Social Work jobs in United States

• Deadline: 18 February 2026
• Region: Eastern Cape (Makhanda)
• Salary: R 25 - 28 000 pm
• Type of employment: Full time

St Mary’s Development and Care Centre (DCC) is seeking a committed, compassionate, and visionary Manager to lead our holistic child wellbeing programmes serving vulnerable children and families in Makhanda. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced community development professional who is passionate about children’s rights, education, and community upliftment. The Manager oversees all programme areas of the DCC—including education support, psychosocial services, child safeguarding, community engagement, and organisational operations. The successful candidate will be responsible for strategic leadership, management of staff, stakeholder partnerships, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring high-quality service delivery across the centre. The position requires a dynamic, emotionally resilient leader with strong management experience and a deep commitment to social justice and children’s rights.

• Strong understanding of children’s rights frameworks (UNCRC, South African Children’s Act, etc.).
• Ability to integrate the four rights pillars:
  • Right to quality education
  • Right to recreation and safe play
  • Right to participation in decisions affecting them
  • Right to health & psychosocial wellbeing
• Knowledge of trauma‑informed, strengths‑based, and community‑centred work.

• Ability to coordinate high‑quality intervention programmes.
• Strong monitoring and evaluation skills, including developing indicators, tracking outcomes, and compiling reports.
• Experience in fundraising, including proposal writing, donor stewardship, and reporting.

• Proven ability to build and manage partnerships with schools, NGOs, municipal stakeholders, health services, Rhodes University, donors, and caregivers.
• Strong facilitation skills for meetings, workshops, caregiver engagement, and community dialogues.

• Ability to build, mentor, and support a multi‑disciplinary team.
• Skills in conflict resolution, supportive supervision, and performance management.
• Experience coordinating interns, volunteers, and student practitioners.
• Emotional stability and resilience in complex or high‑pressure situations.
• Visionary, creative, and innovative leadership, with the ability to guide the strategic direction of the organisation.

• Ability to implement safeguarding, risk management, child protection, and compliance systems.
• Strong administrative capacity: scheduling, reporting, policy development, documentation.
• Competence in budget management, procurement, and financial accountability.

• Comfortable with digital data tools, M&E systems, Excel/Sheets, and reporting dashboards.
• Ability to compile donor reports, narrative reports, and programme updates.

• Deep commitment to children’s rights, equity, and social justice.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with vulnerable families/communities with dignity and care.
• High emotional resilience, reflective practice, and ethical decision‑making.
• Adaptive leadership in a resource‑constrained environment.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to juggle multiple programmes at once.

• Oversight of all child wellbeing programmes (emotional, physical, educational).
• Management of the centre and its programmes.
• Coordination of psychosocial support services and referrals.
• Leadership of staff, volunteers, and student practitioners; partnership and stakeholder engagement.
• Safeguarding and child protection oversight.
• Fundraising: proposal writing, donor reporting, and cultivating funding relationships.
• Budget planning, financial tracking, and compliance.
• Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on programme outcomes.
• Facilitating community participation and caregiver engagement.
• Risk management, compliance, and policy implementation.
• Desirable experience working in Makhanda or similar under‑resourced contexts.
• Ability to speak Afrikaans and isiXhosa.
• Experience with community engagement partnerships, especially with universities.
• A willingness to respect, uphold, and work within the Christian ethos and values of the organisation.

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Education, Community Development, Psychology, or a related field.
• Valid Driver’s Licence. Police Clearance (or willingness to obtain).
• Preferred: Honours or postgraduate qualification in Community Development or related field.

• Minimum 5–7 years’ experience in community development, or multi‑stakeholder programme coordination.
• Minimum 2–3 years’ experience in a management or middle‑management role, including direct supervision, coaching, and performance management of staff and/or volunteers.
• Demonstrated experience managing programmes focused on holistic child wellbeing (emotional, physical, educational).
• Experience running or coordinating education support interventions, e.g., literacy remediation, ECD programmes, motor development, psychosocial support.
• Proven ability to manage large‑scale, multi‑stakeholder projects, ideally in Makhanda or similar under‑resourced communities.
• Experience overseeing child protection systems, safeguarding protocols, and referral pathways.
• Budget management experience, including planning, tracking, and reporting.
• Experience supervising diverse teams (teachers, social workers, youth facilitators, volunteers).

Please submit the following: a motivational letter that speaks directly to the job criteria, a current CV, and at least two contactable references by 18 February 2026 to anna.kinsler@stmarysdcc.com.