ART Clinician Pact

Pact Overview

At the heart of Pact is the promise of a better tomorrow. The promise of a healthy life. Of a decent livelihood. Of sustainable natural resources that benefit communities. Now more than ever in its 42 -year history, Pact is helping millions of people who are poor and marginalized discover and build their own solutions and take ownership over their future.

Pact enables systemic solutions that allow those who are poor and marginalized to earn a dignified living, be healthy, and take part in the benefits that nature provides. Pact accomplishes this by strengthening local capacity, forging effective governance systems, and transforming markets into a force for development.

Department Overview

Pact seeks highly qualified and accomplished individuals for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/PEPFAR-funded Zambia Integrated Health HIV Activity – (ZIH) Project. The five-year project which will be led by Pact in partnership with Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Circles of Hope, Mothers2Mothers, Coper Rose Zambia, Zambia Network of Young People Living with HIV – and a US small business, Viamo. Integrated Health will improve health outcomes of Zambians through equitable access to high-quality health services in the areas of client-centered HIV, Tuberculosis; Maternal; Newborn and Child Health, Family Planning and Reproductive Health. It will reduce mortality, morbidity, and HIV transmission for sub-populations in Northwestern, Copperbelt, and Central Provinces. Pact will work closely with the Zambian Ministry of Health to attain the country’s goal of reaching HIV epidemic control (95-95-95) by 2030. The activity will be delivered through three main components namely:

1. Increase coverage of comprehensive and person-centered HIV, TB/HIV, FP/RH, MNCH prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support services in both communities and health facilities.
2. Increase utilization of community and facility-based quality and person-centered integrated HIV, TB/HIV, FP/RH, MNCH services; and
3. Increase capacities of Provincial and District Health Offices to improve quality and sustain Direct Service Delivery of integrated HIV, TB/HIV, FP/RH, MNCH during and beyond the life of the activity.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

• Provide the complete range of services to ART clients on a daily basis.
  Initiate new clients on to treatment using the most recent treatment guidelines from MOH.
• Ensure that ART clients have their laboratory investigations and receive their results as per GRZ standards.
• Follow up with the Laboratory on outstanding results.
• Inform Pact/Facility about any signs of drug resistance that you observe.
• Work with treatment adherence supporters to ensure that all patients are retained on treatment and that they get positive outcomes from treatment.
• Refer clients who are not ART adherent to treatment adherence supporters for counselling and to develop adherence plan including parents struggling with paediatric adherence.
• Work with district and PACT Project nutritionists to provide all clients with a Nutrition Assessment and Counselling service.
• Work with M+E unit to observe and document trends related to viral load results for each client and per facility and report cases of high VL through relevant channels.
• Establish a system for daily data review on key indicators which includes reporting anomalies or data spikes to supervisor.
• Develop responsive action plan where appropriate.
• Attend facility and district led meetings on ART particularly those involving PACT supported facilities.
• Conduct consultative facility level meetings with the aim of sharing and reviewing data and making action plans.
• Establish communication pattern with the TB department to make bidirectional referrals and to rule out co-morbidity of HIV.
• Provide on-site mentorship to facility staff on new developments in ART.
• Complete monthly and quarterly reports as well as participate in DQA activities.
• Work closely with and supervise community volunteers to ensure that they are maximizing time, attending to duties and following and supporting clients, which includes the indexing of newly HIV diagnosed clients, following-up with pre-ART clients who need initiation and active tracking of defaulters.
• Any other duty assigned by PACT Senior staff,

Qualifications, competencies and core operational behaviours.

• Diploma/Degree in Clinical Sciences/Clinical Medicine OR Nursing Diploma/Degree with additional training and experience in adult and/or paediatric ART.
• Willingness and ability to work long hours and hours outside of 8-5.
• Willingness to work in the field and to support and supervise volunteers outside the facility.
• Ability to work in harmony with GRZ and PACT staff and adhere to code of conduct and ethics.
• Maintain positive communication skills and personality appropriate for mentoring health workers and on the job training.
• Able to exhibit professionalism, respect, confidentiality and positivity.
• Ability to be flexible and innovative while adhering to best practices.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding – practice of both WHO and Zambian treatment guidelines.
• Ability to multi-task efficiently and prioritize activities in support of Project goals and deadlines.
• Willingness to support roving/mobile teams when called upon.