Job Description

Summary

A new position has opened for an OT to join the U-turn team in Johannesburg heading up the

programmes at the new Homeless Support centre in Linden. Starting date

1 September, Linden.

This is a full-time onsite position and will initially be offered as a one-year contract.

This position

The Occupational Therapist will be responsible for the group programmes which includes activity and recovery groups, as well as individual assessments, treatment and referrals to appropriate services. He/She will be working alongside a Centre Manager and service delivery staff, ensuring a holistic approach and a therapeutic environment.

Once clients have progressed through the first 2 phases of the U-turn intervention model at the centre, the Occupational Therapist will refer the clients to the U-turn Work-reasiness programme for secondary and tertiary interventions.

Background

U-turn is a thriving non-profit that exists to equip homeless people with the skills to overcome homelessness. Founded in 1997, we believe in life after homelessness. We believe that every homeless individual is intrinsically valuable and should have access to an effective pathway that addresses their physical, spiritual and emotional needs so they can leave the streets and become a long-term productive member of society.

To help homeless people overcome homelessness, we operate a phased approach that includes rehabilitation from substance abuse, counselling, life-skills training and sheltered work placement in one of our social enterprises. This allows candidates to test and apply the training they've received. Through this process, the programme inculcates a healthy work ethic, furnishes modern job skills and gives 18-24 months of real work experience so that individuals can graduate and be gainfully employed in the modern South African economy.

The programme is yielding wonderful results. Our candidates typically graduate into open market employment and show an above 85% long term success rate! We are actively working to expand the programme to more locations in Cape Town and across South Africa.

Service Centres

U-turn's Service Centres provide services to people living on the streets in order to prepare them for and to support them on a journey of change. This includes providing food and clothing (and in some cases access to a shower and a bed for the night), therapeutic and development based interventions, and recovery support for those struggling with substance abuse. The ultimate aim of the Service Centre is to prepare individuals to participate in our work-based rehabilitation programme.

Work-readiness programme

The work-readiness programme is tasked with providing work-based rehabilitation and skills development training that prepares clients for graduation into employment and reintegration into the community. One day per week, each client attends a training day where they access group therapy delivered by an interdisciplinary team, individual counselling and input using a specially designed curriculum. This cycle of learning and application follows a graded approach and continues for as long as needed (on average 18 months). Case managers coordinate the entire intervention programme for the clients and work in close-collaboration with the worksite managers.

Transitional Accommodation

Due to the nature of our long term interventions we run transitional accommodation in the form of group homes where clients accessing our Work-readiness program can move into when leaving homeless shelters. These homes are managed by a house-manager that along with service centre staff, works-site managers and therapeutic staff forms the client-facing team assisting the clients along the full Life Change journey.

Key areas of responsibility

Run daily activity groups with clients still living on the street and often still in active addiction Conduct bio-psycho-social assessment with clients attending regularly and ready to commit to the programme Case-manage enrolled clients, keeping them accountable to programme goals and outcomes and ensuring access to all necessary services and support in order to meet these outcomes Oversee the voucher earning programme, ensuring meaningful gradable tasks Train staff in running the Voucher Earning programme effectively Run Recovery skills groups and complete bio-psychosocial assessments for clients joining the recovery programme and case-manage their journey through accessing the appropriate services in preparation for Work-readiness Supervise the peer-interns's work-practice and train them on group facilitation, understanding addiction Create referral networks for accommodation, medical and mental health treatment and Use and contribute to existing planning and record keeping systems to ensure continuous improvement of your areas of responsibility. Oversee the change- readiness and Rehab Support programmes at the centre.

Experience and Skills

Qualified Occupational Therapist with up-to-date HPCSA registration Experience working in the addiction field and understanding harm-reduction principles Competent in group facilitation Competent in bio-psychosocial assessments and developing an intervention plan based on the client's needs Drivers license

Personal Attributes

Passion for U-turn's mission and values. Strong leadership with a collaborative mindset. Adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Empathetic individual that can maintain emotional boundaries and maintain healthy supportive relationships with extremely marginalised and disenfranchised individuals Creative individual with strong problem solving skills

Organisational Fit (where applicable)

If in Recovery - actively engaged in own ongoing recovery, accessing accountability support and practicing recovery behaviour If employed as a Professional - affiliation with professional board, continued personal development and accessing supervision Gospel orientation - connected to a local fellowship of believers, reading the Bible and grounded in Gospel-motivated Social Action

Next Steps

Candidates interested in this position should apply online at The letter of motivation should be approximately 1 page in length and include information on why you would like to work at U-turn and how you fulfil the required knowledge skills set outlined above. Please note that applications without a letter of motivation will not be considered.

IF YOU HAVE NOT HEARD FROM US WITHIN 4 WEEKS, PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION UNSUCCESSFUL

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In person

Expected Start Date: 2025/09/01