Karin Dom – Open Position for Director of Children and Family Services

Karin Dom is announcing a vacancy for Director of Children and Family Services.

The Karin Dom team has been working for 26 years to support children with special needs and their families to lead independent and happy lives. Since the fall of 2022, one of our dreams came true, we opened the new complex for health, social and educational services in a new building, built especially for the needs of children with special needs and their parents.

We are happy to have the opportunity to grow and reach more families. The new complex is an example of an innovative and functional center at an international level.

Today, our complex supports about 300 children a year through a complex of services such as:

• early childhood intervention services – home visits and consultations in home environment, in a nursery and on the playground;
• individual and group sessions for children from a team of specialists: speech therapist, psychologist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, special teacher, Montessori teachers;
• water rehabilitation;
• social and psychological counseling for parents;
• educations and trainings for parents and specialists from the social and educational sector;
• advocacy to change policies and laws to support children with special needs.

Our principles of work put the respect and guarantee of children’s rights first. We believe that every child, regardless of their physical and mental condition, has opportunities and strengths that should be developed and used for securing their basic rights and equal access to social, health and educational services, family care and public support.

Today we are looking for a responsible and devoted professional who supports and understands our cause and is willing to take their place in Karin Dom’s team on the position:

Director of Children and Family Services. Main Responsibilities:

•  Responsible for the development of services in the complex according to the organizational vision, strategy and values.
• Prepares annual service plan according to the organizational strategy for comprehensive, timely and accessible support for families and children and organizes the work of the team.
• Responsible for the quality of services according to Bulgarian legislation and for regular feedback from supported families and partners.
• Responsible for developing new services, activities and programs according to community needs, organizational resources and capabilities.
• Plans, organizes, coordinates, supervises the work of a team of nearly 40 specialists (early intervention consultants, speech therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, Montessori teachers and assistant teachers) and provides feedback.
• Responsible for maintaining an effective database for the provided support, used resources and the workload.
• Seeks new opportunities for partnership with European and national institutions, research institutions, business organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, associations, universities, health organizations and educational institutions.
• Responsible for the organization of the processes for:

– reception of new children;

– entry and exit from the services, switching from one service to another;

– regular monthly reporting to institutions, projects and various partners and donors;

– optimization of reporting processes and their digitization;

– introduction of innovations: new services, models and work practices;

– planning the workload of the team and individual specialists;

– coordinates the keeping of the overall documentation by teams.

• Responsible for creating and maintaining an organizational culture that respects the rights of all children, families and colleagues and encourages teamwork and involving and engaging parents as partners.
• Responsible for compliance with the code of ethics and the organizational methodology of working with children and families.
• Prepares and maintains documentation:

– necessary for reporting the activities of the Foundation to municipal, state institutions and partners;

– necessary for carrying out the activities of the Foundation and the services provided by it, in accordance with Bulgarian legislation.

• Responsible for the advocacy activities of the organization.
• Participates in activities related to fundraising and donations for the Foundation.
• Actively participates in management meetings of Karin Dom.
• Participates in management decision-making and the organization of work, presents an annual report to the Management Board and makes proposals for an annual plan.
• Coordinates onboarding, training and development of new specialists and employees.
• Represents the organization on national and international forums and conferences.

Qualifications and Candidate Profile:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in one of the following fields: humanities, business development and administration, public health;
• Experience in the social and/or civil sector;
• Understanding and vision of how services for people for children with special needs function in Bulgaria;
• Experience in team management and services for children and families;
• Fluency in English is an advantage.

If you recognize yourself as the person for the this position, we will be happy to receive your CV and cover letter to the attention of Borislava Cherkezova, Executive Director of Karin Dom by January 25, 2023, at: bcherkezova@karindom.org.

What we offer:

• A permanent employment contract with fair pay with regard to the responsibilities of the position;
• Care through the Health and Wellbeing Program;
• Internal tracking system and incentives for good performance;
• Trainings for building leadership skills, advocacy, acquiring knowledge and skills for leading methods and approaches to support for children with special needs and parents;
• Mobile phone, plan office computer;
• Opportunities for trips related to the exchange of experience in the country and abroad according to the organization’s projects.

We shall review all submitted applications and return feedback and an invitation to a first interview to those candidates who meet our expectations for this responsible position and have submitted a cover letter.