Dedicated exclusively to children and their families, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is one of the largest and most respected paediatric healthcare centres in the world. As innovators in child health, we lead and partner to improve the health of children through the integration of healthcare, leading-edge research and education. Our reputation would not have been built – nor could it be maintained – without the skills, knowledge and experience of the extraordinary people who come to work here every day. SickKids is committed to ongoing learning and development, and features a caring and supportive work environment that combines exceptionally high standards of practice.

When you join SickKids, you become part of our community. We share a commitment and determination to fulfill our vision of Healthier Children. A Better World .

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work alongside the world’s best in paediatric healthcare.

SickKids NICU is a level 3+ unit, providing care to the most critically ill patients. The Social Worker is an integral part of the health care team, providing in-depth psychosocial assessments, and treatment to families of critically ill babies. This includes, identification of family strengths, problem-solving abilities, barriers to service, interactions, attitudes, feelings and cultural issues in relation to the baby's illness. Supporting families in crisis as they adjust to what is often an unexpected admission is an integral part of this role. Supporting families with issues of grief and loss is also a key portion of the role of Social Worker in the NICU.

Here's What You'll Get To Do

• Provide psychosocial assessments and develop/implement a plan of intervention which addresses coping and adjustment to the NICU admission. This is achieved through a variety of modalities including counseling, consultation, case management, crisis intervention, community outreach and advocacy.
• Support families in their adjustment to life changing acute and chronic illness at a unique stage of the life cycle
• Facilitate bonding, attachment and connection between parents and their infants despite the admission to NICU
• Provide bereavement counselling around end of life issues
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary health care team
• Integrate research into practice
• Provide education to other members of the team in terms of social work interventions that benefit patients and families
• Provide assessment and adjustment counselling around issues of postpartum depression/anxiety
• Support families coping with illness by assessing resource issues and secure resources related to the social determinants of health
• Work collaboratively with a dynamic team in a fast paced ever changing environment
• Assume responsibility for all aspects of practice including issues of productivity and utilization

Here's What You'll Need

• Master's degree in Social Work
• Registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
• Hospital experience strongly preferred
• Perinatal mental health experience preferred
• Clinical experience with children and their families
• Experience with child protection and/or trauma assessment and treatment
• Experience with issues of loss, grief and bereavement
• Knowledge of the network of community services and resources
• Understanding of health care delivery systems and the practice of social work in a secondary setting
• Ability to collaborate effectively as a member of the inter-professional health care team and to take initiative and leadership when appropriate
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, organizational, time management skills and attention to detail
• Demonstrated critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated commitment to practice in a manner that is consistent with the philosophy of continuous quality improvement and evidence-based practice
• Demonstrate commitment and actions in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion objectives

Employment Type

• Permanent, Part-Time (0.2 - 0.4 FTE; 7.5 - 15 hours/week).
• To accommodate the needs of patients and families, this is an in-person/on-site position.

The children and families we care for are from a variety of communities, and so are our employees. We welcome and encourage everyone to join our organization and be part of our team.

When requested, SickKids will provide access and inclusion supports to eligible candidates to support their full engagement during the interview and assessment process. Information received related to access or inclusion will be addressed confidentially.

Thank you for your interest in joining SickKids. Only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. In accordance with our Hospital policy, employment at SickKids is conditional upon the Hospital's receipt of all necessary documentation.

How To Apply Tip: Combine your cover letter and resume into ONE document of 20 pages or less as you cannot upload multiple documents as part of your application.

If you are still experiencing technical difficulties please email ask.hr@sickkids.ca to send us a short description of the issues you are experiencing. Please note that we will not accept resumes sent to this inbox but we are happy to respond to requests for technical assistance.