District Family Planning Officer

CHO, Midwife, Nurse
Sierra Leone, Kambia
June 30, 2025
Full Time
Application ends: July 14, 2025

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Job Description

 

Helen Keller 

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

District Family Planning Officer-Kambia

(Local contract based in Freetown, Sierra Leone)

 

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl, partners with communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition, and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we ensure every person has the opportunity, as Helen did, to reach their true potential. 

 

Helen Keller Intl has been operating in Sierra Leone for nearly 20 years in support of the Nutrition and Neglected Tropical Disease (NTDs) components of the National Health Development Plan of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, as well as food security component of the Ministry of Agriculture.

 

Job Summary:

This function supports the District Health Management Team in planning, implementing, and monitoring Family Planning Services. The District Family Planning Officer will be responsible and accountable for assuring the family planning (FP) related component(s) of the Saving Lives program are implemented in a technically sound manner and results are delivered as per the agreed/approved project. He/she will provide technical guidance in planning, implementing, and monitoring of all family planning related activities under the project, including but not limited to FP training, mentorship, coaching, supportive supervision, and coordination at the district level, etc., with special focus to the most vulnerable and unreached population groups. He/she will work closely with the SLiSL3 team at district level, Health Care Workers and the District health management team (DHMT) with a dotted line report to the District Health Sister and District Delivery Manager and report to the Family planning officer team lead and the Program Coordinator (Nutrition) at Helen Keller International.

 

Key Responsibilities

Training, Mentoring, Coaching, and Development

  • In collaboration with the Family Planning Officer Team Lead, develop a short training curriculum in accordance with MoH requirements/standards for Health Workers in government facilities.
  • Deliver high-quality health services training to Health Care Workers on comprehensive family planning packages in accordance with MoH standards.
  • Conduct needs assessments for Health Care Workers. Developing a clinical training matrix to identify gaps and needs within the facilities.
  • Provide mentorship, support and supervise the Health Care Workers as they improve and maintain their skills in providing Comprehensive Family Planning services through on-the-job training.
  • Develop and implement a supportive supervision and monitoring and evaluation framework for mentoring Health Care Providers.

 

Technical Advice& Guidance

  • Provide overall technical expertise, guidance, and managerial oversight for family planning components (including LARC, QoC, etc.) in districts.
  • Work with the District Family Planning coordinator and the District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) to assess, monitor and identify potential barriers for service update on FP services and develop mitigation plans to address/mitigate these barriers.
  • Work closely with Health Care Workers, Family Planning Champions and the DHMTs to organize family planning outreaches in poor performing chiefdoms to enhance access for clients in hard to reach/low coverage communities.
  • Provide technical support for implementation and cascade of the costed FP work plan of the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the district.
  • Ensure planning, designing and effective implementation of demand generation activities for FP services across facility catchment communities at districts level with special focus on addressing barriers to service uptake, community awareness and misconceptions.
  • Ensure availability and use of job aids and IEC materials for demand creation and other community sensitization activities like radio discussions, community meetings, etc.
  • Lead/co-lead the training of healthcare workers on family planning in partnership with Ministry of Health at district level.
  • Act as a resource person and troubleshooting focal point on all family planning matters related to the project at district level.

 

M&E and Reporting:

  • Conduct regular family planning data spot checks at facility with health care workers.
  • Ensure adequate monitoring, reporting and quality assurance of FP project activities against agreed outcomes/results including routine data collection from health facilities and DHMTs.
  • Provide monthly reports on FP activities, impact, achievement of results, etc., including but not limited to success/human interest stories.
  • Escalate any potential risk to supervisor and provide regular feedback from key stakeholders aimed at encouraging learning and adaptation.
  • Ensure reporting against the log frame on FP related targets on a regular basis. 
  • Support/contribute to all evaluations and assessments of the project.

 

Coordination and Representation:

  • Establish and maintain a good working relationship with the Family Planning Coordinator at district and other relevant MoH and DHMT staff.
  • Establish and maintain good working relationships with relevant technical leads from all consortium partner organizations.
  • Represent Helen Keller Intl at all relevant FP/RMNCAH TWGs, workshops, inter-sectoral meetings, Consortium meetings and donor meetings, as needed.
  • Ensure you work closely with FP team (s) to learn, and share is planned and organised in a way which will meet the organizations and project’s needs in the most cost-effective manner possible; ensuring that team members are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently.
  • Carry out any other task delegated by the Program Coordinator (Nutrition).

 

Other:

  • Understand organizational safeguarding and gender policies.
  • Understand how to embed safeguarding into the foundation of good quality program design and delivery.

 

  • Promote accountability and ensure compliance with all Helen Keller Policies and code of conduct including but not limited to safeguarding considerations to ensure maximum protection of program participants and the efficient and transparent use of Helen Keller resources.
  • Promote equality, especially gender, as a cross-cutting theme within the organization and across programs, in line with Helen Keller Policy.
  • Represent, promote and protect the reputation of Helen Keller in external settings, ensuring that the organization’s experience and expertise is well communicated and consistently presented, in a professional manner.
  • Attend district level meetings and other workshops, working groups, and coordination forums as required to ensure close coordination and collaboration.
  • Any other reasonable tasks assigned by the Family Planning Officer and the Program Coordinator.

 

Qualification and experience

  • Midwife, Nurse, Community Health Officer with bachelor’s degree and experience on family planning programs.
  • Minimum of 3 years of proven experience in design/implementation of FP programs in Sierra Leone.
  • Experience in using the DHIS2 software 
  • In-depth knowledge of family planning registers and reporting tools use at facility level.
  • Demonstrated experience of having improved FPservice uptake, access to FPservices, improving QoC, for LARC, and postpartum FP.
  • Demonstrated experience in implementing/leading FP trainings, mentorship, and coaching schemes.
  • Experience in working with DHMTs.
  • In-depth knowledge of MoH FP policies, guidelines, training manual, etc., a MUST.
  • Ability to lead and manage a team of mentees.
  • Must be able to work in a dynamic and complex environment.
  • Experience riding a motorbike and with a valid driver’s license
  • Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal guidance.
  •  Excellent written and verbal English language skills.

 

To Apply:

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to SierraLeone.Recruitment@hki.org not later than Friday July 11th, 2025, at 5pm. 

 Noting the job title in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

In the spirit of our founder and namesake, Helen Keller are dedicated to building an inclusive workforce where diversity in all its forms is fully valued.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, race, caste, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic that has no bearing on the ability to perform the required job duties.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities.  If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need to request an accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at the email above.

HELEN KELLER INTL

  • DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, TEST, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING).
  • DOES NOT ASK FOR INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
  • DOES NOT RECRUIT THROUGH ANY RECRUITMENT AGENCY.

 

  • CVS WILL BE REVIEWD ON A ROLLING BASIS