AIDS Healthcare Foundation is a global not-for-profit organization that provides cutting-edge medicine and healthcare to more than 1.3 million patients in 43 countries and is headquartered at Los Angeles, California, USA.

Since 1987, AHF has cared for thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. As we create and implement unparalleled programs in new communities globally, we expand delivery of healthcare and influence over strategies with the sole aim of saving more lives.

Job Summary

 The Social Work Officer post is a position responsible for taking the role of identifying predominant psychosocial challenges clients are facing, develop appropriate plans and implement effective strategies to mitigate prevailing social problems that can potentially affect client’s adherence to chronic HIV care. As a point person representing AHF at St. Paul Hospital, the Social Worker will establish a strong working relationship, with the hospital staff particularly ART care providers, adherence supporters, case managers, community workers…, to maintain quality service delivery and effective addressing of the psychosocial needs of clients. The employee will participate in designing strategies and planning activities on mechanisms to help patients, and their families in their social need at the community.

Objective:

 AHF –ET and SPMMC has agreed to partner to maximize the effort of HIV prevention, treatment and care provided in different service units of the hospital. The Social Work Officer will execute the following duties and responsibilities to meet the stated objective.

 Essential duties and responsibilities:-

• Basing at the SPHMMC ART clinic, establish a good working relationship with the hospital staff and other partner staff to ensure quality service delivery
• In close collaboration with the hospital staff, do a baseline and continuous assessment of  the social need of patients attending at HIV treatment service delivery units that can potentially impact their adherence to chronic HIV care
• Provide counseling session for patients on their social and community based need and develop individual and special plan with follow up actions
• Develop strategies to help clients form association or social group to satisfy their own social needs
• Develop individual plan to mitigate the issues related to marriage, divorce, home-based care, change of residence, child abuse, substance abuse, etc.
• Work with micro finance organizations, NGOs, and government agencies to help patients involved in economic strengthening activities
• Develop pet checklist and provider support tools to assess the social need of client at HIV treatment units
• Develop strategies and implement activities that will maximize the adherence of clients to their care and reduce LTFU
• Working with the Adherence Supporter and Case Manager, organize campaigns to track and return LTFU patient
• Working with respective hospital staff, design the mechanism to help patients, and their facilities in their social need at the community
• In discussion with hospital staff and AHF-Ethiopia, make sure that budget is allocated for conduction of social support for patient/client at HIV treatment units
• Develop appropriate monitoring and evaluation tools, formats, registers to follow up status
• Work with the leadership team and hospital management to create understanding of AHF –ET support to the hospital
• Prepare and update the community partner matrix and facilitate its use by care providers
• Work with the hospital staff to facilitate the referral network of patient coming from outside Addis Ababa
• In collaboration with hospital management and other partner organizations, design mechanism for clients to build their income and relay on better life and experience
• Do regular mentorship to the clinical staff for the proper implementation of the social and community based support
• Develop quarter and annual plan of activities of facility and community components that will be deliver by the Social Worker Officer
• Design, implement and evaluate the Adolescent Psychosocial Support program of the facility
• Work with the clinical staff, partner staffs, and case managers/adherence supporters to strengthen the adherence support program and improve retention to care
• Work with clinical staff to plan, implement and monitor implementation of the Adolescent support, Adult Adherence Support program and Nutritional Service and related initiatives
• Document and report all important incidents to the supervisor for appropriate action
• Execute other activities related to client social needs, treatment adherence and retention to care as given by the Site coordinator, Medical Director or the Country Program Manager

Required skill and Abilities:

• Well experienced in assessing and counseling of social needs of PLHIV
• Required to have motivation to help needy people, patience towards need assessment and provision of support
• Have the ability to solve problem depending on specific scenarios
• Ability to establish and maintain effective work relation with hospital staff, partner mentoring staff and facility leadership
• In-depth understanding of the clinical service setting particularly hospital environment
• English proficiency in writing and speaking
• Ability to work for extended working hours for the well being of patients
• Proficient in writing report and good skill of basic computers programs 

•  Bachelor Degree in social work, sociology, psychology, or other social fields related to health
• Direct Clinical care provision experience at hospital /clinical setting for more than 3 years
• Experience working in the community
• Experience working in ART/PMTCT clinic in the last five years
• Experience working with adolescent and youth
• Training on ART adherence counselling for PLHIV
• Having on job or pre service training on social works particularly related to HIV care