Social Work Lead / Manager

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VAST has 2 roles available for Social Workers, 1) Mental Health Services Manager, Full-Time, and 2) Social Work Lead, 32 Hours/week.

SW Lead - Role Summary:

The Social Work Lead works in close liaison with the Community Engagement Team, as well as the Clinical and Management teams. The goal is to facilitate efficient access for referred individuals to the required services and resources at VAST appropriate to their situation.

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Full time 32 hrs/week

This hybrid position requires in-office work (3 days a week) at our Vancouver/Surrey location

Candidates must be local or able to commute as needed.

This position is unionized with CUPE-1936.

Salary rate: $30.08

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‍Responsibilities: ‍

• Conduct intakes based on presenting issues and support Community Engagement team members in doing the same
• Support leading weekly CET meetings
• Train CET members on particular aspects of the clients’ database
• Coordinate with settlement agency partners
• Create and regularly update a comprehensive listing of resources available in the community for the Community Engagement Team members’ use
• Serve as a member on interdisciplinary committees that work with our community members and professional associations
• Facilitate interdisciplinary case conference meetings amongst VAST team members
• Participate in providing public education on matters related to refugee mental health with community agencies, partner agencies and tertiary institutions.
• Assist with reporting activities for the fundraising team to proceed in planning or developing activities to source and maintain funds for special projects for VAST, and support in reports preparation as needed. The primary need here is ensure the fundraising team has the training and is able to access the data to be able to do this reporting themselves
• Establish and maintain interpersonal and cooperative relationships with prospective funders, community agencies/ partner agencies, clients and the public
• Communicate with the database manager to maintain the system upgrade according to the needs and changes in the service providing procedures
• Attend Clinical supervision meetings if needed
• Participate in staff meetings and workshops
• Perform other duties as requested
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As needed:

• Support to assess and identify the appropriateness, alignment, urgency, and complexity (with Red, Yellow, Green system) of the referred individuals’ cases to receive counselling services
• Create and monitor a waiting list of the referred individuals
• Facilitate decision making for and together with the Community Engagement Team members to conduct CET intake sessions in their first language or other
• Collaborate with the Community Engagement Co-Lead, Clinical Supervisor and Counsellors in the allocation of clients for counselling appointments or vulnerability assessments
• Coordinate with referral networks and referral partners
• Support the effective integration of VAST services and team members with Health Authority and other partners, including Foundry Centers, Neighbourhood Houses, and Settlement agencies, and ensure coordination with SW teams in each location in re: referrals pathways and flow
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Qualifications: ‍

• Master of Social Work degree
• Registered Clinical Social Worker in BC or planning or able to register
• Significant Cross-cultural experience
• Previous work with trauma
• Ability to work in person
• Preference given to candidates with some bilingual capability and some bi-cultural background or life experience
• Ability to work with interpreters
• Knowledge of the refugee and refugee claimant process & systems
• Confident user of Google services, Confident user of CRM systems
• Eligible and registered (or able to register) to provide services billable under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) - Pacific Blue Cross

Mental Health Services Manager (MHSM)

Full Time Position

Rate of Pay: $35/hr.

Office Location Details: Hybrid Offices: Vancouver and/or Surrey

This is position includes a comprehensive health benefits package

Job Summary: The purpose of this role is to support VAST clients, staff, management, partners, and funders in providing high quality mental health services and supports. VAST clients have access to individual, group, community-based, and online services, delivered by the VAST Clinical team members, Community Engagement team members, as well as Management and Contractors, and many esteemed guests and academic and community partners. VAST’s Individual and Group service provision and providers receive Clinical Supervision from VAST’s Clinical Supervisor, with support from the Senior Expressive Arts Therapist, Executive Director, and Social Worker. The MHSM will support and coordinate with other team member’s efforts. The MHSM will support VAST to be active in following VAST’s historical best practices, guidelines, and standards, as well as those established in our sector provincially, nationally, and internationally.

Description of Typical Job Duties:

1. Support the hiring, onboarding, oversight, and support of clinical team members. Including but not limited to:
   1. Screen, interview, select, support for clinical volunteers
   2. Screen, interview, select, and provide supervision (if qualified) for practicum interns as necessary
2. Support the development, management, updating, and adherence to VAST's clinical processes, protocols, and systems
3. Manage the Provincial Refugee Mental Health Coordination role, including the toll-free line, email address, and requests for training, consultation, and capacity building.
4. Support the Management and establishment of VAST's core and associative partnerships, including contributing to launching new relationships, formalizing current relationships, with MOUs or contracts, deciding on joint projects and campaigns, policy positions, support groups, programming, referral pathways, or shared initiatives.
5. Oversee the ethical and legal integrity of case file protocols, including quality of content, counseling process, and structure of client files
6. Manage the ongoing improvement of policies, procedures and practices affecting client intake, planning, delivery and evaluation of services in consultation with the Executive Director and Clinical Supervisor and others, where applicable
7. Collaborate with management to improve, revise, and redesign the client database to ensure alignment with organizational policies and procedures.
8. Establish and manage key partnerships related to Consultations, Trainings, and Advisory, with municipal, regional, provincial, international and national bodies, including the CBSA, MAP, City of Vancouver, Province of BC, IRCC, IRCT, UNVFVT
9. Coordinate [and provide if qualified] psycho-legal assessments and letters to lawyers for the refugee claim process
10. Manage and maintain written and electronic client records in an electronic database
11. Coordinate workshops with the Executive Director and Clinical Supervisor, and facilitate workshops on refugee mental health for legal, health, social, and settlement service provider
12. Provide statistical and narrative information on the clinical program for clinical evaluation, funding applications and reports, and research
13. Ensure that client therapeutic needs are met as best as possible and evaluated on an ongoing basis and that the client files are kept up to date
14. Assess, evaluate, and document personnel training and support needs
15. Ensure clinical staff are trained on VAST policies and procedures regarding the law and employee responsibilities regarding mandated reporting, such as identification of clinical indicators of suspected child abuse and neglect, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation and applicable and reportable criminal behavior
16. To create an annual training plan and coordinate and/or deliver training to staff on identified topics through a mixture of knowledge and skills based instruction and skill building exercises, as needed, on VAST policies, procedures, and best practices, with the assistance of other team members
17. Ensure that the most senior clinical team member or the Executive Director are available for debriefing and consultation
18. Ensure clients are allocated to an appropriate counsellor in a timely manner
19. Ensure smooth client referrals to appropriate internal programs and external service providers
20. Ensure that confidentiality requirements are met through record keeping and file management systems
21. Keep records of individual consultations, team case review
22. Oversee scheduling and documentation of supervision sessions
23. Preparing and disseminating briefs and reports to relevant actors including policymakers, at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.
24. Maintaining existing relationships with universities and cultivating new ones.
25. Establishing, coordinating, and maintaining student training and volunteer programs.
26. client'sMaintaining relationships/liaison / reporting on existing grants and conducting/coordinating research on grant projects.

‍Individual and Group Services Management

1. Support the hiring, onboarding, oversight, and support of clinical team members.
   1. Screen, interview, and select clinical employees, contractors, and volunteers.
   2. Screen, interview, select, and provide supervision (if qualified) for practicum interns as necessary.
2. Assess, evaluate, and document personnel training and support needs.
3. Ensure clinical staff are trained on VAST policies and procedures regarding the law and employee responsibilities (e.g., mandated reporting of child abuse/neglect, suicidal or homicidal ideation, and applicable/reportable criminal behavior).
4. Create an annual training plan and coordinate/deliver staff training with support from team members.
5. Oversee scheduling and documentation of supervision sessions.
6. Ensure that the most senior clinical team member or the Executive Director are available for debriefing and consultation.

Mental Health Services Oversight

1. Manage the ongoing improvement of policies, procedures, and practices affecting client intake, planning, delivery, and evaluation of services, in consultation with the Executive Director and Clinical Supervisor.
2. Support the development, management, updating, and adherence to VAST's clinical processes, protocols, and systems.
3. Collaborate with management to improve, revise, and redesign the client database to ensure alignment with organizational policies and procedures.
4. Ensure clients are allocated to an appropriate counsellor in a timely manner.
5. Ensure smooth referrals to appropriate internal programs and external service providers.
6. Ensure client therapeutic needs are met and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
7. Oversee the ethical and legal integrity of case file protocols (quality of content, counseling process, and file structure).
8. Manage and maintain written and electronic client records in the database.
9. Keep records of individual consultations and team case reviews.
10. Ensure confidentiality requirements are met through record-keeping and file management systems.

Program Evaluation & Reporting

1. Provide statistical and narrative information on the clinical program for funding applications and reports, clinical evaluation, and research.
2. Maintain relationships, liaise, and report on existing grants.
3. Conduct and/or coordinate research on grant projects.

Partnerships & External Relations

1. Support the development, management, and establishment of VAST's core and associative partnerships, including:
   1. Launching new relationships.
   2. Formalizing relationships with MOUs or contracts.
   3. Developing joint projects, campaigns, policy positions, support groups, programming, referral pathways, or shared initiatives.
2. Establish and manage partnerships related to consultations, training, and advisory work with municipal, regional, provincial, national, and international bodies (e.g., CBSA, MAP, City of Vancouver, Province of BC, IRCC, IRCT, UNVFVT).
3. Preparing and disseminating briefs and reports to policymakers at municipal, provincial, and federal levels.
4. Maintaining existing relationships with universities and cultivating new ones.
5. Establishing, coordinating, and maintaining student training and volunteer programs.

Workshops & Capacity Building

1. Coordinate workshops with the Executive Director and Clinical Supervisor.
2. Facilitate workshops on refugee mental health for legal, health, social, and settlement service providers.
3. Manage the Provincial Refugee Mental Health Coordination role, including the toll-free line, email address, and requests for training, consultation, and capacity building.

Specialized Clinical Tasks

1. Coordinate (and provide if qualified) psycho-legal assessments and letters to lawyers for the refugee claim process.

Qualifications Required:‍

• Awareness of the Torture Rehabilitation sector and migration pathways in BC
• Advanced university degree in any of medicine, public health, law, psychology, psychiatry, social work, conflict studies, migration studies, sociology, anthropology
• Knowledge of trauma-informed and mental health best practices
• Knowledge of international affairs, human rights, international humanitarian law
• Experience in a team-based management or communications role
• Effective relationship building abilities
• Excellent written and oral communication
• Proven ability to communicate with formal institutions
• Preference will be given to candidates with lived experience
• Experience and knowledge of other cultures and languages is a plus

Full benefits package, extended health & dental, public pension is available. Generous vacation, sick and personal leave time.

Any additional languages helpful, in particular French, Spanish, Kurdish, Farsi, Dari, Arabic, Punjabi, Mandarin