Pathology expert, Morogoro ,Tanzania

VSO is the world's leading independent international development organisation that brings people together to fight poverty. We are looking for a Pathology expert 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 Pharmacy expert, you’ll work closely with the laboratory team as well as the medical director, Technical Adviser (TA) for Quality of Care and Services, plus the heads of clinical departments.

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.

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 need to be visited. 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 and to apply, please visit www.vsointernational.org/volunteerand quote T0785/0010/0001 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.