CARE International is a global leader within a worldwide movement dedicated to saving lives and ending poverty. We work in over 94 countries around the world to provide over 1000 poverty-fighting development and humanitarian aid projects.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Clinical Officer

Location: Gashua (Bade), Yobe
Employment Type: Contract

Job Summary 

• We are seeking the engagement of Clinical Officer for the implementation of the Lafiyayyen Yara (Healthy Children): Reducing Infectious Disease among Children Under Five project.
• The Clinical officer will be responsible for collaboration with health workers in assigned Facilities and Outreach Service Areas (FOSAs) – primary health centres and clinics in Bade LGA of Yobe State.
• S/He shall mentor the CHEWS, nurses & laboratory staff and assess gaps in patient care/management especially for pregnant and lactating mothers, and children under 5 years.
• S/He shall work closely with the Health Promotion Officers to conduct routine health outreach activities at designated service delivery points in the LGA mentioned above.
• S/He will support and ensure provision of quality clinical lifesaving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services to participants in communities within Bade LGA.
• S/He will also work in active collaboration with primary health facility staff, health promotion officers, community-based surveillance focal points, and community engagement facilitators to create demand for the uptake of services and facilitate timely referral of complicated conditions to secondary health care facilities.

Responsibilities

Technical and Program Support to Health Facilities /Outreach Services Areas:

• Provide technical and program support to ensure quality implementation of comprehensive Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health activities with focus on:
  • Immunization – supporting the broader community health system to increase demand for and delivery of immunizations.
  • Quality integrated community case management and integrated management of childhood illness care in facilities.
  • Quality maternal health services (antenatal care/prenatal care, respectful delivery with timely referral of complications, nutrition counselling and breastfeeding support, newborn care)
  • Infection, Prevention and Control to reduce disease transmission in facilities and communities
  • Community-based surveillance to enhance detection of infectious diseases and to strengthen referrals to health facilities
• Support in the development of project work plan, budget, expenditure plan and develop a weekly work plan and movement plan for activities in the FOSAs
• Capacity building for service providers and on the job mentorship to the nurses through training and retraining and continuously identifying other training needs for quality program implementation
• Develop Training TORs, budgets and contracts and Advance requests guided by work plan and budget and liquidate expenses after the training with support from the PM
• Strengthen local coordinations and attend state coordination meeting on request by supervisor to advocate for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Rights Services in the State
• Support community engagement to promote behaviour change, citizen-driven accountability, and risk communication through CARE’s SAA approach to address social norms that negatively impact health and undermine uptake of immunization,
• Undertake CARE’s Community Score Card approach to improve health service delivery and ensure active referral system is available in FOSAs with referral protocol place on the wall in all FOSAs
• Participate in patient consultations and perform quick evaluations for patients for referral to Secondary/Tertiary level of care

Quality Control and Assurance:

• Conduct regular Skills Assessments and provide data-driven supportive supervision of healthcare providers/CHEWs, CBS focal points and community engagement facilitators.
• Ensure that the FOSA have the right commodity, consumables, medical supplies to make sure there is no stocks out at any point in terms of of last-mile supply chain management to support immunizations, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), zinc, antibiotics for pneumonia, and family planning commodities.
• Undertake competency-based skills development and mentoring for health care providers and CBS focal points covering diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, infection prevention and control, maternal health, community-based surveillance (in line with the nationally adopted Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response strategy) and strengthening of referrals
• Maintain high level of infection prevention control through, provision of IP SOP, sharps box, decontamination buckets and SOP place on the wall.
• Request for relevant and up to date IEC/BCC materials and job Aids for all FOSAs
• Ensure all aspects of patient/client record are properly documented using appropriate and relevant tools and well stored in a private and confidential key and lock cabinet
• Ensure that good quality weekly and monthly reports and returns are submitted to the PM and relevant government authorities as stipulated in the regulations and policies
• Identify training needs for CARE staff and suggest ways of meeting those needs.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning:

• Ensure the regular data collection using appropriate tools from the supported FOSAs, and entry into the DISC in the database for analysis of the data collected to make recommendations to the supported health structures and the Project Manager.
• Identify problems with the DISC and flag it to the M& E officer/PM, also suggest ways of improving data collection, storage and use for decision making.
• Participate in monthly tripartite meetings bringing together FOSA providers, community facilitators, CARE staff and the Health District to analyze the data, identify the difficulties encountered and help them find solutions.
• Conduct monthly supportive Supervisions to all the FOSAs in collaboration with the Yobe State Primary Healthcare Board (YPHCB), LGA focal persons /SMOH officials.
• Supports monitoring and evaluation initiatives at selected facilities/communities including analysis of supply chain system in the state to strengthen existing system and suggest best practices.
• Establish and use responsive complaint and feedback systems to track and report complaint and feedback to support effective service delivery.
• Periodically review performance metrics with the Monitoring & Evaluation officer and employ use of data for decision making that promotes high quality clinical care services
• Identify and document and dissemination of appropriate success stories, experiences, best practice and lessons, at least one every 3 months.
• Encourage sharing of learning and experience with the team, across the organization and with like-minded/peer organizations.
• Maintain a good record keeping system and undertake continuous monitoring and regular evaluation of the project activities.

Relationship with Staff / Management:

• Develop a good communication and interpersonal relationship with other project staff and CARE staff to avoid creating a tense environment in the workplace.
• Manage and resolve problems amicably following appropriate communication channels and procedures.
• Listens and accept constructive criticism.
• Understand CARE’s vision, mission, and practice the core values of CARE.
• Cultivate good working relationships with service providers, community, MOH staff, local CSOs, INGOs, UN agencies etc.
• Foster teamwork among supervised staff and with staff from other units/departments
• Represent CARE at coordination meetings in their location.
• Organizes community sensitization health talk through the community linkage structures (CBS focal points, Model Mothers)9.Provide regular feedback to the Project Manager on the clinic activities.
• Participate in the development of mobile health clinic work plans and reviewing them on a monthly basis with the project Manager
• Participate in proposal writing and budget development

Other Responsibilities as Assigned:

• Willingness and ability to accept any other duties and responsibilities, which may be assigned by the management from time to time
• Ability to share knowledge and skills for the purpose of knowledge and skill transfer to other staff.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience
The Clinical Officer (CO) shall have a suitable combination of academic qualification, experience, and relevant training in the following technical and programmatic requirements for the post:

• Be a Registered Nurse, CHEW / Midwife (female preferred), with practical clinical experience in RMNCAH services.
• Expert-level knowledge and at least five years of practical clinical RMNCAH services, SRH in Emergency programming preferably essential lifesaving RH/MISP package implementation with refugees and / or internally displaced populations.
• A postgraduate qualification in Public Health will be an asset
• Training in project management, planning, monitoring, and evaluation is an asset.
• Ability to enhance good interpersonal relationships.
• Good verbal skills in Hausa and other local languages.

Competencies:

• Approachability
• Building Effective Teams
• Customer Focus
• Integrity and Trust
• Drive for Results
• Comfort around Higher management
• Business Acumen
• Negotiating
• Organizational Agility.

Application Closing Date
15th July, 2022.