Social Worker at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Conducting social assessments, identifying the social support needs of patients/survivors, including legal protection, shelter/housing, financial/vocational, food security, and access to medical and psychosocial support services beyond the project intervention scope.
• Supporting the provision of comprehensive care to patients and their families, by actively coordinating their work with the other members of the MSF multidisciplinary team (eg. medical, MHPSS) and linking with multi-sectoral services such as protection, safety, security, legal, justice, education, and livelihood.
• Providing direct social support based on social assessments and facilitating referrals to evaluated external re-sources. Provide systematic follow-up care regarding attendance of clinical appointments and following up on referrals made to relevant multi-sectoral services aimed at improving the quality of life of patients/survivors.
• Participating in the creation and maintenance of any material needed for the activities of social workers, including facilities and equipment to ensure continuity.
• Mapping and regular updating of formal and informal support services (incl. existing community resources). Assess the quality of existing support services, with identification of gaps and advocacy for an improved culturally appropriate social response.
• Maintaining records, statistics, files, and reports on all social work activities and follow up care either provided by MSF or other support services. Ensures reminder phone calls to patients for appointments.
• Identifying gaps in the available services and with the team prioritizing and developing plans following the objectives of MSF.
• Responsible for social support expenses (including food, clothes and transport reimbursement), documentation and justification for program use.
• To participate in meetings as called upon such as technical working groups, CME, child protection meetings etc.

RESPONSIBILITY 1: Responsible for patient’s social follow up and facilitation of patient’s medical referrals

• ACTIVITY 1: In charge of preparing and updating social files for SGBV/Trauma/Mental Health/SRH clients who require social interventions.
• Open a social file and collect all necessary information regarding client social, family and economical status including patient’s contact (mobile phone number, etc.)
• Refer relevant information to other departments (medical, counselling.)
• Make sure that the social file is attached to the patient’s file and update it accordingly when necessary.
• Give the patient education on services provided in the programme and information on institutions/associations within Eastland providing other complementary services
• ACTIVITY 2: Receive and Process Social Cases
• Collect and analyse social history of patients presenting with social issues and propose for intervention accordingly.
• Organize home visit for complementary information if necessary
• Provide direct assistance related to basic needs or refer if required for complementary support
• Make sure that social support is given as per MSF Mathare project guidelines.
• ACTIVITY 3: Facilitate referral of social cases to other institutions/organizations offering complimentary services for both the clinics.
• After analysing the social situation of the client, the SW write a referral letter to the identified institution or organization and facilitate transportation of patients to access services
• If necessary, the SW actively liaises with identified partners or accompany the patients to submit the case
• For minors the SW to maintain close collaboration with the government Children office.

RESPONSIBILTY 2: Referrals and Admission of SGBV /Mental Health/SRH cases

• ACTIVITY 1: Facilitate hospital Referral/Admission process for Lavender house SGBV/MH/SRH/Trauma clients who will be admitted in hospital
• Collect information from both the patients and the relatives to facilitate the referral.
• Provide adequate information to the relatives on procedures of admission and discharge
• In consultation with LH supervisor, SW to facilitate the tracing or contact relatives or next of kin in case the client is not accompanied.
• In case a single parent with young children is hospitalized the social worker will organize for temporary shelter and care while the mother/father is admitted.
• ACTIVITY 2: In charge of keeping track of admitted and discharged SGBV/MH cases from the admitted hospitals
• To always give feedback about admitted cases.
• In consultation with the LH supervisor and Med-ref organise for hospital visits for survivors who might be admitted in hospitals
• Make sure that once the admitted survivors have been discharged from Hospitals that they are informed that for SGBV/MH follow up they may come to MSF if they wish.

RESPONSIBLILITY 3: Responsible for social support expenses and follow up of related accountability

• ACTIVITY 1: Ensure proper use of the social support funds; keep good records and account for it regularly with the supervision of MH supervisor and the Field Administrator.
• Responsible and in charge of the cash box, monitoring consumption and facilitation of clothes for survivors/patients, and to be the one paying following two step verification of food ordered to patients.
• Ensure all money used in social room is correctly documented on the appropriate forms with all receipts kept and presented to MH supervisor/ administration in an orderly manner.
• To make sure that once the money is finished that the returns are correctly and timely handed to MH supervisor.
• To provide a clear and proper follow up (weekly and monthly) of number of patients, food and prices, clothes and so on.
• ACTIVITY 2: Support and follow the referral process to other service providers
• Identify and undertake regular follow up of orphanages and shelters, legal organisations
• Where children or other survivors from the programme are referred or they can benefit.
• Document findings and keep the clinic manager and project coordinator informed about quality of care/support provided by other partners.
• Assist medical staff to identify new referral centres if necessary
• To continue to update the list of partners that offers other services to SGBV/MH/SRH patients. To provide the list every month to the MH Supervisor and Project Coordinator
• To be on support for new partnerships

RESPONSIBILITY 4: MSF Halfway Shelter

ACTIVITY 1: Record numbers of survivors offered shelter at the clinic and any other appointed facility

• Follow up with team leaders on how many cases have benefited from shelter either during the night or the weekend.
• To look for alternative shelter for all the cases that has spent the night in the shelter.
• Make sure that all information regarding shelter is well documented.
• Provide a monthly follow up of referrals for shelter

ACTIVITY 2: Record keeping/ Data and documentation

• Collect adequate data related to social activities (beneficiaries of food support, other social support, outcomes etc...)
• In every month be able to give numbers of survivors that have been referred for legal, social, Medical or shelter support.
•  Ensure confidentiality of the patients’ information

ACTIVITY 3: Team participation

• Participate in meetings as required (staff meeting, monthly medical meetings)
• Participate to CME (Continuous Medical Education)
• Participate in the periodic program evaluation and objective/action plans
• To perform any other official task as requested to do so by management even if it is not documented in the job profile.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Education
• Bachelor’s degre/diploma in Social Work

Experience

• Two years minimum in a similar social job; experience with MSF or other NGOs, desirable.