Primary Health Care Officer - Yobe

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Health & Nutrition 

LOCATION: Yobe State, Nigeria

CONTRACT LENGTH: 11 months

GRADE:  4

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: 

The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE The Primary Health Care Officer will ensure the quality of services in targeted health facilities. The post holder will strengthen health workers’ clinical management capacity in accordance with national and WHO guidelines and facilitate the integration of newborn and child health services.

With the support of the Primary Health Care Technical Coordinator, the officer will oversee day-to-day activities and services provided at supported primary health care centres, including, direct lifesaving health consultations, documentation, stock management of medicines and medical consumables, and maintenance of health information and reporting tools.

SCOPE OF ROLE: The PHC Officer will provide direct lifesaving, technical and programmatic support to supported health facilities and community-based health interventions. The role involves coordinating with the MoH health workers, volunteers, community structures, and implementing partners to ensure effective, safe, and quality primary health care service delivery.

Reports to: Primary Health Care Technical Coordinator

Staff reporting to this post: None 

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

1. Clinical and Technical Support

• Provide day-to-day technical and programmatic support for clinical, nutritional, and integrated medical services at health facilities, in line with national guidelines, strategies, and standard operating procedures.
• Ensure accurate clinical triage, history taking, examination, diagnosis, and management of communicable and non-communicable diseases across supported facilities in Geidam LGA.
• Support MoH staff in identifying patients requiring referral to higher-level health facilities and facilitate appropriate referral pathways.
• Collaborate with MoH staff, doctors, nurses, and midwives to plan and conduct outreach services that provide life-saving primary health care interventions.
• Promote the integration of newborn, child health, nutrition, and other essential PHC services.
• Ensure compliance with SCI Global Medical Procedures, clinical standards, and reporting tools, including prompt reporting of medical incidents.

2. Capacity Building and Supportive Supervision

• Strengthen the capacity of existing health workers through on-the-job training, coaching, and mentoring.
• Organize and support training for Community Health Workers (CHWs) to improve the quality of community-based health services.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance and mentoring to health facility staff.
• Support regular integrated joint supervision of health facilities in collaboration with MoH counterparts.
• Identify clinical and operational capacity gaps and recommend appropriate corrective actions.
• Monitor the implementation of agreed recommendations from supervision visits and training sessions.

3. Medical Equipment, Supplies, and Logistics

• Support MoH staff in promoting the rational use of medicines, pharmaceutical products, and medical equipment.
• Monitor the consumption of medicines and medical supplies to support appropriate stock management and prevent stock-outs or wastage.
• Ensure that essential medical equipment is available and functional across supported facilities.
• Support routine troubleshooting and maintenance of medical equipment and facilitate the timely repair or replacement of damaged equipment.
• Identify and communicate facility-level needs for medicines, consumables, equipment, and other essential supplies to the line manager.

4. Community Health and Outreach Services

• Oversee community-level health activities through close coordination with nurses, midwives, and the Community Health Mobilization Assistant.
• Provide oversight for community-level meetings, health promotion activities, and stakeholder engagement.
• Support community mobilization and participation in primary health care interventions.
• Develop work plans for facility-based PHC services and community health interventions in line with project objectives and timelines.
• Strengthen links between community health structures and supported health facilities to improve access to essential services.

5. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Learning

• Support the development and maintenance of effective systems for monitoring programme progress against objectives, indicators, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Ensure accurate documentation and reporting of clinical services, community activities, and programme achievements.
• Contribute to the development of lessons learned from clinical, nutritional, and integrated medical service interventions.
• Apply lessons learned to improve ongoing activities and inform the design of new programmes.
• Contribute to the development of programme strategies, sub-project documents, activity plans, and work plans.
• Work closely with assigned team members to ensure that activities are implemented in accordance with approved plans and standard operating procedures.

6. Infection Prevention, Waste Management, and Safe Service Delivery

• Ensure that the health facility environment is safe, clean, and appropriate for children, mothers, caregivers, and other patients.
• Promote compliance with infection prevention and control standards and safe clinical practices.
• Ensure proper segregation, handling, storage, and disposal of medical waste in accordance with established guidelines.
• Support health workers to maintain safe and hygienic service delivery environments.

7. Safeguarding and Accountability

• Promote and uphold child safeguarding standards across all PHC and community health activities, ensuring that children and vulnerable beneficiaries are treated with dignity and protected from abuse, exploitation, neglect, and harm.
• Promptly report safeguarding concerns, suspected abuse, exploitation, or other incidents through SCI’s established reporting mechanisms and in accordance with safeguarding policies and mandatory reporting procedures.
• Ensure that health workers, volunteers, and community-based personnel understand and comply with SCI’s safeguarding policies, Code of Conduct, and expected standards of professional behaviour.
• Maintain confidentiality and respect the privacy, dignity, and rights of children, caregivers, and all programme participants.

8. Coordination and Networking

• Establish and maintain effective relationships with State and LGA authorities, community leaders, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Build networks with international and national non-governmental organizations (I/NGOs) and other actors operating within the implementation areas.
• Maintain an understanding of ongoing health programmes, community needs, and relevant developments within the state and supported LGAs.
• Establish and maintain links with community leaders, groups, and other community structures.
• Participate actively in health sector coordination meetings, assessment and survey groups, and sub-sector working group meetings at LGA and state levels.
• Document relevant meeting discussions and maintain appropriate records, including meeting minutes.
• Represent SCI’s health programme at relevant coordination meetings and technical forums when delegated.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.

QUALIFICATIONS

Registered Nurse/Midwife or B. Sc. Nursing/Midwife, Medicine & Surgery (MBBS), or any other relevant health related field

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Recommended a minimum of 2 to 3 years’ experience in a humanitarian and development environment, including significant field operations experience and experience working with MOH.
• Commitment to working in deep field locations
• Extensive knowledge of Nutrition and Health interventions.
• Extensive experience in in stakeholders’ management, participation in TWGs, and other coordination meetings.
• Significant knowledge of humanitarian and development systems, institutions and donors and best practices in emergency management
• Ability to analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and presentation skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English and at least one major Nigerian Language
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently, live and work in difficult physical conditions in an area of potential insecurity.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s Vision, Mission, Values and Practices

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.