Project Officer-OVC/Social Determinants of Health

****About CRS****

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

1. POSITION IDENTIFICATION:

Department : HIV/AIDs

Job Title: Project Officer-OVC/Social Determinants of Health (Ref.2015/30)

Grade : 5

Reports To : Project Manager

Supervises (Direct Reports Only) : 0

Based In (Location) : Naivasha, Nakuru County

N/B - Position is contingent upon successful Donor Funding

****1.****JOB PURPOSE

Reporting to the Senior Project Officer, the Project Officer will work with APHIAplus, Nuru Ya Bonde consortium partners, implementing partners (IPs) and all relevant County and National governments to facilitate APHIAplusService Delivery to marginalized, vulnerable and underserved populations in the Five Counties of Rift Valley region.

****2.****KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES:

The project officers are responsible for implementing project strategies that would promote an integrated approach so as to address social determinants of health to improve the well-being target APHIAplus Nuru Ya Bonde. The officers are expected to work hand in hand with Results 3 and 4 as they continuously engage key stakeholders to make it possible deliver on their mandate.

****3.****OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIVITIES:

****Responsibility 1: *Marginalized, poor and underserved groups have increased access to economic security initiatives through coordination and integration with economic strengthening programs.*****

The officer will be responsible for skills building and transfer to IP staff and support them to link the project beneficiaries to viable economic strengthening activities appropriate to their age, skills, and experience.

****Main Activities****

1. Marginalized, poor and underserved groups accessing economic security initiatives; and
2. Work with IPs and other stakeholders to come up with strategies that remove barriers to female participation in economic activities
3. Work with IPs to ensure strategies that focus on the improvement of rural, food security and youth programs.
4. Create linkages with programs that provide savings and loan schemes, micro-insurance, entrepreneurship and vocational and job-readiness training; as well as matching with value-chain and other market-based initiatives

****Responsibility 2:*Improved food security and nutrition for marginalized, poor and underserved populations*****

Working with other stakeholders, the Project officer will mentor IPs, transfer skills, support and or link the marginalized, poor and underserved populations to help them understand the interplay between diet, nutrition and hygiene for PLHA and other chronically ill persons, pregnant and lactating women, and children under five.

****Main Activities****

1. Support interventions and strategies that increase food security, improved nutrition and sustainable livelihoods amongst the target groups
2. Support activities that improve target population’s hygiene
3. Support IPs conduct counseling, nutrition assessments and body mass index (BMI) monitoring or measurement of mid upper-arm circumference (MUAC);
4. IPs adopt low labor intensive food security interventions.
5. Strong coordination with other related programs including, but not limited to, the Global Hunger and Food Security Program etc.

Responsibility 3:Marginalized, poor and underserved groups have increased access to education, life skills, and literacy initiatives through coordination and integration with education programs

The Project officer will work with IPs to ensure project benefiaries have access to education, life skills and literacy initiatives that ultimately contribute to better health.

Main activities

1. Increased access to education, life skills and literacy initiatives for OVC and marginalized children, youth and other marginalized populations.
2. Improve enrollment and retention in primary and secondary school especially for girls
3. Strategies on interventions that that address barriers to accessing educational, drop out, and wastage.
4. Creative solutions that increase sustainable access to primary and secondary education to reduce reliance individual scholarships and provision educational supplies
5. Support initiatives that improve community early childhood development programs;
6. Support initiatives that increase access to schooling for highly marginalized children and youth

Responsibility 4:Increased access to safe water, sanitation and improved hygiene

The Project officer will work with IPs to support PLHA, infants, and children have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene practices to limit the spread of infections.

1. Support infrastructure improvements in community and schools that will enhance access to improved water supply and sanitation
2. Support initiatives that increase hand washing with soap within facilities and schools

Responsibility 5: Strengthened systems, structures and services for protection of marginalized, poor and underserved populations

Promote initiatives that address change in harmful social norms and structures that condone or promote gender-based violence (GBV), child maltreatment, stigma and discrimination by improving and expanding social and protective systems and services in public and private sectors.

1. Increase access to quality protective services to survivors of child maltreatment and children without adequate family care.
2. Work with Department of Children , Civil registration and Social Services and other stakeholders to protect OVC rights
3. strategies, policies and protocols regarding protection of women and children to community level
4. Integrate with other Result areas to ensure health services and social services systems to support victims of rape and child maltreatment are strengthened
5. Provide leadership to mobilize multi-sectoral coordination (justice, health, social services) to reduce gender based violence and child maltreatment.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIREMENT

1. KNOWLEDGE
2. At least a university degree in Sociology, Anthropology, Nursing, Public Health or other relevant area of study
3. Have solid working knowledge (practical skills) in the following areas: OVC, CPWP, VCT, HTC, Counseling, ART and dealing with social determinants of health.
4. Experience in dealing with a multifaceted project
5. 3-5 year years experience implementing and integrated OVC, CPWP and HIV/AIDS projects, preferably in an NGO setting.
6. SKILLS AND ABILITIES
7. Experience in implementing US Government-funded projects.
8. Ability to transfer skills and knowledge through, training, mentorship and accompaniment
9. Demonstrated ability to work with various teams.
10. Excellent written, oral communication
11. Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office Programs).
12. Demonstrated ability foster integration in programming approach
13. Excellent understating of GOK, USAID and CRS operating procedures
14. REQUIRED BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

· A professional with high personal integrity and commitment

· A good steward of agency resources

· An individual that can cope with work with people from diverse backgrounds

· Ability to being sensitive, motivated an d empathy

1. KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Internal:

Project Officers are key members of HIV/AIDS & OVC Unit responsible for skills building and transfer to IP, GOK and the community to ensure better access to services. They are expected to use mentorship and accompaniment of to ensure APHIAplus service delivery. To accomplish their mandate, they are expected to work closely with other CRS programming units to ensure a holistic and integrated approach to project implementation as detailed in the proposal.

External:

Externally key functions include representing CRS in various forums and forging relations with the APHIA Plus consortium, GOK, IPs, other stakeholders and the community. Ensure that CRS mandate of skills building, mentorship and skills transfer in areas of social determinate of Health in APHIAplusRift is implemented in tandem with the other two Result Areas.

****6. DISCLAIMER CLAUSE****

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties and responsibilities associated with the position

HOW TO APPLY:

Written applications indicating the reference number of position applied for and CV including day-time contact phone numbers, as well as names and contact information of three references should reach the below-mentioned ****by Close of Business Tuesday October 20, 2015;****

Human Resources Manager

Catholic Relief Services – Kenya Program

E-mail: hr@ke.earo.crs.org

Please indicate the Reference Number Ref.2015/30on the ‘email subject. Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

*Note: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) does not charge any fees from applicants for any recruitment. Further, CRS has not retained any agent in connection with this recruitment*