Country: Georgia
Closing date: 05 May 2017
Chemonics seeks a short-term social worker self-regulation expert to support the USAID Human and Institutional Capacity Development 2020 Activity in Georgia. The expert will work closely with the Georgian Association of Social Workers (GASW) to improve its social worker self-regulation and develop mechanisms for its enforcement. GASW is a nongovernmental organization established in 2004, the first in Georgia to support the profession and practice of social workers and to advocate for their increased role in the fields of child welfare, domestic violence, justice, crime prevention, housing, and school (http://www.gasw.org/). Through its support of social workers, GASW targets disadvantaged groups such as homeless children, child victims of violence, ethnic minorities, internally displaced people, the elderly, the disabled, and substance-dependent individuals. Working with the association will involve management, coordination, education, consultancy, research, and analysis. The assignment will last approximately one month (May/June) in Tbilisi. Deliverables of this position include: a plan to self-regulate the direct social work practitioners in Georgia with pertinent recommendations to GASW; social worker competencies, including a tracking/monitoring instrument; modified standards of practice for social workers; enforcement plan for consolidation of standards of practice and a code of ethics; social worker training and capacity building framework/plan; social worker testing and examination system/structure, including examination criteria. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.
Responsibilities include:
- Formulate an overarching plan by which GASW will self-regulate the social work profession in Georgia and recognize direct-practice social workers as qualified practitioners
- Recommend activities for GASW to undertake to self-regulate the profession, to ensure practitioners' competency to practice, and to recognize them as qualified social workers in Georgia
- Define and document the minimum competencies for social workers to ensure that only individuals who adhere to these competencies are able to practice
- Develop a tool that GASW will use to track adherence to minimum competencies
- Create an enforcement plan and modify current standards of practice as necessary to guide GASW in enforcing standards of practice and a code of ethics for social workers
- Coach the GASW staff on self-regulation and its enforcement mechanism, as well as on international best practices in the field
- Develop the social worker testing and examination system, including examination criteria, aimed at identifying and selecting qualified practitioners
- Design a competency-based training and capacity building framework that will help aspiring and potential social workers obtain the social worker qualification based on the self-regulation mechanism
Qualifications:
- Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in social work
- Proven track record of developing competencies, guidelines, and standards for social workers, as well as instruments/tools to measure these competencies
- Demonstrated experience designing social worker training and examination frameworks
- In-depth knowledge of the best practices in social worker self-regulation and extensive experience in designing and enforcing self-regulation mechanisms
- Experience in partnering and working with the social worker associations and assisting them in developing and enforcing social worker self-regulation
- Experience in working with social worker associations in Eastern Europe or the post-Soviet states an asset
- Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
- Fluency in written and spoken English
How to apply:
Send resume, cover letter, and names and contact information of three referees in electronic submission to HICD202PMU@chemonics.com by May 5, 2017. Please indicate "Social Worker Self-Regulation Expert" in the subject line of your email. No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted.