JOB DESCRIPTION

Six Months Internship: Community Mobilization – USAID ZAM-Health Activity

LOCATION: Lusaka, Copperbelt, Central and Southern Province

DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Social Behaviour and Change

DURATION: 6 Months

REPORTS TO: Social and Behaviour Change specialist

POSTING DATE: 07/13/2023

DEADLINE DATE: 07/17/2023

Description:

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health Project, implemented by John Snow Health Zambia, is a five-year project that aims to sustainably expand the availability and accessibility of high-quality health products and services in the private sector, improve health knowledge, and increase the adoption of healthy and health-seeking behaviors.

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health Project is implementing its SBC strategy to address structural, social and individual determinants that contribute to the adoption and maintenance of positive health behaviours. As part of its SBC strategy, the project is working with target populations throughout the continuum of care to motivate and enable clients to access services, improve the quality of the client’s service experience through provider behavior change, and maintain healthy behaviours. To create demand for health services and promote priority behaviors under its SBC strategy, the project will offer short-term internships for community mobilizers to enhance activities with target audiences. Community mobilizers will work closely with the project’s   to implement community-level activities with target audiences and service providers.

Location:

  • Copperbelt Province: Kitwe, Mufulira and Chingola, Ndola
  • Lusaka Province: Lusaka
  • Central Province: Kabwe, Chibombo, Kapiri Mposhi
  • Southern Province: Livingstone, Choma, Mazabu

Overview of scopes for community mobilizers

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health Project seeks to engage interns on a short-term basis to support community mobilization activities as follows;

Program Implementation

  • Work with the SBC Specialist, to facilitate the implementation of activities including mobilization and formation of support groups in assigned areas
  • Work with the SBC specialists to facilitate orientations and other related activities aimed at reducing structural barriers that affect the adoption of priority behaviors
  • Support the SBC Specialist to provide technical assistance to community-level workforce including CBVs, champions, influencers, and others
  • Helps facilitate and monitor the quality of SBC interventions in line with project deliverables as outlined the SBC strategy
  • Assists in engaging community members to facilitate discussions (one-on-one or FGDs) to address social determinants that affect the adoption of priority behaviors to foster a supportive environment for sustained behavior change
  • Support the SBC specialist to use community insights to inform the adaptation of SBC activities to respond to the local context
  • Assist in monitoring and tracking the performance of the project against community-level indicators.
  • Work with the SBC Specialist to provide timely input for technical and departmental meetings.

Networking, and Partnering

  • Help to serve as the community organizer and mobilizer in assigned areas and will be responsible for facilitating activities in the communities including detailed activity planning.
  • Assist in sustaining established partnerships with community stakeholders including project target audiences, CBVs, influencers and service providers.
  • Helps to scope for possible linkages and partnerships for improved implementation of activities in assigned areas.

Program Reporting

  • Support preparation and updating of activity reports within standards and time schedules of the project.
  • Assists in the provision of timely field reports based on feedback/observation/insights from the ground to ensure that correct information guides the decisions of the team.
  • Helps to collect data and information from the field and provide input in the completion of the progress reports
  • Assist in updating community mobilization reporting tools and trackers
  • Participates in team meetings for updating and reporting.

Roles and Responsibilities 

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health Project Interns for community mobilizations will provide the following project specific support;

HIV and AIDS

  • Support the promotion, mobilization and referral of Adolescents and Young People (AYPs) for HIV Testing Services (HTS).
  • Assist to engage and refer Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services.
  • Support community target audiences to understand and prevent gender norms that precipitate the transmission of HIV as well as prevent HIV-related stigma and discrimination
  • Assist to promote and create awareness of other services like male circumcision, sexual reproductive health, youth-friendly services, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT)/Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), ART services including Viral load services.
  • Work with SBC Specialist to ensure that the necessary data is entered into the appropriate HIV referral register
  • Report to the supervisor, any problems encountered during his/her work.

Family Planning

  • Assist to engage and mobilize community target groups for family planning services.
  • Help refer community target group members to the facility to uptake family planning services
  • Assist to engage male partners of WRA and promote male involvement in family planning.
  • Support SBC specialist to Engage community members to understand and prevent cultural and gender norms that discourage the use of family planning.
  • Work with SBC specialist to ensure that the necessary data is entered into the appropriate register

Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

  • Assist the SBC specialist to facilitate discussions on sexual reproductive health services with targeted community members
  • Support to engage women of reproductive age in discussions on the benefits of starting early antenatal (ANC)
  • Help to engage pregnant women to facilitate discussions on the benefits of completing all 8 antenatal care visits
  • Refer pregnant women and caregivers of children under 2 years to the health facility to uptake maternal, newborn and child health services.
  • Work with SBC specialist to engage and mobilize community target groups for maternal, newborn and child health to promote uptake of ANC and immunization services
  • Help to deliver messages on the benefits of completed ANC visits and immunizations for children under 2 years and facilitate access to health services for children and caregivers

Deliverables

  • Activity reports
  • Monthly work schedules with timelines

      How to Apply?

      To apply, kindly fill out the application form here.

      Please note that you do not need to apply if you do not meet the minimum requirements. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

      Closing Date: July 17, 2023.

       

      JSH is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer committed to workplace diversity. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, disability, marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual preference, genetic information or political affiliation.