Senior Technical Advisor, Community Engagement and Prevention, Care and Treatment 365 views0 applications

Title:                           Senior Technical Advisor, Community Engagement & Prevention, Care and Treatment

Location:                    Abuja

Supervisor:                Project Director

Basic Functions:

                                               

The Senior Technical Advisor, Community Engagement and Prevention, Care and Treatment (STA) will oversee and coordinate prevention, care and treatment activities and community engagement activities for KPs (men who have sex with men [MSM], people who inject drugs [PWID], female sex workers [FSW], transgender people and prison inmates) under the EpiC project in Nigeria.  S/he will be responsible for the design and technical oversight of all technical strategies and activities to increase uptake and improve quality of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services for KPs, including community service provision and health services strengthening at facility levels. H/she will monitor the technical performance of community-based partners (including KP-led partners) and provide capacity building to improve community outreach, strengthen linkages between community and health facilities and improve overall outcomes for comprehensive HIV services for KP. This position will be critical for the development of quality and evidence-based approaches for HIV and STI testing and counselling, referrals, condoms and lubricants distribution, wrap-around services referrals, peer outreach and navigation activities for improved linkages, retention and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for KPs. S/he will liaise with the EpiC Nigeria Project Director, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), State Agencies for the Control of AIDS (SACAs), State AIDS and STD Control Programs (SASCPs) and other counterparts as well as supervise EpiC technical staff in Bayelsa and Niger states.  S/he will coordinate all technical report and submit to EPIC, FHI360 HQ, USAID and share with stakeholders etc.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of technical activities in the annual LINKAGES work plans.
• Provide technical and programmatic expertise in HIV prevention, care and treatment activities for FSW, MSM, PWID, transgender people and prison inmates in Niger and Bayelsa states including community-based outreach, peer education/navigation, health clinic/hospital/other public and private facility service provision, behavior change communication, HIV testing and self-testing, ART initiation and adherence/linkage to care, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PeP and PrEP), viral load (VL) monitoring, screening and referrals for TB, sexually transmitted infections (STI) and sexual and reproductive health needs, and violence prevention and response.
• Supervise and provide technical guidance and mentorship to EpiC Nigeria technical staff providing technical assistance on project implementation.
• Oversee production of timely and accurate technical reports to FHI 360 and USAID as required.
• Ensure quality work on standard operating procedures contextualized to the Nigerian context assuring confidentiality and mitigation if required for KP groups
• Identifies structural barriers to the uptake of HIV clinical services for KP groups and ways to address those structural barriers.
• Work with NACA, SACAs and SASCPs in Bayelsa and Niger to ensure quality of clinical care and services for KP groups.
• Work with community organizations, KP-led organizations, local health centers and government to increase the uptake of HIV services at the community and clinical levels by increasing capacity and providing technical assistance.
• Work with government and local health facilities to ensure all clinical care providers have been trained in discrimination and stigma-free provision of services for KP groups.
• Contribute to the achievement of high-quality results in accordance with the targets identified in the work plan and monitoring and evaluation plan.
• Contribute to program quality according to FHI 360 standards including quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives.
• Contributes to work plan activities; ensures appropriate levels of technical assistance in program operations; coordinates partner efforts in program implementation including assisting in the provision of technical assistance to each grant partner for the provision of high-quality services; ensure appropriate program monitoring and reporting.
• Support the development and monitoring of partner scopes of work and technical performance.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

Demonstrated ability to be a subject matter expert on HIV/AIDS prevention, management, and control strategies for KPs. Demonstrated knowledge of Nigerian health systems, as well as international and local NGOs involved in the national response to HIV/AIDS. Demonstrated experience building technical capacity of KP-led and/or other community-based organizations working in HIV/AIDS. Proven experience and/or knowledge of the PEPFAR blueprint for key population programs and WHO and UNAIDS goals and strategies related to the 95–95–95 targets and the cascade for HIV prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment. Understanding of the situational needs of KP and experience supporting and implementing activities to reduce violence, stigma, and discrimination and sound cultural understanding and sensitivity regarding gender and sexual diversity is necessary. Ability to exchange information, present recommendations and collaborate with colleagues and peers within the EpiC project and externally. Ability to meet deadlines with strong attention to consistency, detail, and quality. Ability to travel within country or region and internationally as needed. Previous experience in building capacity for stakeholder management and supervisory role is critical. Demonstrated written, presentation, communication and organizational skills in English. Well-developed computer skills. Ability to travel a minimum of 25%.

Qualifications and requirements:

• MBBS, B.Pharm, BMLS Lab. Sciences, microbiology, Biochemistry with Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Pharmacy and other related areas
• Minimum of 7 years of professional work experience (post-Nigerian Youth Service Corps) in the field of public health, including at least 5 years focused on HIV prevention, care, and treatment in clinical and community settings.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in technically designing and managing health programs; preference for experience related to KP and HIV.
• 1-3 years of experience supporting or managing a USAID or PEPFAR-funded activity, including program planning, implementation, data use, monitoring and reporting.

This job description summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

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