JOB VACANCIES ANNOUNCEMENT

COCODA Tanzania is a non-governmental organisation established in 2000. COCODA’s establishment resulted from intensifying concern among community members in Tanzania over the surging number of orphans, mainly as a consequence of the swelling amount of people infected by HIV and dying from AIDS, the majority being adults leaving behind young children without parents. This trend had a negative impact on social and economic development. Hence COCODA Tanzania envisioned offering an effective response to the situation through the provision of social health education to the local community on HIV/ AIDS, supporting orphans and most vulnerable children, providing vocational skills to youth and establishing small-scale income-generating groups for the community sustainable economy.

Kizazi Hodari Project is a five-year global effort to reach and sustain HIV epidemic control among pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescents, infants, and children. The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Deloitte Tanzania. These core partners are supported by a network of global and local strategic resource partners. Kizazi Hodari focuses on priority PEPFAR countries across Africa and the Caribbean. The consortium works with USAID Missions, national governments, and existing response partners to identify gaps in HIV prevention and treatment programming among target populations. Using best practices and expertise along with innovations, the project is addressing critical gaps to meet country-specific epidemic control goals. Kizazi Hodari is USAID’s flagship initiative to address the needs of children, young people, and breastfeeding women affected by HIV. This includes supporting local organizations in serving these populations and ultimately building their capability to receive direct U.S. government funding for programs at scale. The project leverages the full strength of its consortia and related private and public sector stakeholders to support countries in attaining and sustaining HIV epidemic control. In Tanzania, starting in October 2021, Kizazi Hodari expects to receive funding from USAID to support the Government of Tanzania (Got) to achieve its aim of controlling the HIV epidemic, with a particular focus on programs targeting orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and adolescent girls and young women, through the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) program, in 54 councils across 15 regions in Tanzania. Additionally, Kizazi Hodari aims to strengthen local organizations and the national- and community-level social welfare systems, structures, and workforce to support and sustain OVC to access HIV-inclusive services that support their health and well-being. The Kizazi Hodari program has three Strategic Objectives:

1. Increase use of OVC platforms for pediatric HIV case finding, linkage to treatment and viral suppression
2. Increase access to HIV prevention, violence prevention and response services for OVC and Youth
3. Improve the socio-economic capacity of at-risk adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and OVC caregivers

COCODA Tanzania invites competent and motivated applicants to apply for the following position;

Health Technical Officer (HTO) 1 Position

Location: Njombe Region 

      Reports to: Program Manager 

Position Description:

The Health Technical Officer (HTO) will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of Kizazi Hodari project health services to the assigned council. He/she will work closely with the Kizazi Hodari regional team, RHMT and CHMT to ensure the provision of high-quality health services including; case identification and linkage to care and treatment, follow up of ITT and return them to treatment coordinating linkages and adherence support for HIV care and treatment to clients in their assigned council and insure on time viral load sample taken to the project beneficiaries.

Roles and Responsibilities:  

• Represent the CSO and coordinate with the Council Health Management Team regarding HIV and health-related activities.
• Hold monthly coordination meetings with Care and Treatment Centres (CTC) in the implementation area to support shared confidentiality, facilitate case conferencing, improve the bi-directional referral system, and ensure HIV-positive beneficiaries receive needed services.
• Support Early Childhood Development (ECD) corners at targeted health facilities, including regular monitoring and supportive supervision.
• Support Community Case Workers (CCWs) to work with high paediatric volume CTCs to trace HIV-positive OVC who miss appointments, enrol them into the Kizazi Hodari project and link them back to CTCs.
• Support CCWs to conduct HIV risk assessments for OVC during case management; refer and link at-risk OVC to HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC).
• Schedule quarterly Sexual Reproductive Health Education outreaches to teen clubs and organize HTC outreaches for adolescents with high-risk behaviours.
• Work with EGPAF to roll out a supplemental HIV curriculum to CCWs and ensure CCWs provide appropriate support to HIV-positive OVC and caregivers.
• Support CCWs to strengthen the capacity of caregivers to support HIV-positive OVC and ensure CCWs refer HIV-positive OVC and caregivers to PLHIV support groups.
• Ensure screening of caregivers for depression and link them to appropriate services.
• Support the rollout of evidence-based curriculums relating to HIV (e.g. Stepping Stones, Sinovuyo Teens, Sexual Reproductive Health Education, Care for Child Development, etc.)
• Support the establishment of a bi-directional referral system to monitor beneficiaries through the HIV continuum of care as well as service completion for other health and social services.
• Monitor implementation, bottlenecks, and performance metrics of the bi-directional referral system; proactively offer solutions, conduct quality improvement activities, and implement adjustments to improve referral outcomes.
• Coordinate quarterly district-level quality improvement meetings with relevant bidirectional referral system stakeholders; ensure actions from the meetings are implemented and the bi-directional referral system is improved.
• Work with the M&E officer to ensure all bi-directional referral data are accurate and produced weekly; use data for decision-making.
• Lead the development of a service directory for health, nutrition, and HIV services in the implementation area; update the directory at least once a year.
• Support CCWs to conduct nutrition activities, including nutrition assessments, counselling, and linkage to other nutrition service providers.
• Provide continuous supportive supervision to CCWs to ensure the provision of healthrelated services and referrals and linkages to beneficiaries.
• Submit timely updates to the Program Coordinator for inclusion in the quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports.
• Document lessons learned and best practices for experience sharing and replication.
• Perform any other relevant duties as assigned by the Project Coordinator.

Qualification and experience 

• At least 2-5 years of experience working in HIV/AIDS Community projects.
• A Diploma/Degree in medical/nursing with good experience in HIV/AIDS programs, and a sound knowledge of HIV/AIDS care and treatment.
• Possessing a medical degree will be an added advantage.
• A good team player with demonstrated skills and experience in leading and coaching the team.
• Ability to network and maintain professional relationships with the LGAs and other stakeholders at the Council level.
• Excellent written, presentation, communication and organizational skills in both English and Kiswahili
• Good understanding of council-level healthcare system
• Flexible to work beyond normal working hours.