Cultural Orientation Caseworker

Teaching & Training

Overview

Provide trauma-informed services to refugees for a positive resettlement experience.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field of study preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in human services field strongly preferred.
• Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations strongly preferred.
• Fluent in English, both spoken and written.
• Proficiency in language(s) spoken by IRC’s clients is desired, including Swahili, Spanish, and/or Arabic.
• Valid driver’s license and access to a personal, insured vehicle required.

The Cultural Orientation Caseworker will also carry a small caseload and provide trauma-informed services to refugees and other qualified immigrants to support a positive resettlement experience and the achievement of client self-sufficiency. The Cultural Orientation Caseworker works closely with clients, colleagues, and external parties to develop service and/or self-sufficiency plans to meet individual client needs and preferences utilizing a broad range of financial, medical, social, vocational, and other services and resources in accordance with client eligibility and program requirements.

Major Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- Review, improve, and grow the new arrival cultural orientation system, with consideration towards grant requirements, agency best practices, and refugee assets and needs. - Develop creative solutions and practices to maximize refugee understanding of relevant and essential information. - Teach multiple cultural orientation classes each week to new refugee arrivals, using engaged learning and nontraditional teaching methods. - Develop and review orientation resources, such as written and language appropriate orientation aids for participants, as necessary. - Discover and cultivate community partners to assist in the cultural orientation of newly arrived refugees, including arranging guest speakers (i.e., law enforcement, CPS, etc.). - Work closely with the casework and employment services team to coordinate services and gather feedback. - Empower and equip interns and volunteers to assist in the provision of cultural orientation in creative and impactful ways. - Direct cultural orientation transportation training, including classroom and field training. - Ensure cultural orientation assessments are conducted and tracked. Ensure regular case file documentation. - Provide transportation to clients to attend cultural orientation classes. - Participate in all program meetings, staff development activities, and fully engage as a member of the team. - Comply with all policies, procedures, and protocols of the organization. - Coordinate timely pre- and post-arrival services to ensure each client has living essentials such as housing, food, medical care, and access to transportation, and is oriented to their new environment. - Conduct intake services with clients to assess needs. Develop self-sufficiency plans and timelines in partnership with each client. Provide individualized support through direct services, referrals, and advocacy. - Assess and monitor client progress to support their attainment of established goals, address challenges, and to ensure that available resources are utilized. - Detail each client interaction in accordance with program requirements. Input client information in database(s) and assist with tracking and reporting as needed. - Collaborate effectively with coworkers and partner organizations. Build and maintain relationships with area service providers for the benefit of clients. - Use personal, insured vehicle and/or public transportation (where available) to travel and transport clients and materials as needed throughout the service delivery area. - May train and lead the activities of volunteers and interns. - Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field of study preferred.

Work Experience:

- Relevant professional experience in human services field required; minimum of 2 years’ experience strongly preferred. - Experience working with refugee and/or immigrant populations strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Skills & Competencies:

- Strong relationship building, diplomacy, and networking skills; ability to effectively build internal and external relationships. - Demonstrated success working and communicating effectively in a multi-cultural environment. - Self-starter with excellent problem-solving skills combined with the proven ability to multi-task, prioritize duties, and manage time effectively. - Attention to detail and accuracy in work product. - Fluent in English, both spoken and written; proficiency in language(s) spoken by IRC’s clients is desired; including Swahili, Spanish and/or Arabic. - Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook); ability to use the internet and other digital tools for data entry, research, and problem-solving purposes. - Valid driver’s license and access to a personal, insured vehicle.

Working Environment:

- A combination of standard office environment, remote work, and ‘field’ time within the service delivery area to perform the above outlined responsibilities. - May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Qualifications Update

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: rescue.org