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The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and cancer through the provision of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, and care and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at national, state and local levels. The Institute’s vision is to be a leader in providing quality health services, capacity building and research in West Africa and beyond.

The TB-LON 3 Project is a USAID-funded Award that is a revolutionary program working with communities, facilities and relevant State and National structures to improve access to TB case finding, diagnosis, treatment and notification in Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo States; as well as increase domestic financing for TB and strengthen surveillance and integrated reporting across four result areas:

1. Improved access to high-quality, person-centered TB treatment, DR-TB, and TB/HIV services for a cumulative number of at least 126,576 persons for the life of the activity
2. Strengthened systems and structures for TB detection, treatment and notification with TB service delivery platforms strengthened
3. TB disease transmission and progression reduced
4. TB research and innovations accelerated with improved impact on program implementation.

The TB-LON 3 Award is implemented by a consortium with the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) as the Prime Recipient, the Society for Family Health as the Sub-Recipient, and other Implementing Entities.  USAID recently approved a grant to scale up Childhood TB implementation activities in 4 States.

Job Title: Senior Program Officer Childhood TB/Contact Investigation TB-LON 3 (SPO CTB/CI)

Department: Prevention, Care and Treatment               
Job Location: Lagos

Reports to: Director of Technical Programs (DTP), TB-LON 3 Project

Opening Date:         3 November 2023
Closing Date:            17 November 2023

Job-Summary:
Under the supervision of the Director of Technical Programs, the Senior Program Officer Childhood (SPO, CTB) for the USAID TB-LON 3 project will be responsible for the technical content of CTB service delivery across the continuum of clinical and community care, from case-finding to cure. She/He will provide technical expertise in high-impact CTB interventions and their integration into established service delivery systems within public and private sector health service providers. She/He will lead the day-to-day implementation of CTB activities for the Project, design, and guide interventions, develop key technical partnerships, oversee and conduct technical training, represent the project in technical meetings, and ensure documentation and dissemination of CTB best practices from the Project. In addition, She/he will support the DTP in coordinating TB-LON 3 Contact Investigation (CI) activities. She/he will oversee field CI operations across the LON 3 States, focusing on rapid scale-up, tracking activity implementation, driving target achievements, and improving the quality of CI services.  

Roles and responsibilities:

• Develop/adapt the technical content of CTB service delivery, encompassing the continuum of clinical and community TB care and capacity-building tools, guidelines, SOPs and other policy documents.
• Provide technical support, including capacity building to State TB Program Staff and existing Project staff in improving CTB case detection and management as well as implementation of Contact Investigation (CI) for all eligible Index TB cases
• Coordinate the cascade of care for CTB, including Prevention services, Case finding interventions, Quality Diagnostic services and Case holding, Referrals and Linkage support services.
• Develop innovative strategies and activities for improving the impact of TB-LON 3 CTB and CI activities.
• Coordinate with the NTBLCP, STBLCPs, USAID and other stakeholders to determine all capacity-building needs for CTB/CI  and identify suitable opportunities to deploy appropriate resources to meet these needs.
• Provide mentoring and supervision to the CTB/CI activities of the TB-LON 3 State Teams.
• Provide technical support for the overall implementation and scale-up of TB-LON 3 Facility and Community CI and TPT activities in the project states. .
• Prepare, update, analyse and interpret the CTB/CI care cascade and performance data on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, and as required; troubleshoot solutions for improving the quality of care and achieving project targets and objectives.
• Keep the Project Leadership informed of progress, constraints, and other issues regularly and assist with identifying appropriate responses.
• Coordinate development of training curricula, standards operating procedures (SOPs) and oversee training on CTB/CI
• Represent IHVN in presenting periodic reports to USAID and other key stakeholders through meetings, conferences, etc.
• Any other function that the COP and IHVN Executive Management may assign

Minimum Requirements

• M.B; B.S. or other relevant medical degree.
• Master’s degree or its equivalent or higher degree in Public Health, Management or another relevant field preferred.
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in paediatric health service provision, contact investigation, and other health program implementation; Experience implementing USAID Projects would be an added advantage.
• Proven experience in capacity building, leadership, planning and management.
• Experience working with health and community stakeholders, particularly in the Southwest States.

Skills and Abilities: 

• Strong coordination, planning, and supervisory skills.
• Strong networking and representational skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English as well as presentation skills, with proven experience in analyzing data and developing PowerPoint presentations and other reports.
• Comfortable planning and delivering multiple activities under pressure to strict deadlines and high levels of precision. 
• Self-motivated with a strong ability to identify and develop relevant areas of work.

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates should send a detailed resume and a one-page cover letter as one MS Word document explaining suitability for the position to Assistant Director, Human Resources through this email address: [email protected]

The application must explicitly state the position applied for in the subject of the email. Candidates are advised to provide three professional referees with email addresses and phone numbers. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Introduction
The National AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections Control and Hepatitis Programme (NASCP) is a Department of Public Health division in the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH). Its mandate is to coordinate the formulation and effective implementation of the Nigerian government policies, guidelines, and standard operating procedures to prevent new HIV infections and improve the existing treatment, care, and support for those already infected and affected by the virus. In collaboration with the USG, NASCP is implementing the first phase of National Clinical Mentoring in the HIV program in 19 Nigerian States for improved HIV service delivery.

The Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), in collaboration with SASCP, is seeking to recruit qualified persons in the FCT to fill the following critical positions necessary for program implementation, as indicated below.

Description and objectives:

Under the supervision of the Director of Public Health, the State clinical mentor will provide mentorship to healthcare workers in assigned facilities. S/He is expected to build the capacity of frontline Healthcare workers to provide quality HIV clinical services as part of a comprehensive package of care in both public and private facilities and communities. The candidate must be domiciled in the State and be conversant with the terrain.

Job Title: State Clinical Mentor
Employment Type: Full-Time
Locations: FCT (2 Positions)

Opening Date:       31^st October 2023

Closing Date:         13^th November 2023

Responsibilities:

• Provide on-site clinical training to healthcare workers on HIV treatment according to the national guidelines, including adult and pediatric ART and treating tuberculosis and other opportunistic diseases.
• Provide training through clinical consultation, assisting local healthcare workers in identifying key bottlenecks affecting patients’ access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and helping them with direct patient care as needed.
• Provide continuous medical education (CME), which may include didactic training sessions for health professionals, as needed. All training will be in accordance with the national guidelines.
•  Provide health worker capacity-building sessions using various methodologies (including project ECHO and low bandwidth video conferencing).
• Assist, as requested, with facilitating sessions on the weekly ECHO videoconferencing sessions with health workers from various sites in the states.
• Develop standard operating procedures for HIV clinical care at the health facility in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders. This may include troubleshooting problems with the patient flow, tracking defaulters, or clarifying referral pathways by developing appropriate algorithms.
• Submit a monthly report on training and technical assistance activities, as well as findings and recommendations for strengthening services in the health facility and compliance with the national treatment guidelines.
• Perform other duties related to clinical mentoring as assigned.

Required competencies

1. Core requirements:
2. Demonstrated coaching and mentoring ability.
3. Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with people of different backgrounds.
4. Ability to apply problem-solving skills to ongoing challenges.
5. Strong organizing, planning, and prioritizing skills
6. Sensitivity to different cultural working environments
7. Ability to analyze and interpret data and write reports.
8. Capacity to operate as a team player in large, diverse teams and individually.
9. Self-motivated with a strong work ethic.
10. Proficiency in computers and software/applications such as presentation software, spreadsheets, and video conferencing.

• Education and experience

Academic training:

• Must possess a degree in Medical Sciences (MBBS or equivalent).
• Postgraduate qualification/Masters level training in Public Health, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, or Obstetrics will be an advantage.
• Must be registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and have evidence of current practising license.

• Experience:

• At least 3-5 years experience with clinical HIV and AIDS care, including the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART)
• Must have at least two years’ experience with program planning, assessment, and implementation of HIV clinical care programs.
• Experience in the provision of HIV clinical training
• Previous experience in HIV-related operational research is an advantage.
• Good knowledge of current trends and normative guidance (national and international) in HIV clinical care and service delivery
• Experience in coordinating multi-disciplinary HIV clinical teams for effective service delivery.
• Willingness to travel to clinics and hospitals in assigned geographical areas within the State.

• Equal employment opportunity statement:
• IHVN is an equal employment employer. We do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on religion, gender, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, genetic information, or any other status or characteristic protected under applicable laws.

• Mode of Application:

Please complete and submit your CV at this link https://tinyurl.com/SCMFCT.  Also, Application letter and detailed curriculum vitae as one single Microsoft Word document should be forwarded to the Assistant Director, Human Resources, through this email address:[email protected].

• This advert closes 14 days from the date of this publication, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.