Health Assistant

Medair is an international humanitarian organization established in 1988. Medair has been operating in Afghanistan since 1996 with programs mainly in the Health, Water & Sanitation, and Livelihoods sectors with significant reconstruction activities in remote areas. Current projects are Water & Sanitation, Food Security, & Disaster Risk Reduction.

An Integrated Emergency Response: Medair aims to respond to high levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and morbidity in Tirinkot district.  The project intends to improve and extend WASH services including water supply infrastructure and hygiene practices to improve outcomes for vulnerable families.

An Integrated Emergency Response: Medair aims to respond to high levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and morbidity in Uruzgan, which has been significantly affected by drought and conflict conditions. Building upon Medair’s decades of experience in the Central Highlands and Kandahar, the project intends to improve and extend the utilization of lifesaving preventive and curative nutrition and health services by mothers, PLWs, and children U5; to increase access to clean water, to reduce vulnerability to water-related and other preventable diseases, and to improve and increase food security for the most vulnerable families through food voucher distributions.

Overall purpose

To be a member of a health and nutrition team and provide integrated Health and Nutrition services to targeted communities in a static health and nutrition facility. The Health Assistant (HA) is responsible for screening children under 5 years and Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) using MUAC tape, following National IMAM, IMIYCN, MNCI and IYCF guidelines. Activities include nutrition screening at waiting areas, triage of children U5 and PLWs and ensuring COVID-19 mitigation measures are followed in waiting areas. The HA assistant will help ensure organised and timely patient flow through the health and nutrition facility, support nursing staff in providing health, hygiene and IYCF messages to pregnant and lactating women and Caregivers in the waiting area.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• To work as part of a health and nutrition team in a static health facility.
• To provide triage of children under 5 and nutrition screening for children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women following national guidelines and procedures.
• To ensure accurate record keeping of all activities, following the provided data collection templates.
• To ensure patient flow, including safe storage and handling of the HN stock.
• Any other activities not listed in the JD but requested by line manager 

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Technical

• Screen children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women for acute malnutrition, according to IMAM guidelines and following adapted COVID-19 protocols.
• Triage of children U5 and PLWs and ensuring COVID-19 mitigation measures are followed in waiting areas.
• Organise the waiting area, and patient flow at the health and nutrition facility.
• Support nursing staff in providing health, hygiene and IYCF messages to pregnant and lactating women and Caregivers in the waiting area, in accordance with agreed messages.
• Support the nurses in record keeping and distribution of nutrition supplies to beneficiaries

Quality Management

• Ensure adherence to the provided protocols and guidelines.
• Ensure accurate record keeping of screening, triage, filling in forms, cards, registration books and tally sheets as required.
• Compile reports as required.
• Ensure accurate and timely collection of health and nutrition data from all service delivery points.
• Supervise the use of standardized HMIS tools and registers across facilities.
• Validate and clean data to maintain integrity and consistency.
• Compile daily, weekly, and monthly reports for internal use and external stakeholders.
• Analyze trends in service utilization, morbidity, and stock consumption.
• Flag anomalies or gaps in reporting and follow up with relevant staff.
• Ensure anthropometric equipment is handled carefully and regularly checked for accuracy.
• To collect the weekly and monthly reports from CHNVs and support nutrition nurses to conduct on the job training to CHNVs as per agreed schedule.

Logistics

• Set up nutrition site according to site plan, including clinical stations, handwashing facilities and waste management.
• Ensure safe storage and handling of all food products, medicines and medical material and equipment.
• Assist in distributing nutrition supplies to the beneficiaries if required, and keep accurate records of stock movements according to the organization’s protocols.
• Assist the HN staff in preparing stock requests and daily organisation of supplies.

Education: Minimum 2 Years Diploma in Nuring or in Midwifery is Required, Bachelor's or Master's degree preferred.

Relevant experience: Minimum 2 Years post graduate experience in Nuring or Midwifery is Required. Nutrition training or experience, IMAM & IYCF training is desirable. 

Languages: Fluent written and spoken Pashto is required. Basic understating of English language is desirable.

Motivation:

• Ability to work in a team and coordinate tasks and responsibilities.
• Ability to work in both locations even in other districts and provinces.
• Ability to organize people in an orderly way and prioritize tasks.
• Good listening and counselling skills, patient care, and kind attitude.
• Highly motivated to provide high quality services to beneficiaries of poor communities in a challenging setting.
• Good problem-solving skills with a solution-oriented attitude.
• Flexible and willing to perform other tasks as required.
• Respectful and kind with other staff, beneficiaries, and communities.
• Willingness to travel, work and live in a rural setting, and to behave in a manner appropriate to a conservative culture.
• Willingness to learn and develop further.
• Transparent in dealing with beneficiaries and Medair staff.
• Honest and dependable, with strong anti-fraud principles and high level of integrity.

Interested applicants should apply and forward their applications through the online JOB APPLICATION FORM which can be found under the submission email. The link should be copied, pasted, and opened on a new page.

Note: Please indicate the position title and vacancy number in your application letter. Applications received after the closing date or without the exact position title and vacancy number will not be given consideration. After submitting the online application, if some applicants do not immediately receive an automatic email from Medair, they shouldn't worry about their submission. When you open the link. please use the dropdown menu and choose the title of the position.