Job Opportunity for School Coordinator – Social Work at Akanksha Foundation in Nagpur

Position Summary: As an Akanksha School Coordinator-Social Work, you will work on student recruitment by reaching out admission opportunities to the communities. You will form a strong link between the community and the school by conducting regular visits to the community, creating forums and opportunities for parents to partner with the school, executing initiatives that create awareness amongst parents leading to a progressive development of the community and students. You will be directly responsible for all the duties contributing towards our community engagement and also support and work towards youth development goals in order to build a holistic educational experience for our students. You will work towards creating a safe and secure environment for our students. You will liaise with the government offices to ensure that the benefits that our students are entitled for are availed in alignment with the protocols set by the government. You will work closely with students and the school team to ensure that every child feels supported, empowered and goes through a holistic educational experience through-out their entire journey at Akanksha.

You will be reporting to the School Leader.

What your role will entail?

Student Admission Process

● Manage the entire Student Admission i.e. regular and lateral admission process which includes the following –

❖ Obtain Community Information

❖ Distribute pamphlet with regards to admission

❖ Distribute forms pertaining to admission

❖ Fill up the admission forms and maintain a record of the same

❖ Conduct home visits of applicants for address verification

❖ Conduct lottery process for the applicants (as defined in lEmployee Manual)

❖ Post lottery process conducted, prepare list of final admission done with the necessary documents collected

❖ Handover the final admission forms to School Administrator for data entry in the system and ensure that the data entered is accurate (including lateral admission students’ data)

● Manage post-lottery Student Admissions which come through recommendation/wait-list as per protocols set

● Attend enquiries of students with special requests/disabilities and based on discussions with School Leader take the final decision regarding admission.

Student Attendance

● To collect student attendance registers maintained by teachers from respective classrooms on a daily basis as per scheduled time

● To prepare a summary on student absenteeism, conduct rigorous follow-ups as per set systems

● To understand reasons for drop-outs in case there are any and to prepare a detailed report around such cases for further discussions and decision. The final drop-out summary needs to be provided to School Administrator for data updating

● School Leadership Team and respective Teachers need to be updated at all times with community or student related issues

Note: Final drop-outs will be decided by School Leader, Lead-Social Worker and School Coordinator-Social Work.

Student Records

● To maintain student follow-up details

● To maintain student drop-out details

● To collect and maintain relevant documents as follows –

❖ Ration Card/Aadhaar Card (utilize for verifying the name)

❖ Caste certificate

❖ Smart health card

❖ Bank Account

❖ Domicile Certificate-both father and child/birth certificate

❖ Residence proof

● To fill up Shaala Siddhi Form i.e. data related to community, parents, SMC, SDP (SMC members to be involved for this task)

● Maintain details of student health and other medical records in excel sheet and handover to School Administrator

● To maintain details of student health and other medical records (in excel sheet) and handover to School Administrator
● To maintain health cards (for Mumbai location)

Receivables from Government

● To distribute 27 items to students and obtain signature of parents in distribution register

● To handover distribution register to School Administrator for reconciliation

Mid-Day Meal (MDM)

● To maintain records of MDM received

● To conduct Food Safety verification

● To submit MDM sample at Government Food Laboratory

● To collect MDM reports post-testing

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Funds

● To pass SMC resolution for SSA expenses

● To arrange for structural audit through BMC/PMC/PCMC/NMC, as applicable

Material/Assets received from Government

● To receive, distribute and maintain records of Medicine/Health related material/assets received from the Government

Meetings at Government Offices

● Besides School Leader or Teacher Training Meetings, balance meetings should be attended on an alternate basis by Social Worker and School Administrator

Government Relations

● To build relationship with all the government officials/agencies

Student Welfare

● To focus on student health care by –

❖ Partnering with private doctors and Government hospitals for students to consult in case of ill health/emergencies

❖ Creating a medical plan and communicating the same to parents at regular intervals

❖ Checking in on students who have health/medical issues

❖ Following up with doctors for students suffering from serious illnesses

❖ Engaging with the parents to ensure that they are following recommendations given by the doctor

❖ Identifying health issues per community and setting up medical camps and tie-ups to address them

❖ Providing information to parents on immunization centers, Government Hospitals

Student Support

● To work in partnership with the school counsellor/s and to monitor and support the social and emotional development initiatives for students with behavioural, health and development related issues

● To work in collaboration with teachers to monitor and support students who are struggling academically and emotionally

● To conduct or support programs for youth development and student enrichment for students

● To introduce empowerment programs in schools and ensure effective implementation (this is applicable for Grades 5 to 9)

Community Development

● To conduct community mapping with the aim of –

❖ Understanding the profile, demographics and dynamics of the community

❖ Identify proactive members in the community who can be approached as and when need arises

● To work closely with the community to gain an understanding of their challenges and issues with the aim of –

❖ Engaging in exploring solutions to the challenges faced by the community

❖ Engaging the school in community transformation projects

❖ Identifying and engaging in activities and initiatives which are aimed at improving/bettering the living conditions in the community

● To work on the development or the empowerment of parents as a community engagement program –

❖ Being the link to schools in the community. Working with the community to make them see the importance of education and making them empowered partners

Parent Engagement

● To collaborate with parents to ensure high rates of student attendance and retention

● To collaborate with parents to ensure they are involved in the academic aspect of their children

The Parent Engagement Implementation Plan will be as follows –

● The School Coordinator-Social Work will set up this plan for the school along with the School Leader in alignment with the Social Work Department goals

● To ensure effective implementation of this plan through monthly meetings for parents ensuring that maximum parents attend these meetings. The attendance data will be shared with the School Administrator (through excel sheet) for records.

● To build ties with parents to understand their challenges and explore solutions

● To encourage parents to volunteer at the school during events/activities, in classrooms or in other tasks based on their aptitude, skills and available time

● To coordinate the parent literacy class in the school in the school takes it up as an initiative

School Management Committee (SMC)

❖ To set up the SMC as per guidelines set by the government

❖ To work with the SMC to actively engage them in the improvement of the school and the services provided by the government

❖ To engage and empower the SMC through regular meetings, workshops and trainings

❖ To engage the SMC to build advocacy and to increase Akanksha’s visibility in the community

Helper Engagement

● To assist in recruitment and induction of Helpers

● To conduct a thorough orientation for Helpers on their roles and responsibilities and expectations from the school team

● To guide and supervise Helpers through routine and specific tasks

● To build Helpers’ capacity by conducting consistent meetings/trainings enabling them to understand and execute their role effectively in line with Akanksha culture and rigor

● To conduct Helper appraisals so that there is formal exchange of feedback and plans chalked out for further development

● To ensure that the Helpers receive support on availing benefits like ESIC, Insurance etc. and reach out to Third Party on whose rolls the Helpers are engaged with regards to any of their appointment, payroll or any other issues

What you need for this Position?

● Candidates having relevant social work experience for minimum 2 years in an educational set-up / with children are preferred but social work experience from a different sector may also be considered. MSW Fresher with a strong internship exposure during the MSW course may also be considered.

● Strong social work knowledge and expertise in multi-tasking

● Good understanding on child development and their growth and a capacity to deal with children from different age groups

● Urge to create a positive impact in the community and to work on different initiatives connected with community and student development

● Calm, composed at the same time assertive while interacting with various stakeholders

● Adaptability and patience while handling tasks pertaining to government liaisoning

● Patience and capacity to solve problems and a solution-seeker at all times

● Good planning and organizing skills.

● Strong team player.

● Self-motivated with strong work ethics to achieve school goals.

● Openness to feedback and critical reflections.

● Strong oral and written communication skills in Hindi & Marathi and reasonable skills in English language

● Graduate from any stream with a MSW degree

● Computer literacy is a must