Job Title: Lab Technical Officer – CHAK

Organizational Profile

Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK) is a leading National Faith Based Organization (FBO) of Protestant churches’ health facilities and programs from all over Kenya, established in 1946 with a goal of promoting access to quality health care.

Christian Health Association of Kenya is seeking to hire an experienced Lab Technical Officer to be based in Kitui for the CDC- funded CHAP Stawisha project. The project supports HIV/TB/OVC services in faith based and county health facilities across 15 counties in the country, with offices in Meru, Embu, Kitui and Nairobi.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Laboratory Specialist, the Laboratory Technical Officer is responsible for implementation and undertaking appropriate transfer of organizational and project laboratory strategy while strengthening service delivery to supported facilities.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

• Conduct frequent site visits to program health facilities to provide mentorship, support, and supervision with focus on high impact strategies for improving service delivery Support implementation of lab continuous quality improvement initiatives (L-CQI) and technical assistance to increase utilization and delivery of high-quality lab services.
• Organize and facilitate trainings and other capacity strengthening activities for project staff, healthcare workers and implementing partners, as necessary.
• Conduct data reviews, report writing and participate in project review meetings, proposal development, stakeholder engagement and any other requirements as outlined by CHAK or the donor.
• Provide guidance for upgrading and establishing labs towards SLMTA/SLIPTA accreditation.
• Ensure the implementation of best practices in sample collection, storage, and validation, return of results and analysis of trends in results in alignment with government and donor policies and procedures.
• Support and strengthen an effective specimen transportation system and its scalability in the counties of project operation, including coordination with relevant partners and other programs.
• Support further expansion and coordination of the Point of Care techniques to diagnose HIV and other opportunistic infections.
• Support coordination and implementation of a national quality assurance program on HIV recency testing, HTS, CDC and VL EQA.
• Develop and strengthen a platform for dialogue and addressing key laboratory issues within the county and sub-counties of project operation; Build and maintain good relationships with CDC, Ministry of Health, County Health Management Teams, Implementing partners and other stakeholders.
• In collaboration with the county teams ensure maintenance of equipment inventory, calibration / certification and testing of equipment and instruments to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and safety of performance.
• Collaborate with County Health Management and National Supply Chain system to ensure support and provision of uninterrupted supply of Laboratory Commodities.
• Provide guidance on procurement of laboratory supplies to ensure certified standards and quantities of supplies are met.
• Collaborates in the review and preparation of quarterly, semi – annual and annual donor reports.

Minimum Requirements and Qualifications

• Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology or relevant advanced qualifications.
• At least five (5) years of HIV program implementation experience is required.
• Registration with the relevant professional bodies and an active practice license.
• Good understanding of HIV/TB clinical care .
• Excellent management abilities within a multi-disciplinary team, with capability to support, train, and mentor others.
• Understanding of the Kenya Health system and experience working with government institutions, counties, and local partners.
• Ability to anticipate, prioritize and manage multiple tasks with keen attention to detail and capability to follow through and meet deadlines.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Good use of MS Office packages and office automation solutions