Deadline: 19 February 2021

About the organization

Zim-TTECH is seeking highly qualified and experienced applicants to fill the position of Primary Counsellor for deployment in Zvimba x 1 and Kadoma-Sanyati x 1 districts in Mashonaland West province. Zim-TTECH's activities occur primarily in the technical areas of health system strengthening; health workforce development; operations research and evaluation and prevention, treatment and care of infectious diseases. Zim-TTECH is funded by PEPFAR through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to support the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in the provision of HIV & TB prevention, treatment, care and support services in five provinces in Zimbabwe under the ZimPAAC (Zimbabwe Partnership to Accelerate AIDS Control) consortium. The engagement will be for seven (7) months effective March 2021 to 30 September 2021 and may be renewed subject to availability of funding and satisfactory performance of the candidate.

Position summary

The successful candidate will be seconded and attached to an MoHCC health facility and will provide direct service in support of both facility and community counselling and testing services, retaining and linking clients to ART and TB preventive therapy and treatment, ART initiation, accurate documentation and defaulter tracking. He/she will work closely with CLF/FLF/VLFP and VHW at facility and community level in the implementation of HIV care and treatment activities.

Responsibilities

Mobilising for targeted HIV Testing; provision of individual and couple counselling (both pre and post-test as well as ongoing supportive counselling); provision of HIV Rapid testing services at facility and community entry points, including distribution of HIVST kits with strict adherence to MoHCC guidance and algorithms; counselling for ART initiation and retention; viral load testing and ensuring that all results for clients are properly filed and recorded in the client file; Providing EAC sessions for all clients with high viral load in collaboration with the OI and MoHCC Nurses; Strengthening index testing and partner testing at health facility and community for consenting clients; Working in collaboration with the DSD Nurse in screening of all clients visiting the facility and testing all eligible clients; linking index case clients for community index case testing; Coordinating with the CLF and HPs to identify high risk populations that need sensitisation on HIV; Providing Health Education to clients at the facility and in the community for treatment literacy. Promoting DSD ART models to decongest health care facilities; Compiling statistics and producing reports which will be shared with the Health Facility staff, District Nursing Officer, Program Coordinators at Zim-TTECH office for further planning and decision making on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis; Coordinating and supervising activities of CLFs and Facility Linkages Facilitators (FLFs) and Village Health Workers/Health Promoters (VHWs/HPs) at community level; Conducting quarterly facility folder review for accurate data reporting and management of all clients with outstanding services using the flagging system.

Qualifications, skills and experience

Degree/Diploma in HIV Counselling or related Social Science disciplines like Psychology; A valid Rapid HIV testing certificate is mandatory; Minimum of 3 years’ experience in HIV Counselling services; Computer Skills in Word, Excel, Internet; Must be a mature person of integrity who can be entrusted with confidential information.

Commitment to diversity

Zim-TTECH recognizes that disparities in health around the globe stem from inequity. Therefore, the organization encourages and supports the multiple identities of staff including, but not limited to, socio-economic status, age, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, gender identity and expression, culture, spiritual practice, geography, mental and physical disability. Zim-TTECH strives to become a local, national, and international leader in developing and maintaining increased representation and recognition of each of these dimensions of diversity among its staff.