Senior Advisor – Cervical Cancer Services

John Snow, Inc.

Supporting an AIDS-Free Era

Position Description

Background

John Snow, Inc. (JSI) seeks highly qualified and accomplished public health leaders and providers for the recently awarded United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/PEPFAR-funded Supporting an AIDS-Free Era (SAFE) Project in Zambia. The five year project which will be led by JSI in partnership with Abt Associates, mothers2mothers, and the Catholic Medical Mission Board, will work to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity and transmission, while improving nutrition outcomes and family planning integration in three provinces: Central, Copperbelt, and North-Western. USAID/PEPFAR SAFE will work with the GRZ, private sector and civil society institutions at the national, provincial, and district level to increase access to ART for HIV positive adults and children, reduce the incidence of new infections, improve Nutritional Assessment, Counseling and Services (NACS), family planning services, Cervical Cancer Screening Services and increase the capacity of local health institutions to better serve affected populations.

Position Title: Senior Advisor-Cervical Cancer Services

Position Type: Full Time

Location: Lusaka

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Director Clinical Health Services, the Senior Advisor – Cervical Cancer Services will serve as the overall technical lead for cervical cancer screening interventions for the USAID SAFE project. He / She will lead a team of provincial coordinators and facility based cervical cancer technical focal persons. The Senior Cervical Cancer Advisor will ensure that cervical cancer screening is integrated into facility and targeted community-based outreach HIV programs in the USAID SAFE supported provinces and facilities in Central, Copperbelt and North Western Provinces.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Work in collaboration with the MoH national trainers and use updated guidelines to plan, coordinate and supervise successful implementation of cervical cancer screening and treatment trainings;
• Ensure that project sites develop, implement, monitor and evaluate  well throughout activities that will ensure all HIV positive women on ART are given the opportunity to undergo cervical cancer screening without fail;
• Directly Supervise and work with the provincial Cervical Cancer Coordinators and facility based cervical cancer screening focal point persons including nurses, clinical officers and doctors to implement quality cervical cancer screening and treatment programs in the USAID SAFE supported provinces and facilities in line with MOH guidelines.
• Support the effective integration  and intensification of HIV services in already ongoing cervical cancer programmes  and vice versa;
• Oversee and ensure that women who need follow-up or referral for advanced care such as loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and histopathology evaluation receive the appropriate referral services
• Be part of the USAID SAFE Technical Team and participate in relevant technical meetings including Cervical Cancer Technical Working Group meetings to review and update clinical care guidelines including cervical cancer screening and treatment guidelines in line with national and global guidelines
• Ensure quality assurance/quality control systems are effectively integrated into the program by conducting regular quality checks on randomly selected images of pre-cancerous lesions diagnosed by the facility based teams.
• Oversee the planning and implementation of community education and outreach activities, including training of community based volunteers in raising awareness on the benefits of cervical cancer screening and conducting demand creation campaigns in the community.
• Work with the supply chain specialists to ensure timely accurate forecasting and constant supply of cervical cancer screening equipment and consumables.
• Work with the M&E team to accurately document and analyze cervical cancer screening data and ensure that the data is used for timely decision making;
• Conduct appropriate operations/implementation science research to inform programming and improve patient outcomes

Qualifications:

• Must be a Medical Doctor with an advanced degree, preferably an MPH or Masters’ degree in Obstetrics and Gynecology;
• Must be an expert at teaching and mentorship in Visual Inspection and  Acetic Acid (VIA) and description and management of  patients  associated with positive VIA findings amongst HIV+ women
• Experience in managing and implementing busy cervical cancer screening programs;
• Good understanding of current national cervical cancer screening and HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment interventions;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Ability to work as part of a team while being a leader as well;
• Experience in capacity building and implementing HIV and AIDS programs in line with PEPFAR guidelines is an added advantage.

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