JOBS IN IFAKARA MOROGORO MARCH 2013

VSO is the world's leading independent international development organisation that brings people together to fight poverty. We are looking for a Diagnostic imaging adviser for a volunteer placement with a difference; 2 weeks every 2 months, for 2-3 years.

Background

The St. Francis Referral Hospital (SFRH) is located in Ifakara, Southern Tanzania and has a capacity of 400 beds and attracts approximately 700,000 referral patients per year from Kilombero and other neighbouring districts. The hospital is connected historically and operationally to a number of other health institutions. All the local partner institutions depend on each other in order to be able to act as a platform for health care, training and research. Through the support of volunteers there is real potential to strengthen Ifakara as a centre of excellence in healthcare, training and research.

In order to allow the hospital to fulfill its role as a regional referral and teaching hospital, quality of services need to be improved through better infrastructure, strengthening of the financial and human resource management and by ensuring availability of qualified staff, equipment and drugs. Swiss Development Cooperation and VSO are supporting the SFRH to improve its quality of healthcare services in a sustainable way by offering accessible and affordable quality services to the population and providing excellent training and research opportunities to the local partner institutions. Based in the hospital as the Technical Advisor for Quality of Care and Services you will work closely with the Medical Director, Head of Nursing and heads of all other departments in the hospital to improve quality of medical care and services.

Diagnostic imaging adviser, Tanzania

What does the role involve?

• Review and improve radiology protocols and the functioning of Radiology Department • Provide recommendations for setting up additional radiological health services • Provide on-the-job training on x-rays and general radiology to assistant medical and clinical officers and other radiology staff • Work in the hospital to improve the general conditions of the Radiology and X-ray Department • Provide specific training on radiology and its importance in any hospital • Carry out complex, specialist radiology work in the hospital • Develop and strengthen the quality assurance standards of the Radiology Department • Provide training to ensure SFRH staff continues to work with student radiographers in continuous professional development.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You can apply for this role if you have a BSc in radiography (imaging) with a minimum of 2 years experience. You will have the ability and experience teaching, training and mentoring staff and developing specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 12 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Technical adviser - hospital management and administration, Tanzania

What does the role involve? • Advise and coach the hospital management and medical director on all administrative, finance and human resource issues and support the set up of efficient resource management systems • Establish instruments to control and report improvements • Work closely with all project stakeholders • Support the administrator to develop a scheme of service and salary structure and develop instruments to monitor and control the use of resources including infrastructure, equipment and materials at departmental level • Support administrator to coordinate support to SFRH by different partners; particularly finances, materials and equipment utilization • Participate in the preparation of budget, finalization of accounts and implementation of auditors comments • Prepare and facilitate the succession planning to ensure sustainability • Organize and coordinate short term volunteer placements in specialized areas.

Skills, qualifications and experience required You’ll have a degree or Masters in Business Administration or Public Health, or similar and have 5-10 years experience working in hospital management and quality improvement. You’ll have experience in hospital management and training, with the ability to teach, train and mentor staff in these areas, developing specific goals and plans for trainees. It is helpful to have previously worked in Africa. You’ll need to be available for the period of project life cycle 3 years or a minimum of 2 years. We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics. You’ll be a strong communicator and work in a transparent way.

Technical adviser - quality of medical care and services, Tanzania

What does the role involve?

• Providing support to the Medical Director on all clinical services in the hospital in an advisory capacity • Supporting the hospital management team on collaboration with partners in provision of care in the hospital • Providing support for department heads to set up a quality assurance system for clinical services
• Strengthening departmental leadership to offer quality services, mentorship of junior doctors and supervision of students
• Facilitate the development of treatment guidelines for each main clinical department • Facilitate regular workshops for continued education to all care providers • Support department heads in improving data collection systems in their areas of work • Establish systems to monitor progress indicators and to report improvements • Support in monitoring and analyzing the progress indicators in the hospital.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You can apply for this role if you are a qualified doctor with 5-10 years of medical experience especially in hospital quality care and service improvement. You will have experience in hospital management, training and tropical medicine. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project life cycle 3 years or a minimum of 2 years. We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Hospital theatre management specialist, Tanzania

What does the role involve?

• Support the senior theatre nurse-in-charge to strengthen departmental leadership to offer quality services to patients, including developing standard operation procedures. • Working with the senior theatre nurse-in-charge to establish infection control measures including sterilization of equipment and materials • Proving support to the senior nurse-in-charge of the department to develop instruments to monitor and control the use of resources including equipment and materials.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be a registered qualified nurse or technician in theatre management and have practiced for 5 years or more in a hospital. You’ll have the ability and experience to teach, train and mentor staff and develop specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 12 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Pathology expert, Tanzania

What does the role involve?

• Support the hospital to establish a pathology unit within the laboratory department • Develop standard operation procedures (SOPs) for quality assurance; advise on the required equipment and running of the unit • Facilitate collaboration between St. Francis Referral Hospital (SFRH) lab and consultant hospitals with pathology services for diagnostic support and capacity building.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be a qualified pathologist with a degree in a related field, with a degree in medicine being advantageous. You’ll have practiced for 5 years or more. You’ll have the ability and experience to teach; train and mentor staff and develop specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 12 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills, plus networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Pharmacy expert, Tanzania

What does the role involve?

• Support the pharmacy department to improve the quality of services by developing standard operation procedures (SOPs) for quality assurance in different procedures • Capacity-build staff in the pharmacy department’s skills to improve procedures, ordering of medicines, storage of medicines and forecasting of needs • Work closely with clinical departments to improve the system for ordering medicines supplied by the pharmacy, storage of medicine/materials in the wards and rational use of medicines ordered.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll be a qualified and registered Pharmacist, with a degree in Pharmacy, plus 5 years or more of practice in a consultant or regional hospital. You’ll have the ability and experience of teaching, training and mentoring staff and developing specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You’ll need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 8 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 3 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills, plus networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Emergency medicine specialist, Tanzania

What does the role involve? • Support the hospital to establish the emergency medicine department • Support the emergency medicine department to improve quality of services and develop standard operating procedures • Capacity building of staff in the department in terms of improving required skills for emergencies • Support the Department Head, Medical Director and Technical Advisor for Quality of Care to develop a comprehensive training plan for emergency medicine • Support the head of the Emergency Medicine Department in developing instruments to monitor and control the use of resources including equipment and material

Skills, qualifications and experience required You can apply for this role if you be a qualified doctor with a specialty in emergency medicine with a minimum of 5 years medical experience. You will have the ability and experience teaching, training and mentoring staff and developing specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 16 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

Hospital laboratory expert, Tanzania

What does the role involve? • Review and improve laboratory protocols and the functioning and service provision of the Laboratory Department • Provide on-the-job training to improve skills of laboratory technicians within • Work in the hospital to improve the general conditions of the Laboratory Department • Provide specific training on laboratory services and its importance in any hospital • Carry out complex, specialist laboratory work in the hospital • Develop and strengthen the quality assurance standards of the Laboratory Department • Provide training to ensure SFRH staff continues to work with student laboratory technicians in continuous professional development.

Skills, qualifications and experience required You can apply for this role if you have a BSc/MSc in Biomedical Science with a minimum of 2 years experience. You will have the ability and experience teaching, training and mentoring staff and developing specific goals and plans for trainees. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, 3 years or a minimum of 2 years with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 12 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

And the rest....

Ifakara in the south of Tanzania is an authentic savannah grassland area that is green during the rainy season and brown in the dry season. Daytime temperatures vary between 32-39 degrees Celsius throughout the year. Southern Tanzania is home to some of Africa's best national parks and game reserves. There is some good hiking around Mbeya, the largest town in the southwest, but it's the country's two largest parks, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve that provide the most awe-inspiring encounters with lions, elephants and wildebeests. Mikumi is a smaller national park, but its proximity to Dar es Salaam makes it handy for those without the time for the full safari but who still want to see some wildlife. While on placement, we’ll ask you to commit to 12 weeks per year for up to 3 years to make a sustainable contribution. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training including language classes before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll support you to resettle.

How to apply:

To find out more about volunteering with VSO visit www.vso.org.uk or to apply go tohttp://www.vso.org.uk/volunteer/ and quote T0785/0005/0001 on your application. On average it takes a minimum of 4 months to go through the application process so apply now for departure as soon as possible.