Funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief recherche un chargé de projet principal – VIH et santé, Maroua, Cameroun
Position : Senior Project Officer – HIV and Health
Employer : National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC)
Supervisor : Zonal Lead
City, Country : Maroua, Cameroun
Number of position : 01
Expected start date : 01/07/2022
Duration of Contract : 12 months
SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT :
Funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) as the CRS transition local partner, supports the implementation of Key Interventions to Develop Systems and Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (KIDSS) project. The project addresses the challenges of sustainable care and support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) by strengthening the capacities of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon (GRC), civil society, communities, and households to provide quality care and support HIV-infected and affected children in Cameroon. The program consists of prevention and case finding activities for OVC as well as ensuring community support for linkage to care and retention among children and adolescents living with HIV.
Job Summary :
He/she Will work within the Zonal team and will be responsible to support the provision of integrated and comprehensive high-quality community-based HIV care and treatment services. To ensure positive outcomes for OVC living with HIV, the incumbent will provide guidance to Zonal KIDSS actors on the effective linkage of children, adolescents, and parents or caregivers living with HIV to clinical and community-based services. He/she will ensure that strategies and actions related to the achievement of the UNAIDS 95-95-95 objectives are achieved by the Local Implementing partners in support of CENC for the KIDSS project in the Zone. The incumbent will support the provision of HIV and health services in line with the family-centered, strengths-based case management approach and ensure project participants receive quality direct services and referrals based on their needs to achieve resilience in the healthy domain. The incumbent is expected to have a service-oriented approach to ensure that the project consistently applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve. S/He will be required to work in close collaboration with Clinical Implementing partners and the Coordinators of the HIV treatment Units.
Duties and Responsibilities :
- As KIDSS focal point for HIV and Health in the Zonal team, ensure that high quality HIV and health direct services are provided to children, adolescents, parents or caregivers, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers (PBFM) living with HIV, as well as HIV exposed infants (HEI) and other targeted groups as per donor requirements, and good practices ;
- Will support KIDSS HIV activities around identified PEPFAR supported HIV Treatment Centers and support the local implementing organizations in the monitoring of children, adolescents, parents or caregivers, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers (PBFM) living with HIV as well as HIV exposed infants (HEI) ;
- Support community structures to scale up community-based case-finding for infants delivered outside of facilities ;
- Work with partners to scale-up the use of age-specific HIV Risk screening tool for determining children and adolescents at risk of HIV and prioritizing them for HIV testing in community and facility settings ;
- Work closely with zonal teams and partners to oversee the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for achieving effective bi-directional referral and linkage between clinical and community-based HIV care and treatment. These SOPs include but not limited to case findings, referral and initiation of ART, community monitoring of ART and adherence counseling and support, determination of eligibility for viral load testing and referral for viral load testing and investigate reasons for unsuppressed viral load and treatment failure ;
- Work closely with zonal teams, KIDSS Program Officer – Case Management, Referral & Accountability, PEPFAR clinical partners and HIV treatment facilities to ensure an effective bi-directional referral of children and adolescent living with HIV, PBFM living and HIV treatment facilities to ensure an effective bi-directional referral of children and adolescent living with HIV, PBFM living with HIV, and HEI for, but not limited to, enrollment into the project and HIV related testing (HTS, VL testing, dug resistance testing, EID), opportunistic infection treatment, STI, treatment of severe acute malnutrition, and immunization ;
- Support the zonal teams in the implementation of the HIV and health direct and referral services based on project participant needs as identified during individual assessments and documented in case plans ;
- Support the zonal teams and local implementing partners in their efforts to collect and analyze HIV and health related project data per specified mechanisms and tools. Support local zonal MEAL team and partners to prepare reports per established reporting schedule ;
- Strengthen the zonal teams on the provision of HIV and health services via training, mentoring, and coaching. Monitor capacity building and technical support activities to ensure effective impact ;
- Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences. Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules ;
- Coordinate and oversee working relationships with all local project stakeholders and serve as the liaison between them and the project team to mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact ;
- Supervise and perform ad-hoc inspections of various processes and resources at project sites to ensure timely project activities implementation and adherence to established process standards and procedures. Ensure proper tracking of resource use for project activities through periodic budget reviews and follow-up with and assistance to implementing partner ;
- Support and coordinate capacity building and technical support activities to ensure assigned project activities are implemented per project guidelines and standards ;
- Coordinate provision of any logistical and administrative support to staff and partners ;
- Assist partners in the correct and timely use of funds ;
- Ensure project documentation for assigned activities is complete with all required documents and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices ;
- Accompany the Local implementing partners in coordinating, organizing, and ensuring the respect of the norms and standards during implementation of all case management, direct services, referral activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan in line.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS :
Education and Experience :
- Degree in Medicine (MD degree) with at least three years of working in clinical management of HIV patients (registration with the Cameroon Medical Council is mandatory) ;
- A Master’s degree in Public Health or epidemiology will be an asset ;
- Experience in social services, global HIV case finding and management, early childhood development, maternal and child health, PMTCT, adolescent HIV services, and/or WASH and nutrition ;
- Experience implementing and/or monitoring PEPFAR programs ;
- Experience in facilitation, participatory action planning and/or community engagement ;
- Experience engaging with partner organizations.
Personal Skills :
- Analysis and problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment ;
- Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners ;
- Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented ;
- Attention to details, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities ;
- Experience working with partners, participatory action planning and community engagement ;
- Staff supervision experience a plus ;
- Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data ;
- Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
Language required / desired : Fluency in French, Professional Proficiency in English required.
Travel required : 20% of travel in Cameroon.
KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS :
Supervisory relationships : N/A.
Internal : The Central and Zonal KIDSS CENC staff.
External : KIDSS local implementing partner staff, PEPFAR care and treatment (clinical partners) staff, USAID & PEPFAR representatives, consultants.
CENC-wide competences (for all CENC staff) :
These are rooted in the mission, the values of the NECC and the guiding principles and are used by each staff member to fulfil his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results. These are :
- Trust in all relationships ;
- Professional growth ;
- Partnership ;
- Responsibility ;
- Integrity ;
- Responsibility and management ;
- Strategic mindset.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, tasks and responsibilities associated with the position.
CENC’s talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
CENC is an equal opportunity employer.
HOW TO APPLY :
Files MUST include :
- Cover letter addressed to the Secretary General of NECC ;
- CV including at least 03 references, one of which should be a leader of a religious/faith community ;
- Evidence of relevant academic / professional qualifications ;
- Proof of professional experience.
You can apply by sending your applications to the following address : info@necc-cenc.org
Mentioning “Senior Project Officer HIV and Health – KIDSS Project” in the subject line.
Deadline : 06/05/2022 at 5pm Cameroon time.
Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.