Job Overview
Volunteer Social Worker, Global Health (United States)
Project HOPE, an international NGO, seeks a dedicated Volunteer Social Worker to join our team in the United States. Our organization, indeed, boasts over 1,000 engaged employees and volunteers globally, as we consistently respond to the world’s most pressing health challenges. For 60 years, Project HOPE has, furthermore, treated millions of patients, provided over $3 billion in medicines, built hundreds of health programs, and actively responded to humanitarian crises worldwide.
This position, consequently, involves providing crucial social work services within mobile medical units, medical field units, or shelter settings. You will, therefore, function as a key member of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) team, collaborating closely with MH Clinician(s) and an MHPSS Coordinator. We contact roster members only when an emergency response requires their specific qualifications; please note, this position does not offer compensation unless deployment to an emergency response occurs.
Main Responsibilities for Our Volunteer Social Worker
As a Volunteer Social Worker, you will undertake various vital tasks. Specifically, you will:
- Provide Trauma-Informed Services: Offer trauma-informed social work services to disaster-affected populations, adhering strictly to nationally accepted standards.
- Resource Identification: Support the identification and mapping of local services and resources within communities to inform appropriate referrals.
- Client Assistance: Assist clients in obtaining necessary resources.
- Shelter Engagement (When Deployed): Engage shelter residents in trauma-informed activities. Furthermore, you will provide health education and hygiene promotion to support their recovery.
- Team Collaboration: Collaborate closely with MH Clinician(s) on appropriate activities within shelter settings and, moreover, on resource needs and accessibility.
- Data Management & Reporting: Ensure accurate patient registration and recording for reporting and case management. Consequently, you will ensure proper data management by completing appropriate patient cards, registers, tally sheets, and reports. Additionally, contribute to daily reporting as directed by the MHPSS Coordinator and Team Lead.
- Trend Monitoring: Monitor trends in cases and service provision, reporting to your supervisor as needed.
- Administrative Adherence: Adhere to administrative directives regarding work schedules, record-keeping, and patient communications.
- Service Provision: Provide all services free of charge.
- Additional Duties: MHPSS staff will undertake additional duties as needed during a response.
- PSEA Promotion: Actively promote Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) standards within Project HOPE and among beneficiaries.
- Code of Conduct: Adhere to the Code of Conduct.
- Other Tasks: Perform other duties as assigned; this list, however, represents the general nature of the work and is not all-inclusive.
Volunteer Social Worker
Minimum Qualifications for this Social Worker Role
To qualify for this Volunteer Social Worker position, you typically bring:
- Education: A Master of Social Work degree is preferred. A valid license to practice is also preferable.
- Experience: 2+ years of relevant and progressive experience in social work, mental health counseling, or clinical psychology. Experience working in an emergency department or in disaster and/or humanitarian settings is strongly preferred.
- Trauma Therapy Training: Intermediate or advanced-level training in somatic-based trauma therapy is strongly preferred.
- Diverse Populations: Experience working with diverse populations, in low-resource settings, and potentially volatile environments.
- Assessment Skills: Experience conducting rapid MHPSS community assessments in post-disaster settings is preferable.
- Organizational Skills: Excellent organizational skills and, moreover, the ability to handle multiple tasks in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.
- Communication Skills: Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Self-Motivation: Excellent self-motivation skills.
- Judgment & Decision-Making: Ability to exercise sound judgment and excellent decision-making skills.
- Flexibility: You must be extremely flexible and, furthermore, demonstrate abilities to cope with stressful situations.
- Interpersonal Skills: Able to work effectively with various personalities, populations, and cultures.
- Deployment Readiness: Able to deploy to emergencies on short notice.
- Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English is required; notably, fluency in Spanish is desirable.
Additional Requirements for Volunteers
Beyond the responsibilities mentioned, candidates may, at times, temporarily live and work in austere conditions at the start of a U.S. emergency response. This may, for instance, necessitate lifting moderately heavy objects, carrying a backpack for extended periods, and walking or hiking in remote locations.
Project HOPE, moreover, acts as a first responder to climate-related and man-made disasters; consequently, we mandate work in remote locations. The organization maintains a comprehensive security management policy and plan, and we commit to ensuring safety and security within our remit. Nonetheless, Project HOPE’s mandate and programming choices necessitate staff members with high resilience, extremely decisive qualities, and the ability to move quickly.
Apply now: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1753384345253
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is this a compensated position? A: No, this is a volunteer position. Compensation, however, applies only when responders deploy to an emergency response.
Q: What is the primary focus of this role? A: The role primarily focuses on providing social work services within mobile medical units, field units, or shelter settings for disaster-affected populations.
Q: What are the typical work environments for this volunteer? A: Volunteers may work in mobile medical units, medical field units, or shelter settings, often in low-resource and potentially volatile environments.
Q: What level of experience does Project HOPE prefer for this role? A: Project HOPE strongly prefers candidates with 2+ years of relevant experience, especially in emergency or disaster settings, and with trauma therapy training.
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