Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION:
AVSI is an international NGO with headquarters in Italy, which has been active in Uganda since 1984. Its current activities are focused in the areas of education, health, livelihoods, and protection, nutrition and refugee programs in Uganda.
PROGRAMME BACKGROUND:
UNICEF and AVSI entered into a partnership under the project entitled District Health System Strengthening on RMNCAH, HIV, and Nutrition in the districts of Arua, Adjumani, Koboko, Maracha, Moyo, Nebbi, Pakwach, Yumbe, Zombo, Lamwo and Kiryandongo - ALIVE.
The projects aim to “Support and keep children and mothers ALIVE through the provision of a comprehensive Health, Nutrition, and HIV/AIDS Package” under which AVSI contributes to efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality and improve the quality of life of children and women in Northern Uganda, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions.
The project also will support and build synergies with other implementing partners and AVSI existing projects; ‘Maximizing impact against HIV, TB, and Malaria in Acholi Sub-Region’ funded by Italian Cooperation, Resilient Learners, Teachers and Education Systems in South Sudan and Uganda (RICE) in Lamwo and Arua districts, funded by EU.
Summary of Job description:
• The Integrated Child Survival and Development Officer takes overall responsibility of coordinating Child Survival and Development (child health and immunization, HIV, nutrition and WASH) at the health facility and community levels in the project districts to ensure delivery of quality, integrated services in the areas of reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH), HIV, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
• Support the DHMTs focal persons, responsible for overseeing comprehensive MNCH, Nutrition, and HIV/ART Package, malaria and TB components of the project at various health facilities, including referral from the communities to the facilities, to ensure the continuum of care in the district being supported, including referral from the communities to the facilities.
• Provide technical input into the project design, preparation, implementation; monitoring and evaluation and management to accelerate the scale-up of evidence based high impact interventions to improve child survival, nutrition and WASH. The successful candidate will work with the M&E team and the project team to ensure timely reporting, identification and documentation of key successes as well as the identification of potential bottlenecks in implementation and proposing remedial measures. The post holder will represent the project at health facility and community level technical forums as requested and will liaise with the donor, MOH, other project staff members and the community. .

Specific Duties and responsibilities
• Support health facility and community interventions to facilitate the implementation of the Reaching Every Child and other innovative approaches in the district to boost immunisation and nutrition coverage of children under five.
• Support the development and use of health facility micro plans to ensure effective static and outreach coverage of target populations, effective collection, analysis and use of community data at all levels to improve service delivery.
• Support districts during implementation of child health days and national and sub national SIAs campaigns to ensure children under five receive Vitamin A and de-worming, sleep under LLTNs, and receive appropriate treatment for ARI, diarrhoea and malaria.
• Support district implementation of an integrated package of maternal new born, PMTCT and paediatric HIV and nutrition services including the provision of quality services at all HC IIIs and above including high volume HC IIs to increase the percentage of pregnant women and young girls to improve utilisation of RMNCAH, HIV, and Nutrition services.
• Support DHMTs in Identifying staff skills gaps by conducting health facility/training needs assessment for health facilities in collaboration with the DHTs, project staff and other implementing partners
• Participate in the training and mentorship of health workers/midwifery staff on goal-oriented ANC, BEmONC/CEmONC, new guidelines of ART/eMTCT and EID, and Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth (IMPAC) and nutrition
• Support health facilities to ensure accountability interventions are conducted; HUMC meetings, community dialogues and barazas, client exit interviews to get a good idea of the health information covered during OPD, ANC, labour and delivery and PNC, ART and nutrition as well as the clients' immediate comprehension of the information
• Support integration of ART/eMTCT into ANC as a standard package in all health units, and ensure all mothers attending ANC get eMTCT and nutrition services in the ANC environment using the same staff including support advocacy, social mobilisation and community education on eMTCT, paediatric HIV care and nutrition
• Participate in monthly on-job training and mentoring for service providers on integrated ANC, eMTCT, EID, Paediatric HIV and IYCF in context of HIV at static units and outreaches and monthly mentoring of midwifery staff at HC IIIs together with senior midwives from referral facilities (HC IV and hospitals)
• Introduction and roll out of the transport voucher scheme; conduct an assessment of transport options available, participate in training health unit staff on the transport voucher scheme, use and fraud prevention and verifying of vouchers before processing them for payment at the end of every month
• Participate in the identification of peer mothers and Family Support Groups as expert client advisors and support VHTs to encourage mothers to come and deliver at health facilities, including quarterly peer/mentor mothers meeting at health centre IIIs and above and sensitize health facility staff on cultural aspects acting as barriers to delivery in health units.
• Community based services, FamilyConnect and VHT/iCCM scale up: work with the DHT and partners to scale up the VHT and iCCM programs within the districts, specifically providing assistance with quality assurance for training, supervision and commodity management of VHT/iCCM related supplies
• Support community interventions to facilitate the implementation of the Reaching Every Child and other innovative approaches in the district to boost immunisation and nutrition coverage of children under five. Support the development and use of health facility micro plans to ensure effective static and outreach coverage of target populations, effective collection, analysis and use of community data at all levels to improve service delivery.

Competencies and special skills requirement:
• Strong interpersonal, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team;
• Good writing, reporting, presentation and communication skills
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations, and to meet tight deadlines.
• Knowledge of the Government of Uganda Health Policy and UN/UNICEF systems
• Excellent command computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:
• Diploma in Midwifery/Nursing, Clinical Medicine, Comprehensive Nursing or related discipline
• Double training in Nursing/Midwifery, paediatric nursing, health education and promotion, nutrition, ART care, etc is added advantage
• A minimum of 7 years of working experience in a district setting in busy health facilities at supervisory and leadership levels, program implementation and working
• Knowledge of and experience in Health System Strengthening (HSS) programme at district level.
• Experience in working with district local government, hospitals and health facilities (including understanding of Ministry of Health Guidelines related to RMNCAH, HIV and Nutrition), development agencies, and/or International NGOs in health is desirable.

Job Education Requirements: Diploma
Job Experience Requirements: 7 years

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Job application procedure
Application letters, accompanied with updated Curriculum Vitae indicating 3 work-related referees, plus copies of relevant certificates, should be addressed to:
The AVSI Country Representative, AVSI Foundation, P.O.Box 6785, Kampala, Uganda and sent to hr.kampala@avsi.org by Thursday, 18th July 2019 (5.00 pm), indicating the e-mail subject as ‘Application for Nutrition Specialist’.
Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
AVSI Foundation is an equal opportunities employer and has a functional Child Protection Policy by which all AVSI staff and Associates must abide.

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