Country: Thailand
Closing date: 29 Feb 2016
Position: Senior Caseworker
Project: Bangkok Child Protection Project
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Reports to: Project Director, Bangkok Child Protection Project, Bangkok
Starting date: March 2016
Contract duration: 31 December 2016
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The organisation was founded in November 1980 and has a presence in over 50 countries. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support of an international office in Rome. The style of JRS service is human and spiritual, working in situations of greatest need, seeking the long-term wellbeing of refugees and displaced persons, while not neglecting their immediate or urgent needs. JRS offers opportunities to a wide variety of staff, local and international, while maintaining a realistic and localised scheme of salary/stipend, insurance, etc.
In Thailand, JRS manages five programmes spread throughout urban and rural areas serving refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. JRS Thailand has field offices in Bangkok, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sot (Tak), and Wiang Haeng (Chiang Mai). The main areas of work include education, psycho-social services, livelihoods, emergency assistance, advocacy and protection. For more information about JRS in Asia Pacific and Thailand, visit: http://www.jrsap.org
Project Description:
Although half of the world’s refugees live in urban areas such as Bangkok, the vast majority of assistance is focused on refugees living in camps. Guided by Pedro Arrupe’s vision for JRS – to go where no one else is working and serve the most forgotten – JRS Thailand is dedicated to serving, accompanying and advocating for urban refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, particularly the most vulnerable. A response to the significant child protection gap that has emerged in Bangkok in 2014, the Bangkok Child Protection Project is an implementing partnership arrangement with UNHCR Thailand, whereby JRS has undertaken to carry out Best Interest Assessments (BIAs) for unaccompanied, separated, and other vulnerable children in Bangkok, to support them through accompaniment, emergency and casework assistance, including referrals to other services both within and external to JRS, such as psychosocial counselling, legal services and community capacity building.
Role:
The Bangkok Child Protection Project (BCP) Senior Caseworker serves as frontline staff, performing all duties of a regular BCP caseworker, but also offering additional insight and expertise for abuse, extremely vulnerable or volatile cases, and other exceptional cases. The Senior Caseworker will work closely with other BCP staff and reports to the Project Director.
Responsibilities:
Case Management
- To collect data from unaccompanied and separated children to screen the children in emergency situation, and prioritize them for BIA.
- To conduct best interest assessments (BIAs). Following the BIA template, interview individual unaccompanied, separated, and other vulnerable children (and occasionally the caregivers or families hosting them) and conduct a home visit to produce the recommendations and case plans.
- To conduct BIA’s as a tool for determining custody, family verification, and other more specified situations.
- To finalize BIA reports by working closely with UNHCR Protection officers to ensure the finalized BIAs benefit unaccompanied and separated children according to international standard.
- To offer additional insight and expertise on difficult cases to other BCP caseworkers
- To provide training to BCP staff regarding best practices
- To help with case allocation amongst the case work team
- To review other case workers BIA reports before they are sent to UNHCR
- To prepare case files and maintains updated progress notes.
- To monitor, facilitate, refer and advocate for options or services to meet the needs of the unaccompanied and separated children according to the case plans.
- To provide information and counseling to unaccompanied and separated children about living in Thailand and personal safety.
- To assist UNHCR by conducting Best Interests Determination (BID), and when necessary, participate in a BID panel
- To refer emergency crisis situations to the BCP Project Director and/or the JRS-URP Team, through the URP Project Director, for appropriate intervention.
- To foster peer support by collaborating with other BCP team members to plan, organize, and execute community psycho-social, educational, and recreational activities.
Encourage community initiatives by helping to identify community leaders and involving them with community initiatives, alongside other BCP and URP staff.
Managing the work of JRS at the field level
- To safeguard the vision, identity, and unity of JRS at the project level.
- To know and understand well JRS policies and to implement them at the project level.
- To implement relevant aspects of the project according to the approved proposal and relevant TORs/SOPs with UNHCR Thailand.
- To analyse the needs of the children and to suggest new initiatives to the Project Director and team members
Strengthening Partnerships and Networking
- To build relationships with asylum seekers, refugee and local host communities to increase trust and understanding.
- To maintain strong working relationships with UNHCR, Thai authorities, INGO, CBOs and church groups working on urban refugee issues.
Communication/Reporting
- To communicate regularly with the Project Director, reporting on all major issues and developments in the field.
- To submit monthly activity reports to the Project Director.
- To assist in documenting of BCP financial transactions and send to Project Director by end of the month.
- To develop/complete JRS reports and UNHCR Implementing Partnership reports as required, together with other project team members.
- To participate in regular team meetings.
Qualifications & Experience:
- Masters degree in social science, development, social work, counselling or related field, with concentration in children and adolescence work
- Strong commitment to serve, accompany and advocate on behalf of urban refugees and asylum seekers.
- At least 2 years’ of direct case work experience working with an NGO or humanitarian agency, preferably with children
- Fluency in spoken and written English and Thai.
- Compatible with the vision-mission of JRS.
- Prudent to maintain professional boundaries.
- Understanding of and empathy with migrant and refugee communities.
- Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
- Strong teamwork skills, able to work successfully in a multi-cultural and flexible environment and to handle multiple priorities.
- Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office.
- Willingness to travel to/from sites, and be able to use public transport to/from clients’ residences as needed.
- Interested in working with unaccompanied and separated refugee children in Bangkok
How to apply:
This position offers a localised salary package with insurance, health and other benefits. Interested candidates must apply by sending cover letter and CV (including 3 references) and address how they satisfy the criteria described above. Applications are to be sent to “**job.bcp_seniorcaseworker@jrs.or.th**” Applications close on 29 February 2016. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.