Coordinator, Survivor Services

Coordinator, Survivor Services – FortPortal

Who We Are

International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,200 professionals are at work worldwide in over 30 offices. Together we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable.

We are a global community that cares for one another. We believe that the way we work is as important as the results we achieve. We provide professional excellence with joy and celebration to all those we serve.

The Need

For 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence by 2030, we are seeking a Coordinator, Survivor Services to provide multidisciplinary support to victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Sexual Violence Against Children (SVAC) both directly and through partnerships. The Coordinator, Survivor Services will work closely with internal and external stakeholders across a range of professional disciplines, particularly law enforcement, prosecution, and social services, to strengthen trauma-informed responses within each of these sectors. The Coordinator, Survivor Services will build partnerships within the district, and community-level social welfare officers and civil society organizations that provide psychosocial services to ensure the rescue, protection, and restoration of survivors, and develop strategies that strengthen the relationships.

This position is based in FortPortal, Uganda and reports to the Manager, Survivor Services.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure that survivor groups are functional i.e., they have leadership and have all the information they require on Violence against Women and Children (VAWC), VAWC legal framework, survivor services and restoration to fulfill their mandate of creating safe communities.
• Support the recruitment of new members into the Local Survivor Network (LSN), the District LSN Chapters and ensure that they continue to meet regularly and are supported during their engagements with different stakeholders.
• Identify and recommend mechanisms that can be used to provide feedback and get feedback from stakeholders about the IJM program.
• Work with the Advocacy and Community Engagement team to support linkages between survivors and different stakeholders that will translate into survivors having confidence in the justice system.
• Share best practices from stakeholder engagements to help in the improvement of the program.
• Map existing partners (shelters and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)) in the respective districts and update the partner database regularly.
• Regularly provide updates to the Manager, Survivor Services on partner engagements and recommend new strategies that are helpful in improving interactions between Survivors and partners.
• Have regular interface with Community Development Officers (CDOs) and survivor groups to identify gaps and training needs and develop plans to respond to those gaps.
• Support multi-disciplinary coordination meetings such as District Action Centers (DACs) and others for a that promote inter-institutional dialogue and coordination on cases of VAWC in the districts.
• Use the IJM survivor care model such as the Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and Survivor Care Model in all interventions with shelters/CSOs and Police and ensure that they are equipped with knowledge needed for adoption of these models.
• Adopt training materials from the IJM inventory of training materials in all partner trainings and support their improvement by providing regular feedback to the Manager, Survivor Services on available training materials.
• Work with the Manager, Survivor Services to develop training plans and material during IJM trainings for police, judiciary, social welfare, and medical staff on survivor friendly interventions, including ethical and safety considerations for survivors of IPV and SVAC.
• Convene and provide leadership in multi-disciplinary meetings with a variety of government and non-government stakeholders and support inter-institutional dialogue and coordination on cases of IPV and SVAC.
• Train and mentor, all stakeholders on the incorporation of child-friendly and trauma-informed approaches into their service delivery.
• Support survivors to access psychosocial support either directly or through referrals according to the Survivor care model.
• Provide mentoring and support to social welfare officers and justice officials to ensure that survivors of IPV and SVAC are provided trauma-informed protection and support throughout IPV and SVAC investigations and court proceedings.
• Update IJM case management system regularly and work closely with the Casework Assistants to keep track of information on services provided to survivors, Assessment of Survivors Outcomes (ASO), treatment plans and needs assessments.
• Adhere to IJM survivor services standards, guidelines, and tools such as the Needs assessment, ASO, minimum standards of care, security procedures while providing psychosocial support to survivors.
• Provide regular reports to the Manager, Survivor Services, on the progress of cases.
• Follow the collaborative casework guidelines to generate cases from recommended sources and do case intakes.
• Seek timely approval for services needed by survivors and exercise good stewardship of resources by planning, prioritizing, and providing timely accountabilities.
• Document best practices and share with the Manager, Survivor Services for adoption by the program team.
• Provide timely monthly and quarterly program reports to the Manager, Survivor Services.
• Participate in IJM programs of professionalism and Christian spiritual formation.
• Ensure strict adherence to IJM operational, finance, programme and human resources policies.

Requirements:

• A bachelor’s degree in social work, counseling, community psychology or related field.
• A minimum of four (4) years’ experience in social work, counseling, including working with survivors of sexual violence or other traumatic experiences. Experience working with child and women survivors of violence preferred.
• Experience establishing networks and partnering with social service providers.
• Demonstrable experience, technical knowledge of trauma and application of trauma-informed approaches within case management and/or clinical interventions.
• Experience in coaching and training.
• Experience working with the Uganda criminal justice system.
• Fluency in the English language both written and spoken is mandatory. Working knowledge of local languages in the Rwenzori region preferred.
• Excellent writing, documentation and reporting skills, including the ability to maintain digital records and generate high-quality reports on all casework interventions, stakeholder interactions, etc.
• Excellent Computer literacy with proficiency in MS Word, Outlook, Power Point and Excel. Should possess ability to quickly learn and consistently use other software systems for purposes of case management, M&E and documentation.

Critical Qualities:

• Mature Christian faith as defined by the Apostles’ Creed;
• Self-starter with strong initiative;
• Disciplined with priorities;
• Strong interpersonal skills and self-awareness;
• Exceptional verbal and written communication.
• Flexible, collaborative and eager to support others;
• Effective team player who fosters collaborative environment; and
• Adept at creative problem solving.