Occupational Therapist at Federation Handicap International (HI): (Deadline 23 January 2022)

Organization: Federation Handicap International which runs its programs under its operational name “Humanity &Inclusion” (HI)

Project

Inclusion of people with special needs, mental health, and psychosocial needs in humanitarian programmes in Rwanda

Job title

Occupational Therapist (OTs)

Technical field

Functional rehabilitation

Task

Provide Occupation therapy services in Kiziba Refugee camp

Report to:

The field coordinator

Duration of contract

5 months from February to June 2022

Responsibility 1: Assess functional capacities of the beneficiaries and identify their needs for rehabilitation and specific items (20%)

Activities:

• Carry out a Occupation therapy assessment needs, identify existing barriers to participation, taking into account physical, social and environmental factors in collaboration with the Physiotherapists and psychologists
• Based on the assessment findings, make appropriate interevention plan and actions to reduce the identified barriers, considering their functional needs, social situation, and access to services, with provision of technical aids if required in coordination with the physiotherapists and psychologists in their respective locations.

Responsibility 2: Provide safe and appropriate Occupation therapy interventions (30%)

Activities:

• Get informed consent from the beneficiary before performing any rehabilitation intervention
• Define the occupation therapy intervention’s objective clearly and in a comprehensive way with the active participation of the beneficiaries along with their families/caregivers. The planned OT intereventions should contribute to the achievement of the global objective defined with the rehabilitation colleagues.
• Provide Occupation therapy services. These services will include but are not limited to: Improving the level of independence  in activities of daily life;  modifying the activity of daily life to match the beneficiary abilities, which includes modification to the beneficiaries’ environment; modify the daily used tools etc.; Improving cognitive and perceptual skills
• Propose the needed adaptations at  school, workplaces, in both refugee and host communities to improve the  level of autonomy and participation of persons with specific needs and persons with mental health and psychosocial issues
•  Identify the needs for assitive devices, fabricate them using locally vailable materials where possible, deliver it to the beneficiary, and train them and the caregiver/ beneficiary on how to use and care for it.
• Provide follow-up care and make decisions regarding discharge in an appropriate manner
• Make internal and external referrals in response to identified needs in coordination with the project manager
• Transfer rehabilitation technique skills to the client and family. If necessary provide handouts. (make sure clients know how to do when they going back home)
• Increase community awareness on health risks, early detection of deformities, and existing referral pathways

Responsibility 4: Refer beneficiary to other services in coordination with the project manager as needed (20%)

Activities:

• Identify the limits of the given intervention and ask for relevant support when needed
• Identify emergency situations that need functional rehabilitation and other Occupation therapy-related services and react quickly to facilitate access to appropriate services
• Make referrals in response to identified needs in coordination with the project manager

Responsibility 5: Report data on activities, follow-up on individual cases, and organize the daily and weekly activities (20%)

Aim: Ensure that technical information on intervention is available and there is clarity on planned activities

Activities:

• Ensure a qualitative follow-up of the beneficiaries and document the follow-up according to the monitoring plan
• Measure the level of achievment  of the rehabilitation outcomes (through objective datas)
• Ensure quantitative and qualitative reporting through HI tools (assessment form, follow-up form, discharge and monitoring form, donation certificate, groups report) and system in place
• Organize the weekly plan along with the multi-disciplinary team and participate to team meetings
• Produce other reports upon line manager request

Responsibility 6: Participate in the analysis and reporting of global issues experienced by the persons of concern with specific needs and persons with mental health and psychosocial issues with a focus on rehabilitation issues (10%)

Activities:

• Informal and informal meetings with the team, participate in the qualitative analysis of the different kinds of issues, at individual, familial and community levels
• Participate in reporting with the tools and the internal system of all issues identified
•  Be part of a constructive holistic teamwork to develop a very qualitative analysis and response to the needs of with specific needs and persons with mental health and psychosocial issues.
•  Develop case studies and collect testimonies to provide evidence and input in reporting

Essential

Preferable

Qualification(s):

• Degree in occupational therapy or physiotherapy from a recognized University

• Demonstrated move towards professional development by number of other courses taken in the field of expertise

Experience (type and length of experience):

• Minimum 1 year of experience in performing similar tasks through internships/clinical placements or other voluntary engagements linked functional rehabilitation or occupation therapy services

• Good experience working with most vulnerable groups such as: persons with disabilities, elderly people, and persons with mental health issues

Competencies (knowledge, skills required for the job, (see skills repository):

• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team
• Demonstrated ability to develop and apply needs assessment tools
• Knowledge of users cantered approach
• Good capacity to organize and conduct training and community awareness-raising campaigns
•  Knowledge of community-based rehabilitation approach
•  Ability to work with partners
• Knowledge of referral mechanism
• Ability to develop information materials

• Capacity to document the project achievements, lessons learned, and ability to write good project reports

Personal qualities:

Motivated

Good communication skills

Flexible, ability work under pressure, teamwork spirit

Adaptable in various situations

Positive personality

Good teamwork spirit and persuasive skills