Family Support Worker

Job Purpose

Under direction of the Settlement and Family Support Director, the Settlement and Family Support Worker assists immigrant and refugee families in their transition to a new culture by helping them develop bridges with community services and by facilitating group and individual services and programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Administration

• Provides program information and data by maintaining client records, preparing required reports and program evaluations, participating in staff meetings and internal committees, and responding to community requests for presentations.
• Keeps supervisor informed by regular reporting as required and advising them on emergent issues.

Counselling

• Ensures settlement by counselling, developing client plans, providing life skills coaching and implementing remedial or preventative measures.
• Helps immigrant families access community, health and social services through outreach activities, providing information, consulting, making contacts, referring, accompanying families to appointments, following up with contacts, and advocating for clients.

Programming

• Supports the positive transition of families by planning, facilitating, and recruiting for group parenting and family programs with community partners.
• Conduct home visits for assessment and program orientation and follow-up.
• Promotes opportunities for immigrants to develop additional skills by recruiting, referring for training, and supervising volunteer placements or referring to community agencies for volunteer placement and training.

Relationship Management

• Fosters respect for cultural diversity by collaborating with community partners, sensitizing the community service providers to immigrant and cross-cultural issues, participating on external committees, and fostering and maintaining relationships and partnerships with community health and social service providers.
• Fosters equitable treatment of immigrants by keeping up-to-date on policies and programs that impact immigrant settlement.
• Ensures service quality and collaborative work relationships by providing guidance to new staff, participating in staff meetings, on internal committees and acting as a resource person in identified area of expertise.

Other duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology or Education, and, one year of work experience providing counselling services, OR
• Graduate of postsecondary program (2 year minimum) in the social sciences or humanities or education, and, two years of work experience providing counselling services.
• Specialized training in program delivery area is an asset.
• Training in life skills counselling not mandatory but an asset.

Required Licenses and/or Certifications

• Criminal Occurrence Security Check – Must complete a Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Check in good standing and within three months prior to first day of employment.
• Proof of English proficiency by obtaining a completed Canadian education, Minimum CLB level 8, or IELTS 6.5.