Job Description

Main purpose of the job:

• Implement social work services along the continuum of care from prevention and early intervention to tertiary services, providing comprehensive case, group, and community work services within fixed and community settings
• Support stakeholder engagement and community mobilization

Location:

• Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth - Gqeberha

Key performance areas:

• Provide individual counselling/ therapy to key population members, including treatment adherence support, with a focus on individuals requiring more in-depth counselling or social support to achieve and maintain viral load suppression
• Provide support for gender-affirming healthcare and gender-affirming healthcare through an informed consent process and participatory approach in collaboration with psychologists (transgender clients)
• Develop and manage referral protocol and network; refer clients for further management to appropriate tertiary institutions/mental health services, as necessary
• Facilitate linkages between the facility and the Department of Social Development (DSD), and support access to social grants and social support services in the community
• Support trans and gender diverse persons and facilitate accessing Home Affairs to change the name and gender marker in the identity document
• Respond to cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) or Interpersonal Violence (IPV)
• Facilitate linkages for vulnerable children between the facility and the community (PEPFAR OVCY Partners, NGOs, CBOs, etc.)
• Undertake appropriate case management
• Conduct various support and therapeutic groups, including but not limited to psychosocial support groups for people living with HIV, and ART and PrEP adherence groups
• Conduct support groups for transgender clients considering or in the process of gender affirmation
• Plan, coordinate, and quality assure peer educator outreach activities
• Initiate and conduct community outreach and community interventions to create demand for services and mobilise key populations
• Advocate for gender-affirming healthcare services, trans and gender-diverse people's human rights and/or Transgender rights
• Optimise stakeholder engagement with key population lead CSOs, government departments, NGOs, and social service organisations
• Conduct Sensitisation Workshops with social, health and law enforcement agencies to counter discrimination against Key Population members and increase access to services
• Conduct Community Dialogues with NGOs, CSOs and community members to create an enabling environment for Key Population members
• Undertake stakeholder and community engagement in increasing the uptake of services
• Create programme awareness amongst both internal and external stakeholders by doing presentations to interested parties upon request
• Support and educate family members of trans and gender diverse, as well as Transgender clients
• Coordinate peer educator team outreach activities
• Provide supervision to a team of lay counsellors and peer educators
• Capacitate peer educators and other personal cadres in psychosocial well-being strategies
• Offer debriefing and psychosocial support to peer educator teams
• Orientate new peer educators
• Train, mentor and support lay counsellors and peer educators to conduct risk profiling and offer basic psychosocial containment during community outreach
• Train, mentor and support lay counsellors and peer educators to implement GBV screening for people living with HIV
• Train, mentor and support lay counsellors and peer educators to co-facilitate or conduct (as appropriate) various support groups
• Perform accurate client/clinical record keeping and reporting, maintaining client confidentiality
• Submit accurate and timeous data to the Site Manager and ME Team on counselling provided and activities undertaken
• Compile reports of the relevant programme activities conducted
• Attend meetings as required and provide feedback to the relevant parties to contribute to the development of standardised PowerPoint presentations for training purposes
• Take ownership and accountability for tasks & activities and demonstrate effective self-management
• Follow through to ensure that quality and productivity standards of own work are consistently and accurately maintained
• Inform relevant parties in the event of tasks or deadlines not met and provide appropriate means of resolution
• Support and drive the business's core values
• Take ownership of own career development
• Manage stress in ways that do not negatively impact the team
• Obtain and maintain a record of annual required CPD points as per SACSSP requirements
• Maintain professional registration with SACSSP
• Perform ad hoc duties as requested by line managers

Required minimum education and training:

• Degree in Social Work

Required minimum work experience:

• At least 3 years of experience in Social Work
• Intermediate MS Office

Professional body registration:

• Registration with South African Council of Social Service Professionals (SACSSP)

Desirable additional education, work experience and personal abilities:

• Qualification and/or experience in Clinical Social Work Practice
• Certificate in basic HIV management
• Time Management
• Conflict Management
• Problem Solving skill
• Probing skills
• Team Player
• Ability to Multitask
• Ability to delegate and follow up
• Empathy
• Compassion
• Understanding
• Approachable
• Ability to manage stress
• Networking ability
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Effective communication within a multi-disciplinary team comprising professional nurses, medical officers, community health care workers and peer educators
• Build sound relationships with both internal and external stakeholders

TO APPLY:

• Only if you do meet the minimum job requirements and experience as mentioned above, you may submit a detailed updated CV.
• Please Apply Online.
• Please take note that the applicants who do not adhere to the above criteria will not be considered for the respective position.
• The closing date for all applications: 29 September 2023.
• Note AJ Personnel is fully POPI compliant.
• Note WHC, in accordance with their Employment Equity goals and plan, will give preference to suitable applicants from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and subsequent amendments thereto.

Please note:

• AJ PERSONNEL is only responsible for the advertising of the advertisement on behalf of their client Wits Health Consortium.
• Wits Health Consortium will only respond to shortlisted candidates.
• Candidates who have not been contacted within two weeks of the closing date can consider their applications to be unsuccessful.
• AJ Personnel does not have any salary or other information regarding the position.

Apply

Company Description

The Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) is a renowned African-led research institute that seeks solutions to Africa's health challenges.

It is located within the University of the Witwatersrand and addresses some of the greatest public health concerns affecting our region, including HIV and its related problems, sexual and reproductive health, and vaccinology.

AJ Personnel