Une possibilité de fuite ?
Background/IRC Summary:
The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in scale and in the response required. No previous outbreak has had as many confirmed cases, or as wide of a geographic spread. The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the regions’ borders, inaccessibility of the terrain and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission. The outbreak in Sierra Leone started in May 2014 and has rapidly spread due to porous borders, insufficient contact tracing, community fears and misperceptions.
Currently the IRC is the lead organization in the Ebola Response Consortium (ERC) comprised of ten international NGOs working in all districts of the country on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in primary health care facilities and Ebola disease surveillance. The IRC will directly implement activities through the ERC in three districts - Bo, Kenema and Kono. In additional to the ERC, the IRC has existing health programs in Kono and Kenema districts supporting maternal, newborn and child health programs. Prior to the Ebola outbreak, the IRC was supporting two maternity wards and blood banks in Kono and Kenema Government Hospitals, 169 Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) in the two districts, over 3,500 Community Health Workers (CHWs) implementing Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), and supporting the district health system to ensure the programs are of quality and sustainable. While these programs have changed since the Ebola outbreak, the IRC is continuing to support the continuation of primary health care.
Job Overview/Summary:
The Staff Health Manager oversees the health and well-being of the IRC national and international staff in Sierra Leone, collaborates with the contracted local in-country health care provider to support staff health and ensures the SOPs for IRC Workers Deploying to Ebola-Affected Country Programs are implemented in-country.
Major Responsibilities:
Availability:
* Contactable by mobile phone 24/7.
* Ensures that an alternate/acting Staff Health Manager is always present when (s)he is absent or unreachable, and that all staff are informed of who the acting Manager is.
Guidance, procedures and arrangements:
* Liaises with IRC HQ staff health adviser, HR and other stakeholders (including external agencies) to constantly update in-country staff health guidance and SOPs.
* Ensures that relevant staff members in country, including key staff such as the country director, Ebola team leader, HR director, director of operations, health advisers and managers, field managers and security focal point are familiar with staff health SOPs and know how to access them.
* Along with the security focal point in-country, field managers, the security manager and the staff health adviser at IRC HQ, constantly updates medical evacuation plans and SOPs for both Ebola and non-Ebola life-threatening illness.
* Ensures that IRC field base, office, residence and vehicle medical kits are present and stocked.
* Ensures that hygiene practices in IRC field bases, offices, residences and vehicles are being respected and works with the Logistics team to make sure that hygiene supplies (soap, water, chlorine as per in-country SOPs) are always available.
* Identifies and updates in-country options for inpatient care and pre-evacuation stabilization, and visits any available health care providers to assess quality.
* Advises the Senior Management Team in-country on improvements to staff wellness and psychosocial wellbeing arrangements, such as reduction of working hours, opportunities for rest and recreation, supportive management, etc.
Staff briefings, registration and debriefings:
* Conducts in-country health briefings for arriving international staff and visitors, as well as newly hired national staff in the capital, within 24 hours of arrival/start of contract. During and after this briefing, the Staff Health Manager ensures that the in-country Individual Staff Health Checklist is complete.
* Registers arriving international staff and visitors, as well as newly hired national staff and their dependents, with the designated in-country IRC health care provider and ensures that information on staff held by the care provider is up to date.
* Performs the pre-return consultation (risk assessment and symptom/temperature check) for departing international staff during the 24 hours prior to scheduled flight departure, and makes a decision on whether staff members can be cleared for departure; if not, manages in-country extended stay according to SOPs; communicates risk assessment prior to departure to IRC HQ clinical advisor, for onward transmission through ISOS.
* Informs departing staff of post-departure monitoring protocols that will be carried out for 21 days following departure (Annex 3). Ensures communication has been established and accurate contact information has been exchanged between departing staff member and HQ clinical advisor.
Case management:
* Provides advice to staff about how to access health care in case of illness.
* Offers confidential support to staff members in psychosocial distress and directs them towards IRC psychological counselling service.
* Communicates daily with IRC designated health care provider to review any cases of life-threatening illness among staff and troubleshoot any specific staff health issues that cannot be resolved by the care provider.
* Investigates all reported instances of Ebola-like illness or exposure among staff, and manages each instance according to the relevant SOPs, including coordination with relevant health authorities in country as required. Reports all such instances immediately to the country office Senior Management Team and the IRC HQ staff health adviser.
* Together with the security focal point, manages and follows up all cases requiring medical evacuation for Ebola or non-Ebola conditions from the field through to handing patient over to evacuating agency, as per SOPs. Reports on all cases of medical evacuation immediately to Country Senior Management Team and IRC HQ staff health adviser (for international staff evacuations abroad only).
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Country Director
Position directly supervises: Staff Health Nurse
Indirect Reporting: Clinical Advisor for Staff Wellbeing (Sally Girvin)
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Job Requirements:
Education: Clinical degree (nurse or medical doctor)
Work Experience: Experienced clinician. At least 2 years’ experience in humanitarian emergencies or post conflict situations. Experience working in a multi-cultural setting and in preference in Africa. Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Willingness to travel extensively in Sierra Leone. Ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility, and adaptability to transitions.
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: Deep understanding of occupational health, tropical medicine, as well as Ebola.
Language Skills: English fluency
Certificates or Licenses: Nurse or Medical Doctor
Working Environment:
Based in Freetown at the IRC country office. Will also travel to field sites as needed to assess staff health procedures and capacity.
