John Snow Health Zambia Limited
USAID ZAM-Health Project

JOB DESCRIPTION

Position: Psychosocial & Community Specialist (1)
Position Type: Fixed Term
Location: Kitwe
Reports to: HIV/TB Advisor

OVERVIEW
The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health (ZAM-Health) Activity is a five-year project aimed at expanding the availability and accessibility of high-quality health products and services in the private sector, improving health knowledge, and increasing the adoption of healthy and health-seeking behaviors. The program uses approaches such as marketing, social franchising, and partnerships with for-profit entities to achieve these outcomes. USAID ZAM-Health is implemented by John Snow Health Zambia (JSH) in partnership with JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), PharmAccess and Mopani Mines.
JSH is seeking to employ a Psychosocial & Community Specialist to support the strengthening and scale-up of HIV Testing Services (HTS), community-based interventions and the implementation of Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) in Copperbelt province.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identify appropriate community-based strategies at facility and district health management levels to address HIV testing and treatment service delivery systems bottlenecks that act as impediments to effective service delivery
• Support the optimal utilization of the HIV Risk Screening Tool to improve HIV case identification, and The HIV Known Positives Screening Tool for appropriate reclassification of clients that test positive
• Ensure implementation of the HIV case finding, linkage and retention performance monitoring tool
• Build the capacity of counsellors and CBVs to provide high quality HIV treatment services in supported sites and the community they serve so that PLHIV (pediatrics, Adult, adolescents) are tested and promptly initiated on ART
• Train and mentor HCWs and CBVs in high yielding HIV testing modalities such as index testing, including but not limited to, Social Network Testing, and KYCS+
• Provide on-site training and mentorship on the implementation of safe and ethical index testing
• Develop and monitor appropriate program strategies that will help to reduce ART attrition (missed clinical appointment, defaulters), unlinked and High Viral Load clients;
• Share program strategies with the CETA supported facilities to improve HIV services outcomes
• Ensure complete and consistent documentation for all HTS and ART retention activities at both the facility & community levels to achieve quality provision of services
• Provide technical support to all CETA implementing facilities in triaging RoC to allow for screening of those with High Viral Loads, missed pharmacy pick-ups, defaulters for any mental or interpersonal problems
• Build the capacity of HCWs, Counsellors, and Community-Based Volunteers (CBVs) by providing on-site trainings, targeted on-site mentorship aimed at improving the overall delivery of the CETA, Psychosocial support and Customer care activities
• Provide technical support to ensure that re-certifications are conducted for those HIV testers whose certification expires
• Performs other duties as requested by the supervisor

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• The applicant should hold a Advanced Certificate/Diploma in Psychosocial counselling/Social work; additional diploma in community nursing or degree in public health will be an advantage
• Psycho-social counselling certificate and full registration will be required
• 5 years’ experience implementing HIV prevention, care and treatment
• Must be a trainer in CETA
• Strong skills and track record in providing psychosocial support counselling and patient tracking for retention in care
• Able to provide effective hands-on mentorship to Health Care Workers, Counsellors and Community Based Volunteers
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform

Required Languages – English and Bemba

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities
• Presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented and results oriented.
• Excellent writing skills
• Experience using MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications,