HIV technical officer  

Job Description

SOLTHIS is an international health NGO which contributes to the strengthening of health systems to  improve the access to quality care in countries with limited resources and/or with the vulnerable populations.  Solthis is registered and has been operating in Sierra Leone since 2011 where our teams have been  providing comprehensive technical support at both health facility, national and community levels to improve  quality of HIV care. 

Contract duration : Fixed-term contract of 3 months with possible extension 

Status: National 

Base of assignment : Freetown with frequent trips to the regions of implementation Availability : As soon as possible 

BACKROUND 

From 2022, Solthis is supporting the implementation of the New Funding Model 3 (NFM3) to accelerate the  achievement of 95-95-95 targets in Sierra Leone by 2024. The intervention through quality-oriented  capacity building approaches, complement the national healthcare workers’ capacity building activities such  as on-site training, clinical mentorship, supportive supervision and coordination planned by the NACP &  NAS in the NFM3. It focuses on strengthening the capacity of HCWs at Health Facilities (HF) and DHMTs’  staff to provide quality of HIV services delivery including prevention, HTS, ART, eMTCT, DSD, EID, Viral  Load, TB/HIV etc. It also strengthens the Supply chain management and laboratory component to improve  the accessibility and availability of HIV commodities at health facilities, and to support DHMTs to allocate  the available resources in the best possible way to minimize service provision disruption. Finally, the  intervention supports Data management system and usage of data to improve HIV related indicators. The  intervention is implemented in seven districts including Western Area (Rural and Urban), Port Loko,  Bombali, Tonkolili, Bo and Kenema Districts 

To complete our operational team, we are looking for a : 

HIV technical officer  

supporting the New Funding Model 3 (NFM3) implementation in supported facilities 

POSITION SUMMARY 

Under the supervision of the the Project Coordinator NFM3, the HIV technical Officer main responsibilities  are (1) provision of capacity building to health care workers (HCWs) providing HIV services in order to  improve the quality of HIV services to people leaving with HIV (PLHIV); and (2) implementation of National  program (NACP) priorities at facility level with the aim to improve on the 3 UNAIDS 95 

SPECIFIC TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Technical Support to district coordination bodies 

• Provide support to District Health Management Team (DHMT) to ensure the integration of HIV in  their routine activities 
• Attends coordination meetings relevant to the project within the district of intervention and at national  level whenever needed. 
• Maintains a good relationship with other implementing partners in the district.
• Contributes to SOLTHIS’ advocacy based on a right-based approach, in favour of free access to  quality HIV care & services for all, free of stigma and discrimination 

Capacity building of HCWs in order to improve the quality of HIV Care

Conducts Participatory Assessments at health facilities and develop roadmaps accordingly to guide  action points implementation for improvement of service delivery 

Ensures Implementation by HCWs and follow up of the road map for improved quality of care by the  health facilities. 

Includes health facilities management teams and DHMT representatives in quality improvement &  monitoring 

Provides onsite guidance and support to improve quality and organization of care and promote  involvement of all stakeholders 

Supports for the organization of care: ART dispensation based on Differentiated Service Delivery  (DSD) Model, organization of the patient flow, involvement of peer educators/CHWs, organization  of the system of consultations and file archiving, implementation of Pre and Post Exposure  Prophylaxis approaches. 

Builds the capacity of the Health Care Workers with respect to counselling, targeted testing, and on  time linkage to care for new case 

Support the retention to care initiatives for HIV patients 

Diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections including tuberculosis. Conduct planned assessment at facility level and propose capacity building plan accordingly.  Participate in the evaluation of training and reporting activities 

• Ensure proper and correct documentation in ART registers, ART cards and other required reporting  tools 
• Conducts Joint-supportive supervision with District Management Teams  
• Works closely with District Mentors identified and trained by NACP. 
• Participates in training with other actors according to identified needs (associations, community, District  Management teams…) 
• Ensures integration of HIV services in various entry points at facility. 

Monitoring and Evaluation/ Project Reporting  

• Participates in defining, follow-up and reporting of project indicators related to medical activities:  contribute to the designing of monitoring tools, quality data-collection and data-analysis
•  Elaborates project monthly report  
• Participates in the quarterly and annual reporting as well as to donor reporting  

Other activities 

• Provides support to other team members when required.  
• Coordinates activities between the different team members with respect to implementation of HIV  activities.  
• Maintains effective working Relationships with all members of the team. 

PROFILE REQUIRED 

EDUCATION: Higher national diploma / Bsc in Community Health and clinical Science.

  EXPERIENCE: CHO with at least 3 years of relevant experience. 

SKILLS 

• Mastery of the project management cycle, including operational and budget planning Mentoring of  health professionals in HIV clinical management 
• Designing implementing and monitoring of health activities related to HIV management • Capacity building skills 
• Representation, dialogue and advocacy with health authorities at different level (national and  district) 
• Analytical skills 
• Writing and synthesis skills
• Language: English compulsory, French will be an asset 
• Computer skills, including the usual software (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) 
• Ability to lead and manage a team, work in partnership and network 

PAY : 

Salary : Depending on experience in a similar position, according to the SOLTHIS’ salary scale and 3  references who are your former managers 

CONDITIONS  

Starting date: As soon as possible  

Project duration : Fixed-term contract of 3 months with possible extension 

Salary & benefits: according to professional experience and grid Solthis + health  Submission of applications :  

Please send your application in English (CV in PDF, cover letter in PDF, references, dates of availability)  via email at recruitment.sierra-leone@solthis.org , quoting reference “HIV Technical Officer – Freetown”,  in the object by 21st March 2024 

Procedure :  

• Only successful candidates will be contacted for technical validation and an HR interview. 
•  Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.  
• SOLTHIS reviews applications on an ongoing basis and may close the recruitment process early if  a suitable candidate has been identified  

SOLTHIS reserves the right to close any vacancy before the advertised deadline. Thank you for your  understanding.