We are seeking to appoint a full time Counsellor & Community Liaison worker to support a new Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) site. The role is based in Harar, Ethiopia. The post-holder will be responsible for supporting the clinical and social science team in establishing Minimal Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS) to investigate causes of child deaths by providing a link between facility and community based activities.

Haramaya University, Oromia, Ethiopia

Haramaya University is one of the oldest Universities in Ethiopia, with its first intake in 1954. It is about 17km from the city of Harar, 40km from Dire Dawa (where there is a regional airport), and 510km East of Addis Ababa. The College of Health and Medical Sciences is based on a campus in Harar town to facilitate training of students in nearby hospitals. This campus also hosts the office of the two Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS).

BACKGROUND

Haramaya University has formed a research collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Current research projects are focused on maternal and child health. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance network (CHAMPS, http://champshealth.org/)is a new global health surveillance network funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed at understanding the causes of child death in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The core of the project is to develop laboratory, epidemiological and clinical surveillance for detection of infectious diseases in children who have died (through minimally invasive tissue sampling) and those with life-threatening illnesses.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The post-holder will work closely with research staff, social scientists as well as hospital based health care workers to facilitate minimal invasive tissue sampling (MITS) with a particular focus on provision of psycho-social support for families throughout the process. The role includes facility as well as community based work and the post-holder will be responsible for the coordination of community follow-up of families and inform and participate in public engagement activities in collaboration with the social science team.

 Key Responsibilities

• Provision of psycho-social support for families admitted to Facility and community areas
• Taking of informed consent for hospital and community based CHAMPS procedures including MITS and taking a lead in consent training for research staff for CHAMPS and aligned projects in the future
• Development and co-ordination of hospital based public engagement activities in collaboration with the social science team
• Co-ordination of community follow-up for families participating in CHAMPS including initiating follow-up phone calls and home visits
• Provision of psycho-social support for families participating in CHAMPS. This will involve being present at all CHAMPS related family visits as well providing additional support to families when required eg. attending grieving ceremonies if requested by the family
• Provision of family and community feedback on CHAMPS related activities to the research team
• Contribution to community based public engagement activities as required by the social science team
• Support of educational activities for health care staff at the hospital with a focus on counselling

 This job description reflects the present requirements of the post but may be altered at any time in the future as duties and responsibilities change and/or develop providing there is full consultation with the post-holder. The post-holder will carry out any other duties, tasks or responsibilities as reasonably requested by the line manager/Research Nurse/Clinical Officer.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Bachelor degree in social work, psychology or sociology
• Minimum of 2 years work experience
• Fluent in Amharic and Afan-Oromo
• Evidence of good written and oral communication skills in English
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Computer literacy with proficiency in Microsoft applications

 Desired

• Previous work experience within health care facility or at community level, ideally working with communities within Haraghe
• Experience in counselling