Volunteer Community Health Assistant at International Rescue Committee

Job Purpose/Objective

The Community Health Assistant will report directly to the Community Health Officer. He/she will ensure the provision of quality services by CHPs and ensure a smooth referral mechanism linking the community to services at the health facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Overseeing the selection of CHPs by community members at the community level.
• Working with the CH Officer to organize and facilitate CHPs and CHC training.
•  In support of the CHO, the CHA will ensure quarterly CHC meetings are held in the assigned unit.
• Monitoring the management of the CHPs’ kit and phones for effective implementation
• Supporting the CHPs in assigned tasks and coaching them to ensure the achievement of desired health and WASH outputs and outcomes in the assigned units.
• Conduct close monitoring and follow-up to unstable /high-risk households to ensure improved health outcomes.
• Collating Health /WASH information gathered by the CHPs to display summaries at strategic sites to provide relevant feedback as well as material for dialogue at community levels.
• Compiling MOH /specific donor reports from CHPs and forwarding them to the CH Officer
•  Receiving feedback from facilities & CH Officers and passing it on to the CHCs and CHPs through dialogue and planning that leads to actions to improve identified Health /WASH issues.
•  Following up and monitoring actions emerging from dialogue and planning sessions to ensure implementation.
• Conducting support supervision to all the CHPs in the assigned unit within 3 months, identifying the gaps, and organizing CME, OJT, or training to improve CHPs' knowledge and skills for effective delivery of services.

Capacity Building

• With the support of the CHO organize training and refreshers for CHPs on community health/WASH-related topics
• Liaise with the program CHOs to develop a curriculum and an IRC training manual for CHPs.
• Ensure a class of CHPs is trained and certified yearly
• Liaise with CHOs to conduct CHP performance monitoring and evaluation of all CHPs twice annually

Administrative Responsibilities

• Prepare orders for sector activities and maintain inventories for the assigned units
• Ensure daily attendance is signed, duty roster signed, and submitted to CHO for verification before handing it to the Counterpart manager.
• In liaison with CHO compile weekly monthly, quarterly, and annual reports unit report.

Key Result Areas

•  Ensure that all CHPs have appropriate PPEs when undertaking IRC-related activities.
•  Coordinate and supervise the activities of all the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and their supervisors to ensure that each is assigned to specific households and persons.
•  Attend facility meetings weekly and give guidance to the CHPs on issues raised.
•  Contribute to the maintenance of a high-quality and motivated team of polyvalent
• Community Health Promoters (CHPs) by participating in formal and on-job training sessions, performance appraisal, and feedback and ensure that staff discipline and
• Adherence to organizational policies is always in place.
•  Perform mentorship sessions for the CHPs allocated to you and compile a report on the same biweekly and submit it to the CHO.
• With the support of the CHO work with community health committees to ensure that the community members actively participate in preventive and health promotion activities at the community level and support Community Health Promoters in their day-to-day activities.
•  Participate in camp-wide surveys and medical campaigns.
• Liaise with the other sectors to ensure community-based indicators are met.

Required Qualifications

• Diploma in Public Health, Environmental Health, or its equivalent.
• Registered with the relevant body.

Required Experience & Competencies

• At least 2 years of relevant work experience in the Public Health field.
• Strong communication skills; oral, written, and presentation skills.
• Team player.
• Ready to work in difficult environmental conditions.
• Must be flexible and culturally sensitive.
• Experience working in a resource-poor setting and/or camp environment is an added advantage.