Infection Prevention and Control Officer (Consultant) at Plan International

Location: Maiduguri, Borno, NG

Role Purpose

• The IPC officer (Consultant) to provide technical support on IPC to Plan International Nigeria implementation site as the country braces up against COVID-19. This scope includes work with the state emergency operation center (EOC) and assessment of and capacity building for health facilities and community volunteers/ health workers and providing technical support with setup of facilities in response to suspected cases of COVID-19.
• This work will require a medical professional with expertise in infection prevention and control within healthcare settings or in the context of outbreaks, and who are skilled in capacity building of hospital/healthcare practitioners, risk identification and IPC prevention services.

Dimension of Role

• The post holder will provide expert clinical advice and leadership for the infection prevention and control service to support the response of COVID-19 pandemic in health facilities.
• The post holder will work closely with project coordinators, EOC, WHO,  sector Specialists, government health workers (Doctors, Nurse and others).
• The post holder will have the authority to challenge inappropriate clinical hygiene practice, and will be responsible for the development and implementation of strategy, policies and plans for the infection prevention and control service within the hospital.
• The post holder will be required to actively promote strategies to raise awareness of infection control and decontamination issues within the hospital.

Key Roles/Responsibilities

• Develop and adapt guidelines on the following areas and support health facilities to implement the protocols for COVID-19;
• Screening and triage protocols and checklists at facility access points for early recognition of cases;
• Standard and additional empirical precautions
• Surge fatality management protocols and administrative controls on IPC
• Proper collection and disposal of contaminated medical waste
• Developing TOR for Identifying volunteer community health worker competencies and potential responsibilities in case of an outbreak.
• Assess the IPC readiness of selected health facilities or site to respond to COVID-19 outbreak, using standard checklist.
• Support training of health care workers on the WHO Covid-19-specific IPC prevention and control guidance and refresher training on response procedures for IPC, for surge response staff.
• Building the capacity of IPC committees (or similar committees) where they exist or establishing them as accountability structures during an outbreak.
• Support in identifying or designating areas to manage COVID-19 patient isolation units following standard recommendations (NCDC, WHO).
• Assist health facilities in planning, conducting, and evaluating facility-wide Covid-19 simulation exercises (e.g., drills, table-top exercises) in collaboration with local authorities to assess IPC capabilities in health facilities.
• Support regular monitoring of IPC compliance at facility access points and isolation units in Plan International supported facilities.
• Support implementation research to identify and solve barriers to the delivery of effective response measures for IPC in real time during the response.
• Facilitate after-action review workshops that include the IPC component of the response and document lessons learnt.
• Coordinate distribution of IPC materials and PPE’s to health facilities
• Train health workers on infection prevention and control, and COVID-19 management and referral.
• Develop and disseminate gender integrated SBCC messages on hygiene, infection prevention, social distancing, mental health & SGBV prevention and equitable distribution of household roles and responsibilities.
• Timely submission of reports
• Perform any other duty that may be assigned from time to time

Deliverables:

• Facility capacity assessment report on COVID-19 emergency preparedness and gaps identified
• Rapid improvement plan to effectively implement and sustain IPC practice for COVID-19
• Implementation of NCDC/WHO and other approved Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for
  • Screening and triage,
  • Standard and additional empirical precautions,
  • Surge fatality management protocols,
  • Proper collection and disposal of contaminated medical waste,
  • Infection prevention measures for healthcare workers,
  • Safe burial of deceased patient infected with COVID-19,
• Ongoing compliance monitoring /self-assessment checklists
• Job aids for specific categories of staff (clinical and non-clinical staff)

Qualification/Requirements

• Knowledge and understanding of the dynamics about COVID-19 emergency required, IPC, WASH interventions.
• Medical Doctor with advanced degree in Public health with focus on epidemiology, or International health, disease control, global health or any related field.
• Expertise in outbreak management/infection transmission (e.g. Cholera, Ebola) a plus
• At least 3 years’ experience in healthcare settings, field epidemiology or emergency outbreak management
• Proven track record in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
• Willingness to work with different stakeholders during epidemics to save lives
• Language – English and Hausa is essential.
• Excellent report writing skill and use of Microsoft office applications.