Position Details
Job title: Senior Professional Counselor
Location: PUSH & ALPEC
Reports to: PITCO
Job Summary
Under the guidance, support and supervision of the PITCO, the Senior Professional counselor will be responsible provide quality HIV testing and adherence services for adults, children and adolescents to ensure treatment continuity (retention in Care) to all newly diagnosed clients on ART. She/he will support and provide enhanced adherence counselling for those with High viral loads. She /he will champion index testing elicitation, testing of contacts in collaboration with other community or consortium partners. Ensure that the facility registers including the e-register used to capture HTS activities is well updated, complete and correctly filled and timely. The Senior Professional counselor will provide DSD support to selected sites without lay or professional counsellors and supervise cluster of facilities in liaison with the district team and site level staff.
Roles and Responsibilities
1) Support Implementing of targeted HIV testing
· Ensure quality HTS are provided through the use of the national HTS screening tool and use of self-test after at every entry point at facility.
· To optimize diagnostic HIV testing for e.g children eligible for HIV testing, presumptive TB, 1st and 36weeks ANC visit per PMTCT guidelines.
· Ensure dual HIV and Syphilis testing for every mother pregnant mother attending their 1st ANC clinic visit and at 36weeks and, every 3-month self -test re-testing for pregnant and breast-feeding mothers per EMTCT revise guidelines 2021.
· Support facility staff to ensure that clients that test positive with determine are tested for recent HIV infections during its implementation, in order to identify hot spots to inform the country prevention response.
· Support HTS initiatives especially targeted testing in all age groups.
2) Support onsite linkages treatment and retention
· Provide/ensure telephonic adherence counseling post ART initiation is done within 7days, 1 month and in 2 months, including group counselling to retain identified clients on ART
· Ensure onsite linkages of every newly identified HIV positive client to care and treatment.
· Ensure that clients that test HIV negative are linked to prevention package (PrEP)
· Supervise and support enhanced adherence counseling sessions for patients with high viral loads, that is site level staff are able to:
o Identify the problem that leads patient to have high viral
o Have a clear plan on how to address the current problem
o Discuss with the clinician the findings
o Plan subsequent EAC sessions with the client until the patient is ready for second viral load or virally suppressed after the sessions.
o Documentation of EAC sessions outcomes follow up plans
3) Implement and ensure compliance to safe ethical index testing, PNS and IPV screening at facility by ensuring that,
· Every newly identified positive and clients with high viral is provided index testing
a. Coaching on elicitation of >1 sexual contact, biological and siblings of children of index clients,
b. Bidirectional referrals of biological children of index siblings on ART to OVC Community Partner KB
c. Screening on intimate partner violence, violence against children (VAC).
d. Ensure provision of LIVE support and referrals per GBV guidelines to index client’s, Intimate partners or children experiencing VAC.
e. Monitor closely that 70-100% index contacts are tested for HIV and have their HIV status is documented.
f. Monitor closely that 50%-70% positives identified through index mode
o Work collaboratively with consortium partners and other partners to support scale community testing through distribution on self-test to contacts of index clients and follow up on screening results and appropriate client support
· Supervise and support investigation process on adverse events reported at facility and work together with facility in-charge, PITCO and Senior Counsellor to develop remedial action to prevent re-occurrence of such events.
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4) Intensify Pediatric case identification
· Intensify identification of HIV exposed babies and children and document final outcomes according to PMTCT guidelines other strategies including:
o EID integration into deliveries – Ensure HIV exposed babies delivered are tracked and tested and have HIV status documented in both the bukana and the facility HEI register.
o Integration into EPI- ensure HIV babies are identified and those eligible are tested for HIV during the immunization scheduled dates
o Integration of EID into under-five clinic – Ensure HIV exposed babies are identified and those eligible tested for HIV during their under-five baby clinic attendance.
o Integration of EID at OPD- ensure HIV Exposed babies are identified and tested if eligible and documented in the HEI register
o Data triangulation with other partners working at MCH such as m2m2 to identify missed babies.
o Utilize the VHWs supporting the facility to advocate for MCH and EID services
5) Quality Improvement and program monitoring
· Data triangulation at all service points
· Improve patient flow, HTS coverage on weekends and holidays
· Supervise, review and timely submit monthly HTS (HIVST, EQC, Adverse events and PPT biannual) reports
· Perform any duties that will be assigned by the supervisor.
Required Qualifications and Experience
· Degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling or Social Work
· Experience or training in HIV Testing Services including safe and ethical index testing, siblings eliciting and OVC bi-directional collaboration
Skills knowledge and abilities
· A minimum of 3 years’ experience in provision of HIV Testing Services
· Previous experience working with NGO will be an added advantage