Save the Children WASH Field Officer Job in Meru Kenya

Save the Children
 

Vacancy: WASH Field Officer
 

Position Code: WASH/MERU/0215

Team / Programme: Programmes 

Location:  Meru
 

Grade: 4

Post Type: National (12 months)
 

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 – the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

Role Purpose: The Field Trainer will be responsible for introducing the intervention to government and healthcare staff. 

The Field Trainer will identify and train clinic based healthcare workers and field based healthcare workers on hand washing promotion using a standard SBCC package developed by the project staff. 

 

After training, the Field Trainer will monitor healthcare workers’ delivery of the intervention while also providing financial and logistical support to participating health workers. 
 

Scope of Role: The intervention area is Igembe North and Igembe Central sub-counties in Meru County, Kenya. This is a rural area about 250 km northeast of Nairobi, Kenya. 

The intervention will take place at all government funded (public) antenatal care facilities in these areas. Travel distances and associated costs may guide our selection of clinics to include in this intervention. 

The study will include the following arms:

1. Clinic staff and health extension workers receive no intervention (control group)


2. Intervention arm 1 – Clinic staff will be encouraged to use the handwashing promotion tools/materials on mothers when they come to the clinic for care


3. Intervention arm 2 – Clinic staff and associated health extension workers will be encouraged to use the handwashing promotion tools/materials when mothers come to the clinic for care and during ANC visits to the home


4. Intervention arm 3 – Clinic staff and associated health extension workers will be encouraged to use the handwashing promotion tools/materials when mothers come to the clinic for care and during ANC visits to the home. 

During the ANC visit, households will receive a hand washing station and soap for the home.

The project will meet with the Supervising Administrator for each antenatal care facility to describe the intervention and to request participation in the study. 

In addition, the project will request the Administrator to allow antenatal care clinic staff to be trained to promote handwashing using a pre-specified set of tools, and to encourage staff to carry out the handwashing promotion to pregnant women. 

Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. 

Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH. In 2012, as part of a global reorganization process, Save the Children combined the programmes of SC UK, SC Canada and SC Finland to create a single operation in Kenya. 

In Feb 2014, we completed a second transition, which saw us join forces with the British INGO, Merlin, and merge their health and nutrition programmes with our own.

Save the Children now has an operational presence in Bungoma, Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa, Mandera, Turkana and Wajir and we work through partners in many other parts of the country. 

We employ nearly 300 staff and will have an operating annual budget in 2015 of approximately US$20-25 million

Reports to: Field Coordinator
 

Key Areas of Accountability:
 

1. Hand Washing Study / Trainings

• Participate in the design/adaptation of appropriate handwashing education and promotion methods and tools, and pre- testing them with the team and community members.


• Liaise with the health education department at the Ministry of health to adapt and produce appropriate education materials


• Participate fully in reviewing the community training guides and counselling cards


• Participate in the development of teaching aids and also in the training of the use of the teaching aids


• Participate in the development of training materials and tools to facilitate all hand washing research


• Provide technical, logistical and any other support for the trainings in the various divisions.


• Liaise with relevant ministries and partner agencies in selecting participants for trainings while ensuring that priority is given to the staff working in the key agreed areas


• Liaise with the ministry and other partners in ensuring that hand washing education is comprehensively done following set guidelines


• Maintain a data base of the trained and active handwashing educators in the community


• Identify healthcare workers to receive intervention training for each intervention arm


• Participate in evaluation of the outcomes of the trainings

2. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Participate in the design, development and implementation of an M&E framework for all handwashing related activities.


• Write reports to document the process of implementation, lessons learnt and good practice and ensure information is widely disseminated


• Collation and analysis of other existing survey data


• Participate in the design and execution of the surveys according to national guidelines


• Prepare monthly activity reports as well as quarterly donor reports.

3. Supervision

• Develop a comprehensive plan for supervision of all the field hand washing activities


• Assist the community health workers implementing the study activities to develop monthly work plans.


• At program level supervise the quality of surveillance, support to MoH and handwashig education promotion and counselling by the trained healthcare workers and community health workers.


• Mentor the workers to ensure that they support and supervise the community health workers in their areas of coverage as required


• Ensure regular meetings with the community and the health workers


• Document and share lessons learnt in a comprehensive and detailed manner to enable track trends on changes on a timely basis

4. Network and coordinate with the relevant sectors and agencies in implementing activities at national and community level

• Identify areas of synergy in the field with the Ministry of education and other implementing agencies working with communities. 


• Come up with a comprehensive plan of activities within the identified areas of synergy with the actors named above.

Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)
 

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values


• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate remedial actions when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same


• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others


• Future orientated, thinks strategically

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters


• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength


• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions


• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates the highest levels of integrity

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in public health/community health, communications or social sciences;


• 3-5 year’s work experience in public health, research, communications, or social sciences


• Proficiency in English and Kiswahili with strong written and oral communication skills in each


• Technical expertise and experience in hygiene/handwashing promotion, behavior change communication, and health systems strengthening in developing countries.


• Experience conducting trainings for health care staff


• Familiar with the Kenyan community strategy approach


• Experience in training and working with Community health extension (CHEWs) workers and the community health volunteers (CHVs)


• Demonstrated effectiveness in maintaining supply and equipment inventories across a decentralized environment


• Well-developed inter-personal and communication skills with an ability to: communicate effectively with others from different social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, adapt to different cultures and be a supportive member of a team


• Demonstrated experience of working effectively with a team of international staff


• Must be willing to relocate in Igembe, Meru County for the duration of the position (15 months)


• Willingness to travel frequently (locally)

Desirable:

• Work experience in Kenya


• Experience working on a randomized controlled trial or other type of research study


• Sensitivity to and ability to act appropriately in the local culture


• Flexibility, responsiveness, discipline and patience


• Experience working with a multinational and geographically separated team

How to Apply
Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory Cover letter to Kenya.jobapplications@savethechildren.org indicating the Position Code on the subject line by 27th May 2015.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.