3 Program Officer – PMTCT Job Placements – University Research Co., LLC (URC)
Job Title: Program Officer – Prevention Mother-to-Child Transmission (3 Job Placements)
Organisation: University Research Co., LLC (URC)
Project Name: USAID Regional Health Integration to Enhance Health Services in East Central Uganda Project (USAID/Uganda RHITES-EC) Project
Duty Station: Iganga, Bugiri, or Kamuli, Uganda
About US:
University Research Co., LLC (URC) is a global company dedicated to improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. With a non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), URC manages projects in over 45 countries, including the United States.
About USAID RHITES-EC Project:
University Research Co., LLC (URC) is implementing the USAID Regional Health Integration to Enhance Health Services in East Central Uganda Project (USAID/Uganda RHITES-EC) whose aim is to support the implementation of acomprehensive integrated investment in regional health, nutritional assistance and HIV/AIDS programs. The five-year project targets 11 districts in East Central Uganda with an estimated total population of 4.1 million through a district-based integrated package of quality health, nutrition, HIV / AIDS and childe development services.
Job Summary: The Program Officer- Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission will work with district health teams, PMTCT focal persons and other district mentors to support healthcare facility teams to improve delivery of PMTCT and EID services at all levels of healthcare through support supervision and mentoring.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide and maintain National PMTCT guidelines in the district health facilities to ensure that HWs follow MOH guidelines to implement PMTCT activities;
- Work in liaison with District and Regional QI teams provide mentorship for QI to the district HWs to support implementation of QI methodology to improve PMTCT services and participate in QI team meetings at facility and district level;
- Actively participate in the identification of training needs of health workers in the districts to appropriately target capacity building interventions;
- Support and conduct training to equip HWs with knowledge and skills in PMTCT service delivery;
- Work closely with PMTCT focal people in the districts for better implementation and coordination of health facility PMTCT interventions;
- Actively participate in the budgeting process in liaison with the EMTCT technical advisor to ensure that funds are allocated for the appropriate activities;
- Liaise with the PMTCT Technical advisor to correctly requisition funds for timely implementation of planned eMTCT activities in the supported Districts;
- Send to the finance department accountabilities for the funds utilised and used for eMTCT activities;
- Participate in the development of work schedules with the cluster team for proper manpower planning and continuity of service delivery;
- Lobby for rational distribution of resources among the supported facilities to support scale up of eMTCT services in the districts;
- Carry out mapping of PMTCT stakeholders in the districts to develop a directory of potential linkages and partnerships RHITES EC could engage to scale up PMTCT services;
- Carry out mapping of HC IIs and other potential outreach sites that can be used as differentiated service points to facilitate accessibility to PMTCT services among underserved communities;
- Participate in District meetings to create awareness among committee members to understand their roles and responsibilities in PMTCT activities;
- Work with the community arm to strengthen the VHT referral system of clients from the community to the health facilities such that the clients receive comprehensive PMTCT services at the health facilities;
- Ensure all pregnant women presenting at the district health facilities receive HCT services to identify the HIV positive mothers to be enrolled into HIV care;
- Support the counselling of all HIV positive mothers to ensure adherence to treatment and retention in care;
- Work closely with the district facility HWs to ensure effective inter-facility and intra-facility referral and review of women for PMTCT and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of exposed infants and Promote proactive identification of exposed infants from all entry points to ensure early infant diagnosis of HIV and enrolment into care;
- Support the formation and coordination of family support groups in the districts and ensure that they function within the National guidelines to provide psychosocial, adherence and follow-up support to HIV affected families;
- Work with the cluster Community Liaison Officers to ensure that community mechanisms for follow-up of pregnant and lactating mothers, mother-baby pairs and other family members, linkage to HIV care, and treatment and retention in care are put in place;
- Ensure availability of equipment/tools for use during execution of PMTCT services in the district health facilities for the smooth running of the programme;
- Regularly review, monitor performance and submit progress reports to the PMTCT Technical Advisor and cluster coordinators to determine attainment of previously set targets;
- Review of all the data tools used in PMTCT at the health facilities to ensure proper and complete documentation;
- Support the timely and correct forecasting and ordering of PMTCT commodities by the district health facilities to ensure continuous supply of tools, drugs and test kits;
- Strengthen and support accurate documentation in all PMTCT tools to monitor the progress of PMTCT program;
- Support HWs to submit accurate and timely reports such that PMTCT achievements are appropriately assessed and suitable interventions designed;
- Actively participate in data collection at the facilities for periodic reporting to ensure timely reporting and review progress;
- Work closely with data team to ensure that facilities submit their weekly and monthly reports to MOH resource centre in time for benchmarking;
- Participate in facility CMEs, Journal/research activities as relevant to professional background to get updates and share knowledge and experiences for professional development and support learning.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicants for the USAID RHITES-EC Program Officer – Prevention Mother-to-Child Transmission job opportunity must hold a Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery;
- Additional training in PMTCT;
- The applicant must be registered with the Nurses and Midwives Council;
- Must be in possession of a valid practicing Licence;
- A minimum of three years’ experience as a Nurse/Midwife in the District Health System;
- At least two years’ experience in providing PMTCT services.
- Broad knowledge of the current WHO and National eMTCT framework and guidelines;
- Previous experience in Coaching and Mentoring.
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the USAID RHITES EC Project should send their cover letters, curriculum vitae, copies of academic credentials and contact information for 3 professional referencesaddressed to:
Human Resource Coordinator,
University Research Co., LLC – Centre for Human Services,
Plot10 Kiira Lane, Mpumudde Division, UGANDA
E-mail to: HR-RHITES-EC@urc-chs.com
Deadline: 16th June 2017 by 12:00pm