Community Health Program Officers

We Are?

With over 20 years of experience, Population Solutions for Health (formerly PSI/Zimbabwe) is looking for candidates who hold the requisite qualifications and experience to apply for the exciting position below.

Community Health Program Officers – Bulawayo *1, Chitungwiza *1, Gweru *1, Masvingo *1, Harare *1 (Full Time)

This position will be responsible for providing support in the coordination, implementation and monitoring of integrated, community-based HIV prevention, care and treatment services with a focus of strengthening community-facility linkages for improved health outcomes. Under the guidance of the Community Health Program Specialist and in liaison with the respective Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer, the incumbent will use a clusterbased approach to provide support for targeted community mobilization and demand creation to increase uptake of comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment services; implementation of community-based differentiated HIV service delivery; capacity building of community health workers, and support quality assurance for HIV programming in their assigned geographies.

Your Contribution – Key Responsibilities.

• Collaborates with the Community Health Program Specialist for effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of community-based integrated HIV services.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer to develop district-specific implementation plans for demand creation and community-based differentiated HIV prevention, care and treatment service delivery.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer to ensure that all planned activities are implemented according to scope and budget.
• Regularly participates in project review and planning meetings.
• Participates in the design of community-based program interventions to strengthen uptake and retention in HIV prevention, care and treatment.
• Collaborates with the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer to lead the translation of the National HIV prevention, care and treatment communication strategies into context specific client-facing products to facilitate ART uptake and LEN roll out in the supported district(s)
• Provides support in the development and review of key messages, IEC materials and Standard Operating Procedures for HIV prevention, care and treatment community mobilization activities.
• Ensures that IEC materials on HIV prevention, treatment and care are available at key contact points.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer for the identification and recruitment of community health workers to support community engagement and demand creation for HIV prevention, care, and treatment.
• Identifies the training needs and provides training for the community health workers on interpersonal communication techniques
• Collaborates with community health workers to identify community hotspots for targeting community with community-based HIV services.
• Maps and monitors hotspots coverage to facilitate targeted community-based HIV testing and facilitate linkage to PrEP/ART as appropriate.
• Explores opportunities for collaboration with other partners to empower communities to seek comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care.
• Facilitates the implementation of outreach activities to educate the community about TB/ HIV, STIs and improve HIV prevention/treatment literacy.
• Creates opportunities to enhance identification and linkage of clients to HIV services.
• Serves as a member of the PSH New Start Centre team, ensuring the coordination and linkages between the community and facility to improve access and uptake of differentiated HIV services.
• Supports the implementation of community-based comprehensive HIV testing, prevention, care and treatment services, including community-based ART refill models, in liaison with the Nurse in Charge Community and District HIV Prevention Officers.
• Facilitates linkage to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with a focus on Lenacapavir (LEN),
• Provides support for timely HIV treatment initiation, defaulter tracking and adherence support for virologic suppression.
• Provides support in the capacity building of community health workers through training, mentoring, support and supervision.
• In liaison with the Clinical Services Coordinators and District HIV Prevention Officers, identifies training needs for community health workers, develops training plans and facilitates their capacity building through training and on-job mentoring.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator in coordinating deployment of community cadres for adherence support and defaulter tracking to minimize interruption in treatment.
• Supports the development and implementation of quality improvement plans and/or adoption of best practices from other communities/ districts.
• In liaison with site-based SIE Officer, and District M&E Assistants, strengthen routine M&E to ensure high quality program data and support data use to inform decision making for program improvement.
• Supports the Evidence team in coordinating the collection and collation of program data by community health workers across the PREVENT implementing sites.
• Conducts regular monitoring of the quality of data collection by community health workers to demonstrate community-facility linkages for HIV services.
• Provide M&E support to the community footprint and monitors the use of M&E tools for demand creation and support for treatment /PrEP continuity.
• Prepares regular reports on program success, challenges, and lessons learnt/best practices and supports the development and implementation of corrective action plans as necessary.
• Participates in regular (weekly/monthly/quarterly) program review meetings.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer to provide implementation support and supervision to community health workers for optimal program performance,
• Conducts regular community program monitoring and supportive supervision visits to review effectiveness of community demand creation strategies, and approaches and provide feedback as appropriate.
• Conducts monthly on-the-job supervision and coaching to check the effectiveness of the mobilization strategy, communication tools and skills of CHWs.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and District HIV Prevention Officer in the management of PREVENT program resources within the assigned geographies.
• Supports the Clinical Services Coordinator and Districts HIV Prevention Officer to establish and maintain collaborative relationship with the MoHCC, DAC and other key stakeholders to ensure smooth program implementation.

What Are We Looking For?

• Degree in Health Sciences, Health Promotion, Development Studies or any related qualification.
• At least 3 years’ experience in HIV programming, including community mobilization for differentiated HIV prevention, care and treatment services preferably within an NGO setting.
• Good working knowledge of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.
• Excellent planning, coordination, and analytical skills with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching.
• Demonstrable experience in capacity building, report writing and program documentation. • Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Clean Class 4 driver’s license with at least 2 years driving experience.
• Ability and willingness to ride a motorbike is an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience, knowledge and sensitivity working with individuals and communities from diverse backgrounds.