ICAP at Columbia University, a global health leader situated within the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. ICAP has worked in Lesotho since 2005, collaborating with the country leadership through the Ministry of Health, District Health Management Teams, health facilities, educational institutions, and local non-governmental organizations to strengthen health systems. Currently, ICAP at Columbia University in Lesotho is supporting the Ministry of Health in Strengthening Strategic Information for Health providing technical assistance and resources to national health system; Tracking new HIV infections with Recency Assays to Control the Epidemic (TRACE), Expanding Access to Quality Laboratory Service (EQUALS), population size estimation for adolescent girls and young women, NIH Study on Promoting HIV Testing and Linkage to Care in Cross-Border Migrants, and supporting the MOH COVID-19 response including Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), laboratory assistance, and data management. ICAP recently concluded the Lesotho HIV Impact Assessment Survey (LePHIA2020).
ICAP is recruiting for the following position.
1. Quality Improvement Officer
Position Summary:
Under the supervision of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Advisor, the Quality Improvement (QI) Officer will support in conducting QI training, needs assessments, gap analyses, and performance evaluations of HIV/TB programs to identify areas for improvement and develop action plans to address identified gaps. He/She will provide technical support to health facilities in HIV/TB QA/QI activities, including but not limited to, QI training, capacity building, quality monitoring and reporting, and QI project activities. He/She will be supporting in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of HIV/TB QI/QA programs, policies, guidelines, and procedures to ensure adherence to standards and promote continuous quality improvement. He/She will also contribute to the development and implementation of project work plans, budgets, and reports to ensure timely and effective implementation of HIV/TB QA/QI activities and reports to the donors and headquarters.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Provide direct technical assistance, coaching, and models for change to healthcare facilities to enhance systems and continuously improve quality in HIV and TB.
- Provide technical support on all issues relating to Quality Improvement by visiting participating medical facilities at least once a month.
- Assist sites in utilizing and comprehending quality assurance methods, such as flow charts, fishbone diagrams, driver diagrams, and decision matrix analysis for system and process development.
- Encourage the adoption of distinct service delivery and care models while utilizing CQI techniques to monitor for the best possible patient outcomes of HIV and TB programs.
- Gather monthly and weekly information from healthcare facilities and offers advice and suggestions in relation to tracked indicators and results of HIV and TB program.
- Ongoing coaching of health facility teams to develop capacity for CQI principles for HIV and TB programs.
- Assist health facilities in data use and develops unique and innovative ways of obtaining and presenting data.
- Maintain thorough records of actions and outputs, and timely reporting to the line manager
- Assist in the establishment of operational performance measurements and the monitoring of trends in key performance indicators to evaluate effectiveness, reliability, efficiency, etc. using available information systems data.
- Travel nationally for meetings, trainings, mentorship and Supervision (sometimes requiring overnight stay)
- Carry out any additional tasks as directed by the line manager.
Minimum Qualifications and Competencies:
- Minimum bachelor’s degree in nursing/public health.
- 3 years’ experience in quality improvement implementation and M&E aspects of health-related projects
- Proven experience in HIV/TB/MNCH programs.
- Previous experience at supervisory level in a large, national health program is required.
- Strong interpersonal and communication (written and spoken) skills in English as well as fluency in Sesotho.
- Experience working with computers and the internet; comfortable with basic computer functions of navigation and data entry, able to use the internet and email.
- Ability to problem solve and work as part of a team.
- Able to communicate clearly and concisely.
Travel Requirements
The position will require frequent travel (more than 75%) to various districts and health facilities within Lesotho.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
- Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit their application via ICAP career page – https://icapacity.icap.columbia.edu/on or before November 30, 2023 at 12:00 noon.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Columbia University is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.