Occupational Therapist at Lutheran World Federation

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION    

• The Occupational Therapist will support the improvement of services and environmental access to Children with Disabilities (CWDs) to enhance inclusive education through assessment, placement, and rehabilitation. In addition, provide capacity building to parents, caregivers and community workers on basic care and rehabilitation of Persons of Concern (POCs).

Job Description:

Identification, evaluation and planning:

• Assessing and formulating patient treatment plan for the children with disabilities.
• To develop individualized Education programming (IEP) through professional judgement and clinical knowledge based on occupational performance deficits in the areas of personal care, Learners role, interaction skills, process skills, play, community integration/work, and communication.
• Collaborates with other professionals to ensure team understanding of learner’s occupational performance strengths and needs, through evaluation, educational program planning, and service delivery.
• Evaluates the learner’s ability and formulates the learner’s occupational profile through a variety of functional, behavioral, and standardized assessments, skilled observation, checklists, histories, and interviews.
• Synthesizes evaluation results into a comprehensive written report which reflects strengths and barriers to learner’s participation in the educational environment; directs program development; and guides evidence-based intervention.
• Develops occupationally based intervention plans based on learners needs and evaluation results.
• Participates in multidisciplinary meetings to review evaluation results, integrate findings with other disciplines, offer recommendations, and develop individual education plans and intervention plans to achieve IEP goals.
• Coordinates with the IEP team for the purpose of determining appropriate treatments, etc. To meet the needs of specific learners and attends IEP Team Meetings.

Service delivery:

• Conducts Assessment, referrals, school placements for Children with disabilities
• Provides targeted, evidence-based therapeutic intervention to facilitate student participation and occupational performance within the school environment.
• Consults with the center-based team to achieve learner’s outcomes.
• Adapts and modifies the environment including assistive technology and training teachers & parents to meet individual needs and to help learners’ function as independently as possible.
• Educates learners, educational personnel, and family to facilitate skills in areas of occupation as well as health maintenance and safety.
• Monitors and reassess the effects of occupational therapy intervention and the need to continue, modify, or discontinue intervention
• Documents occupational therapy services to ensure accountability of service provision

Program Administration and Management

• Prioritizes and schedules work tasks independently.
• Manages inventory of therapeutic equipment and assessments, and project needs for budget planning.
• Maintains clinical and administrative records in accordance with professional standards, guidelines, and school system policy.
• Adheres to Government regulation, Kenya Occupational Therapy Association and Occupational Therapy Council of Kenya regulation and policies that relates to occupational therapy practice.
• Reviews occupational therapy services for quality improvement and makes changes as needed to ensure quality of services.

Monitoring, Evaluation reporting and Learning

• Monitors, and collaborates with Inclusive educational personnel, community structures, parents, and learners to increase understanding of the leaner’s occupational performance.
• Provides continuing education and in-services for inclusive educational personnel, parents, and community-based service providers.
• Provides community-based education and supervision for community mobilizers
• Works collaboratively in a professional learning in addressing the needs of learners, developing effective practices and implementing best practices.
• Plan, budget, implement, and evaluate Occupational therapy services at the centers
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Diploma in Occupational Therapy.
• A bachelor’s degree is an added advantage
• Proven experience of minimum 2 years working with humanitarian and development programme.
• Certification and membership to professional body
• An impeccable professional standard of ethics as well as the willingness and ability to implement accountability activities within the LWF World Service essential.

Competencies

• Excellent computer skills in word processing, spreadsheets, use of internet and email
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and documentation experience with humanitarian programmers.
• Excellent communication skills including influencing negotiation and pragmatism.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; the ability to liaise with a variety of people successfully and effectively in a multicultural set up.
• Ability to work independently.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Personal Attributes

• High level of integrity, commitments and professional responsibility.
• Ability to tolerate and respect for cultural, education and religious diversity in the work place.
• Good communication, organization and presentation skills.
• A good team player with high degree of initiative, flexibility and tolerance