Occupational Therapist NGO Careers – Humanity & Inclusion
Job Title: Occupational Therapist
Organization: Humanity & Inclusion (Handicap International Federation)
Duty Station: Kiryandongo, Oyam, Nwoya or Gulu, Uganda
Gross Salary: UGX. 2,242,083 /=
Reports to: Project Manager
Starting Date: July 1st 2020
Length of contract: 21 months
About US:
Handicap International Federation (operating under the name Humanity & Inclusion) is an independent and impartial aid and development organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside disabled and vulnerable people to help meet their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.
About Project:
The Poverty Shift Project (Partnership for Disability-Inclusive Ultra-Poor Graduation Project, Uganda), is a social-economic empowerment and resilient project targeting 2,700 ultra-poor households: 70% and 15% of households respectively where project holder is a woman and or a person with disability.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the HI Poverty Shift Project Manager, in coordination with the Consortium Management Unit, and the technical support of the HI Technical Unit. The Occupational Therapist will have to create and maintain an environment of strict adherence to professional standards and HI code of conduct to ensure the provision of standard Occupational therapy services, and prevents harm/exploitation of beneficiaries through:
Planning and field coordinating project activities with internal and external stakeholders
- Participate in the monthly HI activity planning meetings.
- Develop monthly and weekly field activity plans.
- Participate in the development of project activity tools.
- Coordinate field activities with MHPSS Worker and Physiotherapist.
- Coordinate field activities with Consortium partners.
Implementing, facilitating and following –up daily the project activities following the project implementation plans with consortium partners and poverty shift project manager, physiotherapist and MHPSS, the OT will;
Conduct a physical and functional assessment of beneficiaries from the DIG target Districts
- Assess beneficiary needs using HI’s standard therapy assessment tools.
- According to the outcomes of the assessment of the beneficiaries’ needs, elaborate an appropriate occupational therapy intervention, task/activity adaptations, comprehensive plan of action (with the PT, PSS, or both), or referral to other services within HI, consortium partners, and other stakeholders.
Provision of appropriate occupational therapy interventions
- Explain to both beneficiary and caregiver or family the importance of occupational therapy and the purpose of the treatment to be provided (being provided)
- Design appropriate occupational therapy intervention according to the priorities and needs identified during assessment.
- Provide occupational therapy, according to Uganda (and international) standards and HI guidelines.
- Follow the evolution of care and improvement of beneficiaries through the use of different outcome tools and report it by updating beneficiary files as needed.
- Provide adaptation of tasks (home and work environment) to beneficiaries to enhance their participation in the DIG project.
- In consultation with Physiotherapists, provide technical support on the appropriate use of adaptive equipment/aid provided to target beneficiaries based on their needs.
- Train and advise beneficiaries, caregiver and family on home and work adaptation, and basic life skills independently or supported.
- Ensure the security of the beneficiary during the sessions and take into account precautions related to diverse illness, psychological problems, and medical treatments. Seek medical advice if needed.
Home follow-up and discharge of beneficiaries
- Follow up on home instructions provided to beneficiaries and caregiver during initial assessment and treatment, and update rehabilitation outcome tools every follow-up.
- Monitor the progress of beneficiaries based on the comprehensive approach.
- Review and recommend the discharge of beneficiaries after the resolution of problems and achievement of therapy objectives. (Note: Discharge is coordinated with the Physiotherapist and PSS worker assigned to the beneficiaries to consolidate report and completion of rehabilitation outcome scoring before the file is completely closed.)
Participating in data collection and MEAL activities of the project
- In close collaboration with the MEAL team:
- Maintain complete individual files for each beneficiary, including detailed descriptions of services provided and the evolution of the case.
- Ensure that the complete beneficiary tools are filled correctly and signed.
- Respect all guidelines on documentation, and confidentiality within the project;
- Produce weekly activity reports and contribute to the development of project reports using HI Uganda reporting templates
- Maintain complete documentation for each activity following the recommendations of the project manager
- Contribute to the development of the Program Managers activity reports
- Participate in monthly, and quarterly project review meetings
- Facilitate the participation of stakeholders and beneficiaries in the monitoring and evaluation of activities
- Ensure that field data collection shared with the MEAL team.
Demonstrating ethical, safe, secure and professional practices
- To show professional ethics, respect, and promote Humanity & Inclusion mandate and humanitarian principles at all times.
- To respect the Humanity & Inclusion protection of children policy, the protection of beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse policy, the anti-fraud bribery and corruption policy, and report to your line manager any non-respect of HI’s policies amongst the teams or partners.
- To report any incident or act that causes harm to the beneficiary or others
- To contribute to the definition and update of security framework at field level.
- To observe at all times, strict commitment to Humanity & Inclusion Security and Safety regulations as per procedures at the mission level.
- To support internal information dissemination to relevant focal persons at mission level, aiming at reinforcing security and safety of Humanity & Inclusion staff and assets.
- To participate in security meetings upon the line manager’s request and report relevant information to the appropriate persons.
Other Responsibilities:
- Ensure the strict application of the rules including the code of conduct;
- Demonstrate ethical and professional practice;
- Report any incident in which s/he’s involved/witnessed immediately;
- Any other tasks deemed necessary by the line manager
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicant for the Handicap International Occupational Therapist job should preferably hold a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy.
- At least 1 year of professional experience in an NGO at officer level
- At least 2 years of professional experience in Physical or Occupational Rehabilitation related work
- Experience to work in hospital settings is an asset
- Experience to work in community-based setting is an advantage
- Experience in consortia lead projects an advantage
- Experience in the fields of inclusion, access to services for persons with disabilities
Competencies:
- Maintains strict ethics in performing his/her duties as an Occupational Therapist in a different setting
- Proven knowledge and skills in assessment and treatment planning; follow-up of progress, and documentation.
- Critical thinking skills: Ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection of information during the evaluation and monitoring of progress. Able to adjust treatment programs according to the short and long-term goals of the person (and of the project).
- Ability to design and follow through daily, weekly, and monthly plans.
- Communication and facilitation skills
- Perfect fluency in written and oral English and strong report writing skills;
- Familiar with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and internet
- Fluently spoken local languages from the north and western regions of Uganda an advantage
- Knowledge of project cycle and related tools and methodologies
- Knowledge of the Education and Disability Sectors in Uganda
Personal Qualities:
- Ability to work under high pressure and remote locations;
- Strong interpersonal and intercultural skills
- Strong communication and networking skills
- Strong interest in the fields related to HI mandate
- Strong team player and ability to work with little supervision
Condition:
Starting Date: July 01st, 2020
Length of contract: 21 months (until 31st March 2022)
Basic Salary: 2,242,083
How to Apply:
If you feel you meet the requirements, please send an updated CV (3 pages max, including three professional referees current and/or past line managers) with a cover letter to HR department at recruitment@uganda.hi.org indicating the position applied for and preferred duty station.
Any efforts to influence the recruitment process will lead to automatic disqualification.
Deadline: 31st March 2020 by 2:00pm