Demand Creation Officer (Wits RHI)

Main purpose of the job:

• To create demand for paediatric and adolescent clients in relation to the project objectives –HIV Prevention, HIV care and treatment, TB and SRH, encouraging them to access services at the community and linked facilities

Location:

• Wits RHI – Tshwane - Pretoria

Key performance areas:

• Ensure that all HIV-infected children and adolescents from communities or facilities are linked to care at a health facility, and started on ART if applicable
• Ensure that all HIV positive paediatric patients and adolescents from the respective communities are linked to care and started on ART
• Mobilise and provide support for community HIV testing events
• Assist Community Counsellors with the establishment of after school testing services
• Distribute IEC material about HIV/TB, SRH and other related programmes
• Reaching out to children and their caregivers and adolescents-motivating them to undertake HIV testing, perform HIV Screening and refer eligible clients for testing at roving community teams, subscribing to SRH services and initiating ART if relevant
• Creating community awareness and demand for HIV services and EPI
• Facilitate awareness and prevention conversations with young people in communities on formal and informal platforms like imbizos
• Provision of health talks on HIV and other Sexual Reproductive Health Issues including Family planning services
• Assist in the creation of demand creation tools and IEC Materials
• Work with co-workers to enhance project goals and outputs
• Identify the health needs of the communities-assist in health profiles
• Assist in creating demand through supply and distribution of the IEC materials on a continuous basis to the project population in the communities
• Assist the project in building and maintaining relationships with different stakeholders including OVCs and CBOs to enable the exchange of information to communities, and the health facilities
• Work closely with the WRHI Community team to create demand (through different platforms – community events, radio shows, outreach programmes etc.) in different settings, promote health awareness talks and distribution various IEC materials to communities to raise comprehensive health services.
• Encourage and stimulate full participation by young people to utilize the mobile clinic services, with special attention to the marginalized
• Identification of community hot spots where many children and adolescents are located and not able to access health care services
• Develop and implement district-level demand creation strategies to create awareness of available HIV services for children and adolescents and strengthen referral to HIV Services from a variety of community entry points (i.e., schools, youth centres, health facilities, faith-based congregations, and community leadership structures)
• Work closely with district Community-based structures and stakeholders to strengthen the HIV Services at the community level
• Support rapid return of patients who are lost to follow-up at the community level
• Establish paediatric and adolescent community support clubs
• Work closely with Psycho-social QIA in the provision of training on support group resources
• Promote utilisation of Help Lines for psychosocial challenges
• Strengthen referrals by helping to build awareness of community-based programmes
• Support the strengthening of linkages to CHWs/CBOs for newly initiated children and adolescents
• Assist in establishing relevant Support Groups for Children, Adolescents and Caregivers
• Provide group education where appropriate to children, adolescents, and caregivers
• Assist with facility mop-up activities, contact all Paeds and adolescents on the missed appointment list weekly
• Make a minimum of 3 telephonic attempts to contact the client or next of kin if the client cannot be contacted
• Investigate the reasons for missing appointments and counsel appropriately
• If the client cannot be contacted telephonically, work with the WBOT or other field worker or community level worker or organisation to do a home visit
• Explore all Wits RHI and Department of Health options to trace the patient
• Compile progress reports on follow up of missed appointments
• Assist the intern data clerks to complete accurate information for patients receiving different services or referred for comprehensive SRH services, screened, offered, and initiated on ART
• Report on daily activities done to update the monthly stats on the number of people reached through health education and health promotion activities and assist with compiling monthly reports
• Attend programme-related meetings and training
• Take ownership and accountability for tasks
• Follow through to ensure that quality and productivity standards of own work are consistently and accurately maintained
• Maintain a positive attitude and respond openly to feedback
• Take ownership of driving your own career development by participating in ongoing training and development activities such as forums, conferences, policy setting workshops etc.

Required minimum education and training:

• Grade 12, basic HIV, SRH and TB Knowledge

Required minimum work experience:

• Good communication and presentation skills
• Ability to network with various stakeholders
• Fluent in English and other local languages

Desirable additional education, work experience and personal abilities:

• Sound technical knowledge of paediatric and adolescent recruitment, HIV, TB

TO APPLY:

• Only if you do meet the minimum job requirements and experience as mentioned above, you may submit a detailed updated CV.
• Please Apply Online and complete your registration on Ditto Hire (our application tracking system) to enable and protect you as a candidate to accept the new POPIA terms and conditions. This will then create your permanent profile with which you can apply for all jobs as advertised by AJ PERSONNEL. However, you may remove your profile from AJ PERSONNEL when you are no longer in the job market.
• AJ Personnel is fully POPIA Compliant.
• Please take note that the applicants who do not adhere to the above criteria will not be considered for the respective position.
• The closing date for all applications: 20 April 2022.
• Wits Health Consortium will only respond to shortlisted candidates.
• Candidates who have not been contacted within two weeks of the closing date can consider their applications to be unsuccessful.
• Note WHC, in accordance with their Employment Equity goals and plan, will give preference to suitable applicants from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and subsequent amendments thereto.
• PLEASE NOTE: Our Client, WHC - RHI, maintains mandatory Covid-19 requirements, and as such only Covid-19 vaccinated incumbents will be considered for positions.

Please note:

• AJ Personnel is only responsible for advertising the advertisement on behalf of their client Wits Health Consortium.
• AJ Personnel does not have any salary or other information regarding the position.