Job Summary

The job of the Staff & Family Counselor is to provide clinical counseling services to TOL house mothers as well as staff and parents/guardians across Family Legacy’s programs.  The Staff & Family Counselor will provide family counseling programs and services for parents/guardians and their children across the ministry and will also provide counseling and mental health resources to Family Legacy staff.  The Staff & Family Counselor assesses the psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing of staff and families in Family Legacy’s programs and provides clinical therapeutic interventions to address their specific psychosocial needs.  It is the responsibility of the Staff & Family Counselor to conduct psychosocial assessments, provide a variety of counseling interventions, perform administrative duties, and facilitate other therapeutic activities as directed. The Head of Staff & Family Counseling will ensure that all organizational, departmental, HWC, TOL, LA, Family Legacy, and governmental policies and procedures are followed correctly to ensure that the department works in accordance with the law.

Dimensions of Role:

• The Program Officer regularly reports to the Coordinator for Excel Beyond on the current status of the students in the Excel Beyond program.
• The Program Officer is responsible for compiling reports concerning sponsored students in Excel Beyond this includes academic progress reports, medical reports and any other student related reports.
• The Program Officer works closely with the Coordinator to help them facilitate the smooth function of their individual departments.
• The Program Officer is responsible for helping the Deputy Program manager oversee the disbursement and recording of payments to students in the paid internship part of the job readiness program. This includes assisting the students in setting up mobile money/bank accounts and helping sort out problems the students might encounter.
• The Program Officer serves as the programs protection officer and as such is responsible for helping ensure that our students have information, an advocate, and access to protective services when needed.
• The Program Officer is responsible for general communication between Excel Beyond and other departments of the Ministry and Stateside including preparing and sending discharge reports/forms on time.
• The program officer will also be required to write success stories, most significant change stories and ensure photos and videos of students are taken periodically for marketing purposes.
• The Program Officer will be responsible for tracking students results, student performance and attendance.

Typical Responsibilities – Key End Results of Position:

Specific Tasks:

Psychosocial Care Services:

• Provide daily clinical counseling services to house mothers, parents/guardians, and staff across Family Legacy’s programs (TOL & LA)
• Develop and implement family counseling programs/services for children at TOL and in Legacy Academy schools
• Conduct family counseling sessions and family-centered therapeutic activities with TOL and LA parents/guardians and their children
• Conduct death and/or sick family member disclosures with TOL children and accompany them to funerals and hospital visits
• Participate in TOL and LA caregiver meetings with children’s parents/guardians as needed
• Conduct HIV disclosures with children who are HIV+ and their parents/guardians
• Collaborate with social services department to participate in family tracing sessions for TOL children as needed
• Conduct family bonding sessions for TOL children preparing for reintegration back into the community
• Create and facilitate trauma-informed programming and mental health-related sensitization talks for staff and parents/guardians across the ministry
• Create and disseminate mental health communication, resources, and handouts to staff and parents/guardians across the ministry
• Receive counseling referrals from other departments and communicate client’ needs and treatment plans effectively to other members of staff
• Conduct informal and formal assessments of clients’ psychological, emotional, and social needs
• Create individualized treatment plans to meet clients’ personal needs
• Monitor clients’ progress and adjust their treatment plans as needed
• Assess, determine, and make referrals when special services or care are needed for clients, such as medical evaluation, in-home services, or specialized psychological/psychiatric testing.
• Ensure high quality care for clients by reviewing and researching concerns or complaints and recommending corrective action as needed
• Conduct hospital visitation with Family Legacy children, parents/guardians, and/or staff as needed

Communication

• Clearly and respectfully communicate with children, house mothers, parents/guardians, and staff across Family Legacy
• Practice clear communication with coworkers, direct supervisor, other departments, management, and relevant stakeholders
• Act as a resource for other departments and staff across the ministry in understanding the significance of developmental, psychological, emotional, and social factors related to mental health, stress, trauma, coping, and wellbeing
• Plan, attend, participate in, and/or lead trainings for parents/guardians and staff across the ministry on a variety of topics related to psychosocial care
• Participate in multidisciplinary team treatment conferences when needed to review and plan for specific client cases
• Receive and give clinical counseling handovers to/from TOL and LA Counselors and Medical Staff for assigned clients
• Closely collaborate with TOL and LA counselors to provide continuity of care with clients

Record Keeping and Administrative Duties

• Complete appropriate mental health documentation, including but not limited to patient care plans, performance outcomes, progress reports, and daily activity tracking as required by HPCZ, the Zambian Counselling Council, the Psychological Association of Zambia, the HWC, and Family Legacy
• Perform daily scheduling tasks to manage and maintain an independent caseload of clients
• Document and submit daily individual counseling statistics to direct supervisor in a timely manner
• Attend and participate in daily counseling department meetings
• Perform record-keeping duties by maintaining clients’ counseling records in confidential files
• Comply with rules and regulations of the Zambian Counselling Council (ZCC) and Psychological Association of Zambia (PAZ)
• Maintain working knowledge of the legal issues pertaining to the counseling program so they are in-line with relevant government agencies and rights of all stakeholders.

The Employee shall also be expected to undertake any additional responsibilities as delegated by his or her supervisor.

Knowledge, Skills, Behaviours, and Experience Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:

Skills Required

• Demonstrates commitment to FL mission, vision, and values.
• Exhibits and promotes Christian principles of servant leadership in decision making and working with other members of staff, especially in conflict resolution.
• Develops, motivates, and coordinates team members by setting and holding high standards for performance.
• Promotes innovation and learning amongst team members to achieve goals.
• Communicates clearly and effectively both verbally and written.
• Gains, develops and retains credibility for personal relationships with others.
• Ability to work well with others in a multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural environment.
• Strong planning and organizational skills
•  Financial management and budgeting skills
• Ability to adapt personal views to get best outcome for the ministry.
• Cooperates effectively with other departments for the benefit of the ministry.
• Aware of own strengths, weaknesses and pro-active in using feedback for self-development.
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.
• Solicits feedback from co-workers about the impact of his/her behaviour.

Other Competencies/Skills:

• Demonstrates commitment to Family Legacy mission, vision, and values
• Has a heart to work with vulnerable children and families even when faced with challenges
• Has a heart for counseling other staff members within Family Legacy
• Very strong clinical counseling skills/knowledge, especially working with families
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong oral and writing skills
• Maintain confidentiality and privacy of all clients
• Basic computer proficiency skills (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, & email)
• Ability to perform well with limited supervision
• Ability to identify and address issues with creativity and effectiveness
• Shares knowledge and experience
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development and applying newly acquired skills
• Consistently approaches work with energy and positive constructive attitude
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
• Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view
• Solicits feedback from coworkers about the impact of his/her behavior
• Relational and personable
• Ability to work as a team and collaborate with others
• Adheres to all deadlines
• Must have no prior convictions of harm to a child

Educational Qualification and Experience

• Have a minimum of Associate-level license in psychosocial or child counseling accredited by the Zambia Counselling Council (ZCC) or Psychological Association of Zambia (PAZ)
• Bachelor’s Degree in psychology or psychosocial counseling is strongly preferred
• Certificate level qualification in psychological, child, and/or clinical counselling will be an added advantage
• Maintain current Zambian licensure as a counseling practitioner.
• Have at least 1 year of experience in a similar position or persuasion