Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS)
Job Description: Children Home Coordinator
“A world where every child is safe, educated, loved”; Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS) established in 2007, is a non-governmental, apolitical, and not for profit organization. Our mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal's children. We do this by providing quality education, a safe environment, and through inspiring others while putting the children first, strengthening families and our communities. Most at risk and disadvantaged children are provided with inclusive quality education at Kopila Valley School (KVS), one of the greenest schools in Nepal, made from the earth and nestled on a campus with a commitment to building sustainable programs. Along with lifelong gift education to the disadvantaged children, we support their family members to improve their living standards and make it sustainable through holistic programs ranging from children’s home, health and wellness through women empowerment to career guidance/counseling, and scholarships for further studies. Environmental sustainability is one of the guiding principles and a way of life whatever we do!
Our Children’s Home, being the legacy of Kopila Valley, provides a safe, loving, and stable home for children in extreme cases of need, when all other options have been exhausted. We provide care for our young children to live happy, healthy, safe lives while building positive characteristics to develop into thriving adults while placing important attention to root family connection. We do this with our funding partner BlinkNow Foundation and in close ties with the local government and communities.
Position Summary: Children Home Coordinator
You should have enthusiasm about the growth and wellbeing of children, sensitive to their needs, able to mix, relax and interact socially with the children. You’re a person of empathy and having passion about working with/for children to open their potentialities and creating an environment where children could thrive.
With the overall guidance of Associate Manager Children’s Home, Coordinator-Children’s Home is responsible for creating a safe, nurturing and stimulating place where every child can reach their full potential and flourish. S/he is excellent in planning, quality deliverables, monitoring and reporting in line with organizational frameworks and mandates and supervises care giving team and harness interdepartmental collaboration and bring about synergy in program deliverables so that children could open their potentiality and thrive. The incumbent is excellent at coaching, mentoring, supporting and developing staff (with childcare expertise) using relevant tools and techniques. S/he will have a coordinating role with residential care related stakeholders to create a culture of learning/sharing.
Coordinator-Children’s Home ensures frequent communications with Kopila Valley School, Children’s Home for improved learning performance of children and alumni. The post holder is responsible for documentation, recording, database management and daily/weekly updates and periodic reports to the supervisor. S/he is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults.
Work Location: Birendranagar-4, Surkhet
Reports to: Associate Manager- Children’s Home
Direct reports: 5-7 employees mostly caregiving roles
The Main Responsibilities
- Support Associate Manager- Children’s Home for daily operations, planning, implementation, monitoring, budgeting, database management and reporting
- Capacity building of team in caregiving, coaching & mentorship and ensure nurturing, warm and welcoming environment is created at Children’s Home and adequate support is provided to children and staff
- Coordinate with KVS, different programs, including health & wellness, futures for collaborative works and foster cross learning
Detailed Responsibilities
- Support daily operations, planning, implementation, monitoring, budgeting, database management and reporting in Children’s Home.
- Together with the team, create and maintain a schedule for all activities and routines within the Kopila Valley Children’s Home and making sure that it is followed
- Administer the children’s clothing and hygiene and encouraging the older children to take responsibility for their own clothing and hygiene as much as possible
- Support supervisor in participatory planning process and ensure all team members have a detailed implementation plan including timelines
- Maintain and update details children and manage database.
- Follow the Children’s home operational guideline which has been developed by the National Child Rights Commission and make sure about its implementation.
- Capacity building of team in caregiving, coaching & mentorship and ensure nurturing, warm and welcoming environment is created at Children’s Home and adequate support is provided to children and staff
- Set annual and quarterly goals of team and ensure everyone is aligning with set goals and priorities and deliverable on time to quality
- Jointly with team and collaborating with supervisor, develop and share weekly/monthly priorities and updates
- Coordinate with different programs and stakeholders to harmonize program activities and amplify program achievements
- Create a learning and sharing environment to building the capacity of team members in child protection, caregiving, coaching and mentorship so that team members can deal with children decently and as are of child protection protocols
- Ensure to provide the children with individual/one on one time and group counseling to express their needs, issues and challenges so that individualized support is possible tailoring to their needs in coordination with the team members.
- Collaborate with the supervisor school leadership and school teachers to know the status of each child, determine appropriate assessments and interventions required to assist for their success
- Coordinate with KVS, different programs, including health & wellness, futures for collaborative works and foster cross learning
- With the guidance of supervisor and coordinating with different programs, ensure children are provided with adequate support for their studies, extra-curricular and outdoor learning related opportunities not only at school but also at Children’s Home
- Keep detailed and updated track records of all children with special consideration of children with disabilities, special needs and update according to the updated policy and protocols of NCRC or other relevant government agencies
- Coordinating with supervisor, share periodic updates with stakeholders and represent to KVSS at meetings, forums and events
- Lead to organize stakeholders meeting especially residential care related and ensure proper documentation and sharing
- Utilize research and good practices to develop robust and quality programing that consistently meets established goals
Additional expectations
- Takes ownership of change and engage and encourage innovation
- Build positive working relationships and environment in the organization by bringing solutions to the discussion table
- Report to the manager on a weekly basis, and as needed in case of urgent activities
- Acts swiftly to respond emergency circumstances and humanitarian assistance activities of the organization
- Build and maintain a strong relationship with the staff, students, teachers and relevant stakeholders
- Attend weekly staff meetings, and share operational updates
The above list of responsibilities is not comprehensive, and the coordinator- Children’s Home may be required to take on additional responsibilities, as determined by his/her supervisor
Must Have
- Education: Graduate in social science, psychology or any relevant discipline/s. Relevant Master’s Degree in desirable
- Experience: At least 5 years of proven experience in a residential care or child protection field
- Language: A good communicator, and fluent in English and Nepali
- Skills and Abilities: Ability to manage, mentor and lead children, youth, their activities
- Passionate about and cares for children and vulnerable population; initiator, and competent in managing operations and logistics in the organization.
- Works collaboratively and independently with the least supervision required.
Key Characteristics
- You believe that we can change the world, in the blink of an eye
- You believe in making decisions that put children first
- You are self-motivated, organized, and approachable
- You enjoy creating systems, keeping records, and increasing efficiency
- You are always looking for new ways for our team to work smarter instead of harder
- You are detail-oriented and conscientious. You make sure nothing slips through the cracks
- You have a strong work ethic and a willingness to pick up new skills. You are comfortable multi-tasking
- You are positive, patient, and a clear communicator who is comfortable working with both Kopila Valley staff in Nepal and the BlinkNow staff in the United States
- You are an empathetic person, with a knack for putting out fires before they start and soothing conflicts brewing beneath the surface
- You require little supervision and are flexible. You understand that you will be wearing many hats in this role, many of which are not explicitly included in this job description