EXPERT ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES OF A SOCIAL MANAGER REGARDING STAFF MOTIVATION

Abstract

As a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation, which has been going on for more than two years, the number of Ukrainians in need of social assistance is constantly and significantly increasing. The multiple increase in the number of people in need of immediate social assistance from the state leads to a significant increase in the physical and moral burden on the employees of social organizations and services that provide this assistance. High-quality provision of social services to a large number of social work clients, which is constantly growing, requires, in turn, effective management of the social work system in Ukraine. At the same time, we have to state that of domestic social work management suffers from a lack of qualified managers with professional education and training in social work management. This contradiction determines the urgency of the problem of training qualified social managers capable of competent implementation of the state staff policy, social services staff management, especially in the conditions of military operations on the territory of Ukraine, as well as in the postw ar period. It should be emphasized that social work in Ukraine takes place in conditions of constant danger, both day and night; sometimes it lasts around the clock; it is carried out not only in specially equipped premises, but also in bomb shelters or even on the streets. Such conditions require social work professionals to be highly psychologically mobilized, physically enduring and raise the problem of social service staff motivation, which is an integral part of staff management. The article is aimed at identifying the professional competencies of social managers necessary for effective social service staff motivation and at ranking them. The definition of the social manager professional competencies in motivating social service staff and their ranking is carried out for the first time and determines the scientific theoretical novelty of the research. The practical significance of the research is in the fact that the information obtained can be used for the professional training of future social sphere managers, in particular for the development of educational components for educational and professional training programs for applicants for the second (Master’s) level of higher education in the specialty 231 – Social Work, as well as for the advanced training of managers, who already w ork.