Operation Smile is a global nonprofit organisation that provides free life changing surgery to children and adults suffering with facial deformities, more specifically cleft lips and/or cleft palates.
Operation Smile South Africa seeks to appoint a Patient Coordinator, to be based in Western Cape.
Responsibilities:
Patient recruitment and partnerships:
Set up meetings with hospitals and clinics; arrange meetings with chiefs and traditional authorities in the areas; find point person at each health care facility or in each town/village and establish a working relationship with them
Access existing community health care worker structures, set up trainings on cleft recognition for health care workers and arrange to implement cleft awareness programmes in the community
Collate data forwarded from community health care workers, chiefs, and patients/guardians into regional and national data bases; send databases to the Senior Programme Coordinator on a weekly basis
Register patients take their full names, their contact numbers, and where they live (Province, city, village) and specifications related to transport options for a mission
Create a database of all the contacts that Operation Smile has in each region, update weekly and send report to Senior Programme Coordinator
Meet with NGO and corporate sponsors regionally to set up partnerships focused on patient recruitment and/or sponsorships; strengthen relationships with organisations referring patients to us
Surgical Missions:
Assist Senior Programme Coordinator with patient needs prior to, during and post-mission, including patient supplies, patient meals, patient transport, and patient accommodation
Support and arrange patient transportation to the mission
Arrange patient supplies for distribution on arrival
Ensure food is handed out to patients and guardians on time
Ensure patients have water during the mission
Organise patient information sessions on what will happen the next day (screening process, selection and announcement, surgery days)
Create patient return lists after patient announcement; ensure all patients have transportation home
Other Duties:
Facilitate integration of education programme initiatives across all provinces
Create a database of World Care Patients (WCP) and help facilitate care with regional stakeholders
Travel with WCP may be required if necessary
Create a database of patient referrals and follow up regularly with local surgeon or partner organisations
General Team Performance:
Prepares for and actively participates in scheduled team meetings
Prepares for and actively participates in team reviews
Updates all current working documents including patient database, schedules and timelines across programmatic areas that he or she is responsible for
Requirements:
Bachelor’s Degree
Database experience
Driver’s license
Experience in community health care mobilisation
Medical field exposure would be helpful
NGO experience a plus
Oral and written English communication skills required. In addition, fluent in at least 1 South African vernacular is required
Computer skills (Microsoft Office required)
Ability to travel frequently around the country and potentially internationally
Self-motivated, able to plan ahead, flexible, adaptable under pressure with short deadlines
Ability to work off hours (on-call), sometimes responding to calls or e-mails early in the morning, late at night or on weekends
Must have organisation and time management skills and be able to prioritise requests efficiently and effectively
Ability to travel to remote areas
To apply, submit your CV and letter of motivation as well as salary expectations to [email protected]
For more about Operation Smile South Africa, refer to southafrica.operationsmile.org