CAHR Programme Officer Job in Kenya - Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR)

Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR) Programme Officer

Job description: CAHR Programme Officer

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Availability Immediately

Management reporting line: Program Director

Technical reporting line: Community Systems Strengthening

Background

Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR) is a Dutch Government funded programme, to be implemented in China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Malaysia, that aims to make substantial contributions towards ensuring that injecting drug users, their partners and children are healthier, less marginalized and more engaged in social and community life.

Injecting drug use is increasingly recognized as a contributing factor to the spread of HIV in Kenya and HIV prevalence amongst people who inject drugs in Kenya is estimated at over 40%.

People who inject drugs are a high risk of contracting both HIV and viral hepatitis. They have poor access to HIV prevention treatment and care services and are particularly vulnerable to tuberculosis. Harm reduction, an approach that seeks to limit the harms associated with drug use, has been shown to reduce the biological, social and legal harms faced by drug users and their families.

KANCO is a national membership network of organization with over 1000 Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), Community Based Organization (CBOs), Faith Based Organization (FBOs), Private Sector, Research and Learning Institutions responding to HIV & AIDS and TB in Kenya.

Over the next five years, KANCO will participate in the CAHR programme and help to focus attention on and build support for harm reduction programmes to support drug users in Kenya. By increasing knowledge of harm reduction programming and building capacity of its member organisations KANCO will help expand the use of this approach to realize benefits and rights for injecting and non-injecting people whose behaviours are affected by the use of drugs.

The CAHR programme in Kenya will focus on building awareness and knowledge and uptake of harm reduction as an approach. As part of the programme, KANCO and its partners will also advance a focused policy and advocacy effort and engage a range of stakeholders including providers of treatment services for people who use drugs, policymakers and communities of people who use or are affected by drug use.

Overall Role

The Programme Officer is expected to manage overall project activities, ensure project relevance to the country IDU community needs to most effectively address HIV, provide and coordinate provision of technical assistance, advocate for the rights of drug user populations, alcohol and non-injecting drug users and represent the project nationally.

Responsibilities

1. Ensures country participation in the global development and coordination of the project implementation, develops and leads the country team of various specialists (staff and/or consultants) required to achieve the programme goals.
2. Monitoring of the HIV epidemic in the country; the responses and opportunities for strengthened responses to the epidemic and challenges associated with illicit drug use; and the role played by local governments, donors and other stakeholders, as well as ensures necessary adjustments in country programme design and implementation.
3. Ensures that the scale, spectrum, accessibility, intensity and quality of services and information available to IDUs and their families corresponds as much as possible to harm reduction and HIV prevention objectives as well as to health, social and other essential needs of drug users, their partners and children.
4. Ensure that the CAHR programme design and activities at country and local levels builds upon the strengths of the KANCO members and partners while being effective, strategic and relevant in local context.
5. Partnership development across sectors Local, nationally and internationally as well as strategic management of donor and stakeholder relations including the delivery of financial and technical support to field level service delivery organizations.
6. Ensures that region-specific as well as site-specific interventions are developed and implemented as appropriate.
7. Guides contributions to national and global learning and sharing focused on deepening and dissemination of the harm reduction evidence base.
8. Promotes and advocates for harm reduction and ensures a favorable project environment

Person Specification

Essential

The applicants for the above assignment MUST possess the following qualifications:

Education: A minimum of Master’s degree in Public Health, Project Management, or any relevant discipline

Experience: Minimum of 5 years’ experience in Project Management or advocacy on Harm

Reduction among injecting drug users and their partners, HIV or other health issue.

Knowledge: Understanding of both public health and human rights dimensions of HIV prevention and care work; Experience of harm reduction programming or other similar approaches; Strong commitment to confronting HIV/AIDS; Strong support of harm reduction approaches or work with injecting drug users; Understanding and supporting the role of communities and non-governmental sector in the responses to HIV and other challenges associated with injecting drug use.

Critical factors: Strong representation skills and capabilities for high level policy work; Solid negotiations skills, Articulation and assertiveness in communication, Skills to present and defend their views, Creative and independent thinking, Integrity and diplomacy; Ability to work under pressure; Skills to encourage field level partner organisations to collaboratively introduce improvements to their programmes and measures to increase efficiency of the country response to HIV/AIDS epidemic and drug use related challenges; Excellent English language (written and spoken).

To apply, submit your CV and list of 3 references, a detailed cover letter illustrating your suitability (marked ‘CAHR Programme Officer’) to Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium, P. O. Box 69866 - 00400, Nairobi – Kenya. Email: jobs@kanco.org.

Applications will be considered until 6th May, 2011:

Please note only short-listed candidates meeting the above requirements will be contacted.

This vacancy is open only to Kenyan Nationals.

For more information: http://www.kanco.org/web/guest/jobs

KANCO is an equal opportunity employer