Project Officer

JOB TITLE: Project Officer for 5% project in Can Tho Lung Hospital, Can Tho City

POSITION SUMMARY:

Location: Can Tho
Contract Type: Local, Full Time (100% FTE)
Duration: One year (with possibility of extension based on performance)
Application deadline: 31 May 2020

BACKGROUND:

Friends for International Tuberculosis Relief (FIT) is a registered non-profit organization working in the field of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care, service delivery, research, technical assistance and advocacy. FIT is a young, dynamic and growing organization. FIT now has over 30 office-based staff working across five cities in Viet Nam. We work in close collaboration with Provincial and National TB Programmes and other in-country partners to implement projects funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, the Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNITAID and Johnson & Johnson. We also have multiple active research partnerships, including with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in the Netherlands, and Ceres Nanosciences and SureAdhere Mobile Technology in the United States. FIT staff have supported the implementation of other TB programs in South and Southeast Asia, and represented Viet Nam at multiple regional and international forums on TB technical assistance. Finally, FIT was chosen to represent civil society organizations from Viet Nam at regional events and at multiple events in the lead up to and during the United Nations High Level Meeting on TB in New York City.

In collaboration with the National TB Control Program (NTP), FIT is helping to build a comprehensive Search-Treat-Prevent TB program across five cities in Viet Nam (Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Can Tho and Hoi An). In the short term, we are aiming to 1) increase TB detection and treatment in key populations, such as household contacts, children and people visiting private healthcare providers; 2) provide social support and adherence monitoring options to improve TB treatment outcomes; and 3) scale up TB infection screening and treatment services. We hope these efforts will lead to declines in Viet Nam’s TB burden over the medium and long term.

As part of the Prevent component of our comprehensive strategy, FIT is conducting testing and treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI) among high risk groups. This project officer would coordinate supply distribution, participant recruitment, sample & data collection, treatment initiation and follow-up activities, while coordinating with government partners and various teams within the organization.

We are fast growing organization and we are looking for someone who is self-motivated, highly contentious, passionate about helping the poorest TB patients and willing to travel across the city.

For additional information please refer to our website at www.tbhelp.org

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Key tasks

• Collaborate with project managers, Can Tho Lung Hospital and Community TB Officers in Cai Rang and O Mon districts to recruit and organize training on active TB case finding for Community TB Volunteers.
• Collaborate with project directors and managers to develop protocols, questionnaires, data collection tools, process indicators, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and other documents.
• Train (and retrain) health workers on project SOPs and data collection systems;
• Provide more practical ‘on the job’ training at the commune level so health workers are able to maximize case detection and their performance-based incentives.
• Conduct (re)trainings for health workers on use of the mHealth app and our data systems.
• Coordinate and manage the Community TB Volunteers network at Cai Rang and O Mon to make sure they are working effectively.
• Connect Community TB Volunteers and Community TB officers and District TB Unit staff in supporting for chest X-ray, sputum transport or testing and treatment initiation.
• Monitor the screening/testing targets for the 5% project to meet the donor’s requirements.
• Conduct site visits and make recommendations to support project implementation in communities.
• Ensure implementation of NTP guidelines and SOPs in the field.
• Communicate any issues discovered during field visits to management in a timely manner.
• Support the compilation of project data and relay to M&E team.
• Collaborate with the M&E team to conduct data quality assessments regarding TB treatment initiation as needed.
• Verify and clean data collected by the field team in real time (database management).
• Produce summary tables to track progress to targets and operational research deliverables.
• Work with FIT’s M&E team to calculate monthly performance-based incentives and payments to Community TB Volunteer and stakeholders.
• Assist project staff with drafting narrative reports about the project implementation.

Other tasks

• Ensure that all project administrative documents are accurately updated and maintained;
• Maintain detailed notes on project activities;
• Draft summaries of activities and quarterly implementation performance assessments for donor reports;
• Coordinate with the administrative team at FIT for supply procurement, bundle supplies and send to Cai Rang and O Mon districts. Communicate with FIT directors and managers about procurement as needed.
• Ensure effective, timely responses to key stakeholder inquiries and concerns;
• Provide regular status update to supervisors and other key project stakeholders;
• Attend regular meetings with project directors, managers and stakeholders to report about project progress, challenges in community and offer suitable solutions to make sure activities are properly maintained.
• Facilitate and accompany, if possible, project site visits by external parties;
• Assist in all aspects of the implementation of the interventions of the grant;
• Other activities requested by FIT Managers & Directors.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENT:

• Comfortable interacting directly with TB patients
• Detail oriented
• Experience working with Microsoft Word and Excel
• Knowledge of electronic data entry is preferred
• Strong verbal and written communications skills required
• Ability to work well in a team setting
• Ability to balance numerous tasks simultaneously and meet tight deadlines

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a field related to health, epidemiology, or development and three years of relevant work experience is required -OR- Master’s degree in aforementioned field and one year of relevant work experience
• Willingness to travel throughout 2 districts in Can Tho
• Willingness to work on some weekends to supervise at community screening events
• Driver’s license and motorbike are required

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:

• Fluency in Vietnamese
• Intermediate written and spoken English is preferred

APPLICATIONS SHOULD INCLUDE:

• A cover letter
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae
• Photocopy of related certification
• Two employment references (Name, Phone Number, Email Address)

SEND APPLICATIONS:

• Addressed to Rachel Forse at [email protected]
• Subject: ‘Application for Project Officer in Can Tho”
• No later than 31 May 2020

All applications will be carefully considered, but only short-listed applicants will be interviewed.

If you do not hear from us within 21 days of the closing date, this will mean that your application has been unsuccessful.

FIT is an equal opportunity employer.