Head, Psychosocial Support

HCA Hospice; Singapore; On-site; SGD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Singapore is seeking a Head of PSS to lead the psychosocial services department. The role emphasizes the provision of holistic care to patients and families through effective leadership, stakeholder engagement, and development of relevant initiatives. The ideal candidate will possess a Master's Degree in Social Work, extensive social work experience, and proven management skills in a healthcare setting. This role provides an opportunity to make a significant impact in enhancing the quality of life for patients.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years of relevant social work experience.
• Must be a Registered Social Worker with the Singapore Association of Social Workers.
• At least 5 years of management experience in a healthcare setting.

Responsibilities

• Establish a system of audits for service standards.
• Provide knowledge and practice leadership in psychosocial care.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions.
• Develop and review initiatives for patient and staff needs.
• Manage training and development activities.
• Allocate resources for training and supervision.
• Engage with stakeholders to develop patient initiatives.
• Promote integrated inter-professional interventions.
• Develop and implement strategies for departmental goals.
• Lead service development to address gaps.

Skills

Knowledge in psychosocial and spiritual care

Leadership and management skills

Resource management

Stakeholder engagement

Training and development

Education

Master’s Degree in Social Work or equivalent

Job description

Overview

Reporting to the Medical Director, the Head of PSS is responsible for leading the department, which includes Medical Social Workers, and other allied health professionals (such as art therapist or spiritual care counsellor) dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for patients and their families through financial assistance and various therapeutic interventions. Support of patients and families in HCA is always team based and interdisciplinary, alongside doctors and nurses. This role involves ensuring the team adheres to high standards of professional practice by providing education, training, and supervision to staff and team members. Additionally, the Head of PSS is tasked with strengthening partnerships with key community influencers and internal stakeholders to guide the development of social services for diverse clients. This position monitors and manages departmental strategic initiatives, oversees resource management, and ensures effective collaboration and corporate governance to achieve operational efficiency. Furthermore, the Head of PSS is responsible for maintaining operational and governance effectiveness through regular audits, program evaluations, and performance assessments.

Job Responsibilities

• Establish a system of audits to ensure standards of service meet organisation and national level of standards of practice, SOPs and guidelines.
• Provides knowledge and practice leadership in psychosocial and spiritual care domains to guide the development of holistic interventions.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of psychosocial and spiritual assessment and interventions.
• Develops, implements and reviews initiatives that meet the evolving needs of patients, families, staff and volunteers.
• Understand and identify training/ development needs and establish new programmes or materials to meet the needs of the system.
• Manage learning and development activities to promote growth, self-care and maximise employees’ potential and capabilities to contribute to the organisation.
• Allocates resources to support strategies that support the training, and supervision needs of staff in the department.
• Outlines key priorities and focus on research, based on current and emerging needs.
• Provide guidance and supervision to junior supervisors in the department.
• Stakeholder engagement and partnerships – Initiate collaborative actions with various community service providers to develop initiatives that may be of benefit to our patients and families.
• Promote integrated approaches to coordinate and deliver inter-professional interventions to clients.
• Strategy Management - Develop and implement plans to achieve organisational and department strategies.
• Reviews models of care and service delivery that are relevant to the current needs.
• Leads service development targeted at narrowing service gaps and addressing service delivery issues.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Social Work or equivalent
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant social work experience.
• Must be a Registered Social Worker with the Singapore Association of Social Workers.
• At least 5 years of management experience in a healthcare setting.