2 (Two) x Community Post Nurse Counsellors- Zimbabwe Association of Church-related Hospitals

Position summary

In consultation with facility ART Coordinator or in charge, the position supports and will plan hands-on mentorship sessions in index testing and targeted PICT.

Duties and responsibilities

Assign FCI champions in selected key entry points for the administration of screening tools in low yield entry points; Supervise FCI champions in the provision PITC and correct/consistent documentation; Mentor the FCI champions in psychosocial counselling skills necessary to conduct successful sexual partner elicitation; Provide psychosocial counselling services to patients accessing the community post; In collaboration with the community post Team leader, generate a list of priority index cases followed by contacts elicitation from the latter. The index prioritization shall be based on the following criteria: Newly identified treatment naïve patients, patients with unsuppressed viral loads (VL above 1000 copies/mL), Recently ART initiated (below 3 months) patients but not yet indexed, Positive children using siblings as their contacts and mothers who do not know their status; Work with FCI champions to elicit sexual contacts from all index clients as per provided list; Follow up FCI champions on linking all HIV positive patients to Treatment, Care and Support services; Work with the community post Team leader to develop work schedules and performance enhancement interventions; Assist in implementing backstopping measures to keep FCI champions on track to follow all elicited contacts; Work to complete the documentation in the Registers (HTS, Index & linkage); Mentor & work with FCI champions in the complete documentation and filing in the patient files; Document and follow up any underperforming FCI champions directly or through the Team leaders; Provide daily updates to the team leaders on daily activities and identify challenges so that they are addressed on time; Work with Team leader to prevent attrition among ART patients by daily compiling of missed appointment lists in collaboration with the data clerk; Support retention activities such as effective referral through use of referral slips and defaulter identification and tracking registers; Plan activities for timely (daily) tracking of missed appointment; Support routine data collection, weekly and monthly timely reporting; Any other duties and responsibilities as tasked by the Team Leader.

Required qualifications

Qualified nurse counselor with experience in counselling PLHIV; HIV Rapid testing qualification a distinct advantage; Good standing with the community being served is a must; Good knowledge of English and report writing skills required; Previous mobilizing, HIV testing and M&E experience would be an added advantage.

Key result areas / ZACH competencies

Producing Results through measuring progress in attaining the 95-95-95 targets; Moving forward in a changing environment; Fostering integration and teamwork; Knowing and managing yourself; Communicating in a credible and effective way.