Recruitment Description/ Key Accountabilities

Qualifications and Skills

No two days are the same at EGPAF, but what can you expect as your responsibilities?

• Plan, implement, and monitor Psychosocial Support activities, specifically the provision of pre-ART counselling, adherence follow-up, and enhanced adherence for special cases, including strategies for retention in care and treatment.
• Work with the provincial team to ensure the provision of quality PSS and Prevention services in various components: pre-ART and adherence follow-up counselling, paediatric and adult/caregiver support groups, individual counselling for children, caregivers, adults, couples, and families. Focus on identifying potential barriers that may compromise adherence and continuity of patients in treatment, and actively develop mitigation plans with each patient to prevent them from becoming defaulters or dropouts. For patients identified with adherence or retention risks, work closely with them on a mitigation plan to prevent them from dropping out.
• Ensure, in coordination with the provincial team, the provision of a quality Welcome Back package for reintegrated patients in Health Units.
• Support the faithful implementation of the Welcome to Care package for all defaulters and dropouts.
• For patients with a viral load above 1000 copies, ensure timely delivery of Adherence Improvement Sessions (AIS) according to national guidelines, and ensure that sessions are properly recorded and monitored so that patients can benefit from a control viral load test, which will assist in decision-making or maintaining them on the current regimen if they manage to suppress their viral load, or present them to the provincial ART Committee for decisions on treatment regimen changes.
• Conduct technical assistance visits and mentoring for counsellors and providers involved in PSS activities at both main and peripheral Health Units, including systematic quality assessments.
• Ensure the coordination of the linkage between Health Units and the community with the multidisciplinary team at the Health Unit and partners implementing community-based interventions in the area of reintegration visits and referral to Health Units, as well as the linkage with Care and Treatment services.
• Work with Health Unit teams on operationalising flowcharts, algorithms, and SOPs in the areas of PSS and Prevention, Mental Health-CETA, preventive and reintegration actions, and adherence reinforcement for special cases. Systematise reintegration activities for defaulters and/or dropouts from care and treatment.
• Work with Health Unit teams in providing paediatric PSS services to children and caregivers.
• Coordinate with the multidisciplinary team at the Health Unit and other actors to create or revitalise support groups for children, caregivers, and adults on ART.
• Provide technical assistance to actors involved in strategies such as Youth Peer Educators, Health Committees, Peer Educators, Mentor Mothers, and others in the technical PSS component to promote adherence and retention in Care and Treatment from the training stage through to monitoring service delivery, both in Health Units and in the community.
• In coordination with various stakeholders, support the operationalisation of mental health activities in the CETA component.
• Allocate necessary CETA instruments and materials for implementing activities at each Health Unit entry point.
• In coordination with Health Unit providers, conduct on-the-job training in the Mental Health-CETA component (screenings at entry points, follow-up, and record-keeping).

To succeed, you will need:

• A degree in Clinical Psychology and/or General Psychology with knowledge and experience in HIV and AIDS, Reproductive and Child Health;
• Proven experience in approaches linking Health Units and communities;
• At least three years of experience in implementing and monitoring psychosocial support programmes in the context of HIV and AIDS in Maternal and Child Health and adult and paediatric ART;
• Experience and ease in building relationships and working with DPS (Provincial Health Directorate), SDMAS, Health Units, and communities;
• Fluency in Portuguese;
• Proficiency in speaking and writing English is an advantage;
• Ability to work well in teams and strong interpersonal communication skills;
• Knowledge of IT packages such as Word, Excel, and Microsoft Outlook;
• Availability to travel regularly within the province.

Bonus points if you have:

• Excellent understanding of current clinical issues and literature on HIV and AIDS treatment (paediatric and adult);
• Skills and knowledge in programme management, including institutional capacity building and systems development;
• Skills and knowledge in using care evaluation tools and quality improvement processes;
• Familiarity with the Mozambican Ministry of Health, including national and provincial policy and management structures;
• Teamwork and interpersonal communication skills;
• Oral and written communication skills, and flexibility to travel frequently to districts;
• Fluent spoken and written Portuguese; knowledge of English is an advantage;
• Energetic, independent, and self-motivated, with the ability to relate and adapt to multicultural environments;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).