on additional responsibilities, as determined by his/her supervisor

Must Have

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in social work, sociology, psychology or any relevant discipline/s.
• Experience: At least 2 years of proven experience in counseling, community mobilization, case management field preferably at non-governmental or school setting
• Language: A good communicator, and fluent in English and Nepali
• Skills and Abilities: Ability to assess socio-economic status, coach and mentor children, youth and their activities
• Passionate about and cares for children and vulnerable population; initiator, and competent in managing operations and logistics in the organization.
• Works collaboratively and independently with the least supervision required.

Key Characteristics

• You believe that we can change the world, in the blink of an eye
• You believe in making decisions that put children first
• You are self-motivated, organized, and approachable
• You enjoy creating systems, keeping records, and increasing efficiency
• You are always looking for new ways for our team to work smarter instead of harder
• You are detail-oriented and conscientious. You make sure nothing slips through the cracks
• You have a strong work ethic and a willingness to pick up new skills. You are comfortable multi-tasking
• You are positive, patient, and a clear communicator who is comfortable working with both Kopila Valley staff in Nepal and the BlinkNow staff in the United States
• You are an empathetic person, with a knack for putting out fires before they start and soothing conflicts brewing beneath the surface
• You require little supervision and are flexible. You understand that you will be wearing many hats in this role, many of which are not explicitly included in this job description