Wellness Coach

Title: Wellness Coach

Dates: June 13 – September 1, 2022

Location: Poland and Remote

Grant/Fund Code: UA00012-01

The Staff

Alight Housing Guides are meeting new arrivals where they are: at the border, train stations, on social media and through local organizations in Poland and Ukraine. The Housing Guides are displaced Ukrainians themselves. They put the clients and their needs front and center as friendly, trustworthy and communicative guides who truly understand what clients are experiencing. They work to connect people to safe, quality housing resources and can book accommodations. All Alight Guides are trained in Psychological First Aid. This training not only empowers them while navigating difficult situations but also builds connection and improves their ability to care for client basic needs. Through Alight’s Protection mechanism, Alight invests in its Guides by not only providing training on logistical skills but also on mental health topics that can help Guides to navigate the particularly challenging circumstances they may encounter.

The Role

The Wellness Coach is responsible for providing psycho-social support to our Alight Guides and staff that are on the ground at train stations, shelters and other service points to provide Ukrainian refugees with temporary housing resources. Psychosocial counseling will be provided through individual and group counseling settings using trauma-informed care and cognitive behavioral techniques. The Coach will provide our Alight Guides with a safe environment to talk through the challenges of clients they encounter at work as many of the clients are traumatized due to the war in Ukraine. Sessions will be centered on the secondary trauma that our staff are absorbing. Although this is the primary focus, some sessions may lead to further discussion on how Alight Guides are processing their own personal challenges as refugees themselves. In order for our Guides to provide the best care and attention to refugee clients, Alight is committed to recognizing the work pressures that can be induced through this emotionally difficult role and is working to provide our staff with a healthy outlet for processing that stress.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Facilitate weekly individual counseling sessions or group sessions (if appropriate) to discuss work-related stressors, emotionally challenging client encounters, stress management and psychological first aid (PFA) techniques.
• Provide referrals to external service providers for additional assistance for staff mental health support, if needed.
• Conduct three psychosocial information awareness sessions for staff.
• Support/give training to Alight staff on how to identify signs of possible abuse experienced in the lives of clients.
• Provide Guides with capacity building on best practices in providing external resources to refugees for additional assistance, providing referrals to refugees, and accompanying refugees to service points.
• Use own cultural knowledge and closely Alight Guides to ensure the cultural appropriateness of all PSS interventions.
• Collaborate with team to develop, implement, and champion a self-care program for staff.
• Ensuring that all work with clients is confidential and that ethical practices are always observed.
• Ensure all staff are strictly adhering to Alight’s PSEA policies

Qualifications

We’re looking for the following education, technical skills, & knowledge:

• Knowledge of PSS (Psychosocial Support) programming in line with the National Standard Operating Procedures for Protection and Prevention guidelines.
• Advanced degree in social work, therapy, counselling, psychology, community psychology, education and/or any other mental health related professional field.
• Demonstrated deep knowledge of the current conflict and the psycho-social effects experienced from those fleeing, frontline workers, etc
• Excellent listening, empathy, and facilitation skills.
• Excellent report writing and analytical skills.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision.
• Oral and written fluency in English and Ukrainian is required. Polish fluency is a preferred as well.
• Proven record of nonviolence.

Key Behaviors & Abilities

• Comfortable providing care in-person or remotely on a weekly basis to Alight Guides.
• Commitment to personally champion Alight’s program mission and inspire others to do the same.
• Strong cross-cultural and interpersonal skills in working with vulnerable people.
• Analytical thinking and attention to detail.
• Dedication to highest degree of confidentiality.
• Diplomatic skills and strong ability to resolve conflicts to build relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Capacity for effective planning and management, including proactively addressing risks and areas of concern.
• Solution, service, and support-oriented work ethic with a willingness to guide staff towards exploring options and solutions while assuring confidentiality.

Alight

We are on a journey to build Alight, a new platform of amazing people and organizations providing lifesaving services and creating breakthrough solutions for and with the displaced. WeAreAlight.org

Alight is an Equal Opportunity Employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status. Alight complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.