Bangladesh: Humanitarian Health Services Support Officer – Coxs Bazaar, Bangladesh

Position Title: Humanitarian Health Services Support Officer – Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh

Department: Humanitarian Response Team

Reports To: Reporting to: Program Director and with functional line supervision by the Medical Coordinator

Time Commitment: 12 months

Our Calling

Daring to love like Jesus, we boldly break barriers to health and restore wholeness in a hurting world.

What We Do

Medical Teams provides wholistic health care during humanitarian emergencies to all people in need around the world, regardless of religion, nationality, sex, or race. It achieves this through working within communities and with local health partners and mobilizes thousands of professional volunteers. Medical Teams operates in two contexts:

1. Sudden onset emergencies such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

2. Protracted emergencies such as forced displacement of people or post-conflict/disaster areas.

Medical Teams offers three types of services in these contexts:

1. Direct Health Services (DHS) – medical care for refugees and US based mobile dental care.

2. Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) – capacity building and strengthening the quality and delivery of services, improving logistics and providing supplies.

3. Community System Strengthening (CSS) – empowering communities and training community health workers and volunteers, building community based demand for services.

Position Summary: Under the direction of the Program Director, the Humanitarian Health Services (HHS) Support Officer provides assistance and acts as the vital link between the Program Director, Medical Coordinator and the international HHS teams for JRRP health activities. As the focal point for international healthcare personnel, provides support and referral to the relevant manager for volunteer concerns.

In Country Summary: Since October 2017, Food for the Hungry (FH) and Medical Teams International (Medical Teams) are combining their complementary expertise to assist Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Together they provide not just urgently-needed medical care, but also identify people living in refugee camps who need help, and train local community workers to help prevent disease outbreaks. Medical Teams looks for opportunities to provide wholistic healthcare and support that addresses the physical, social, psychological or emotional and spiritual needs of the people we serve. FH and Medical Teams have partnered together in the wake of disasters for nearly two decades in places such as Afghanistan, Uganda, and South Sudan.

The purpose of this program is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of vulnerable populations including refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities. The JRRP currently implements 3 Primary Health Clinic and two Health Posts in Kutupalong camp, serving approx. 100 patients per day per PHC, plus a network of 200 Community Health Workers in Kutupalong and Nayapara camps.

Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison between the HHS teams and the Medical Coordinator and is the focal point to collect, disseminate, and communicate clinically-relevant matters to HHS teams

• Act as a liaison between the international healthcare personnel and the Program Director and is the focal point to collect personnel concerns and provide immediate support in order that the Program Director can support with appropriate counselling and pastoral care where required

• Orientate new international personnel in the field to HHS service programs. Provide ongoing necessary personnel support and raise to relevant managers as necessary

• Give advice on triage decision and complicated referrals. Assist with staff coordination, clinic flow, and acutely ill patients in collaboration with the clinic team lead and other relevant stakeholders

• Assist with organizing and planning to ensure optimal functioning and coordination of HHS services

• Support the daily clinical staff scheduling for the HHS facilities

• Liaise between the MTI HHS teams and other key country management positions (Field Coordinator, Logistics Coordinator, Medical Coordinator and CHW Coordinator)

• Collaborate with the CHW program to maximize integration and continuity of services

• Support collection of daily data for the Medical Coordinator.

• Assist with ensuring best practice clinical standards for HHS are adhered to and that proper policies and procedures are followed

• Assisting the medical coordinator, provide recommendations on appropriate training programs to equip and upgrade the knowledge and skills of health care personnel

  Critical Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Education/Credentials: Medical degree, nursing degree with midwifery and/ or Masters of Public Health

• A commitment to continuous quality improvement by identifying opportunities to improve patient care and operational functioning

• Be able to communicate well, listen and follow up in all international personnel concerns and matters

• Experience: 3-5 years health care program management

• Excellent English and local languages communication skills an advantage (oral and written)

• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills

• Strong capacity building and facilitation skills

• Ability to manage work life and work without supervision

• Ability to work in and contribute to a team building environment

• Previous experience in NGO work

• Experience working with refugees, IDPs and conflict-affected persons in an international setting

• Understanding of interagency standards such as IMCI, MISP, Mental Health Guidelines, Gender guidelines, etc.

• Knowledge of and adherence to the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct

To learn more about this position, Medical Teams International and to apply please visit our website at www.medicalteams.org