Senior Technical Specialist, Prevention, Care & Treatment at Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (Caritas Nigeria)

Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (Caritas Nigeria), is a Not-for-Profit Humanitarian and Development Agency established by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), to coordinate at the national level, the social development interventions of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. Caritas Nigeria works to fight hunger, disease and ignorance as well as respond to humanitarian crises and emergencies by mobilizing resources from within and outside the Church to meet the basic needs of affected persons, regardless of religion, nationality or ethnicity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Technical Specialist, Prevention, Care & Treatment

Location / Community: Umuahia, Abia
Job Category: Care and Treatment
Job Type: Full Time
Project: 4GATES PROGRAM
Program: Health

Program Background

• The Global Action Towards Epidemic control in Sub-national units in Nigeria (4GATES) program is a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment program being implemented in Abia, Delta, Enugu and Imo States.
• It is a 5-year program (October, 2017 to September, 2022) implemented by Caritas Nigeria and its consortium partners; Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Pro-Health International as the sole Implementing Partner for PEPFAR in these states.

Summary of Role

• Under the supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor, Prevention, Care and Support, the successful candidate will be a member of the State Management Team and will primarily lead and supervise all prevention, care and treatment activities across implementing entities. The successful candidate will articulate the priorities of the team to the SMT and cascade focus down through the Specialists, Officers, Associates and other staff to ensure efficient use of available resources towards achieving defined goals. They will ensure adherence to structured principles in the course of implementation of the Unit’s field activities and provide required program statistics within expected timelines to inform project planning, delivery and decision-making. The Senior Technical Specialist will build and sustain strategic relationships with key stakeholders and maintain an information flow to keep all stakeholders updated with project performance.
• The incumbent will work with stakeholders, facilities, civil society organizations, Subnational Governments, State Technical Working Groups in the planning, implementation, coordination and evaluation of prevention, care & treatment services. This include but is not limited to general prevention, HIV Testing Services, Linkage, Adherence, Retention, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, Differentiated Models of Care and Nutrition services within 4GATES supported the state of operations, communities and facilities. The incumbent will provide direct programmatic support at facility, team and program levels in the attainment of project activities.

Description of Roles & Responsibilities

• Support the design and implementation of the prevention, care and treatment services and activities in supported state in accordance with 4GATES objectives in the following regards:
• Support the design and implementation of the HIV prevention services (including HTS among the general population, KP, adolescents and young people) in supported states.
• Provide technical support and oversight to ensure excellent HIV Testing Services delivery in supported facilities with particular focus on Index Case Testing in line with program directives.
• Support the process of development, review and deployment of HIV prevention documents, guidelines and training curricula, including HIV Testing Services, Index Testing and KP testing, tailored training curriculum and service delivery guidelines.
• Contribute to capacity building efforts of partners and ensure delivery of high quality services at all program sites using best practices and in line with national guidelines.
• Work to strengthen quality assured counseling and testing services across all the HTS models (facility, mobile and community outreaches targeting key and vulnerable populations.
• Implement effective linkage of all identified positive clients through innovative strategies such as accompanied referrals and use of the linkage tracker for all identified positives.
• Work with the ART Health care team to establish and strengthen adherence systems at the facility and community levels for improved quality of patient care. Support facility adherence interventions to ensure long term adherence to ART.
• Put in place effective retention interventions to attain 95% retention of patients on ART.
• Ensure integration of prevention of MTCT services into all ante natal care services and effective mentoring and supervision of health care workers at PMTCT sites.
• Build capacity of facility nurses to take on new roles in the implementation of Differentiated Model of Care (DMOC) such as fast track services and specialized clinics for stable patients.
• Strengthen facility based patient health education curriculum.
• Work with the state MOH for qualitative HIV Testing, Care and Support Service delivery in line with the program and national guidelines.
• Provision of technical assistance and capacity building to facilities.
• Assess quality of community support activities relating to HIV services in and around treatment facilities and assist treatment facilities in developing their ART support programs.
• Identify training needs, plan and facilitate on-site training sessions on HTS, Linkage, Adherence, Retention, Care & Support services.
• Distribute appropriate job aides and education materials for treatment support staff.
• Provide an account of program related achievements through site visit, monthly and quarterly reports to supervisor.
• Manage a facility in the capacity of a facility manager which entails coordinating activities across key program indicators for assigned facility.
• Participate in other activities including representing CCFN, making presentations, professional development, relevant organizational research and abstract writing.
• Represent the organization in meetings and other forums related to the job.
• Carry out other additional duties as required.

Reporting & Supervision:

• The Senior Technical Specialist, Prevention Care & Treatment, reports to the State Team Lead and the Senior Technical Advisor, Prevention, Care & Treatment, regularly interacts with State Technical Lead, Caritas Nigeria technical and program staff, other members of the State Team and facility staff. S/he will be responsible for supervising the members of the Prevention Team in the state.

Additional Responsibilities:

• The Responsibilities (Above) are not all-inclusive. The employee will also perform other related tasks as required and will be responsible for reporting and communicating progress and achievement of the specific assigned tasks.

Desired Qualifications, Skills & Experience

• Advanced Degree in Public Health, or Nursing, or Medical or Biological or Management or Social Sciences.
• 7 years’ mandatory knowledge and experience in the design, implementation and management of HIV prevention, care and treatment services.
• Experience and knowledge of ART Surge Response is a major requirement.
• Good knowledge of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission services is required.
• Experience of dealing with difficult and sensitive situations in a professional manner.
• Ability to work under pressure, efficiently handle multiple tasks, quickly find creative solutions to problems and challenges that arise, and manage stress and time in a fast-paced work and fluid operating environment.
• Ability to foster and maintain a spirit of unity, teamwork, cooperation, and learning.
• Willingness and ability to travel.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Sensitivity in working with multiple cultures and beliefs, and to gender equity.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team.

Application Closing Date
6pm; 16th September, 2021.