Opportunities for Care Group Promoters

Feed the Children in conjunction with the County Department of Health Services, is implementing a Care Group project in Viwandani ward, Makadara Sub County, Nairobi County, aimed at improving the knowledge, attitudes and care practices of caregivers around Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), Hygiene and Sanitation. This is achieved through dissemination of health and nutrition education messages to Care Group Volunteers (CGVs) in the Care Groups for onward communication to beneficiary caregivers in the community.

The model represents an effective behavior change communication strategy for promoting equitable beneficiary contact capable of producing measurable changes in health and nutrition indicators.

The Care Group Promoters role is to train and supervise the CGVs in their community on behavior change by providing Health and Nutrition information in the community and facilitate and organize participatory learning sessions to Care Group Volunteers under directions of the care group supervisor.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate Food & Nutrition and WASH local-level activities and maintain cooperation with other community-level institutions and health facilities.
• Facilitate participatory learning sessions (CG meetings) with each of his/her 10-12 Care Group Volunteers (CGVs) every 2 weeks, following the lessons plan in the educational material provided.
• Hold bi-weekly meetings with the local leadership committee in the community to coordinate, monitor and evaluate.
• Attend bi-weekly training and reporting meetings provided by the supervisor and the module training sessions to accurately replicate trainings given to the CGVs, sharing correct information, and demonstrating skills learned.
• Model the Health, Nutrition and Sanitation behaviors he/she teaches CGVs in their own homes.
• Visit, monitor and evaluate each CGV at least quarterly.
• Supervise CGVs work by accompanying them on home visits and observe them leading group meetings using the quality verification checklist.
• Support other program activities, such as National Nutrition days, distribution of vitamins (A) deworming medicine and weighing children under 5 years.
• Support follow up of the implementation of WASH activities in the assigned Community Health Units.
• Attend training and coordination meetings at the sub-county level, providing verbal feedback and written reports of activities completed.
• Prepare monthly progress reports based on the CGV and Neighbor Women’s (NW) registers.
• Support Community Health Unit activities in the assigned area
• Carry out monthly supportive supervision of CHVs activities and conduct joint monthly data review of indicators with CHVs and CHAs.
• Support and participate in periodic community engagements held with other FEED teams to enhance Child wellbeing and integrate sponsorship in other programming activities.
• Support child sponsorship activities during enrolment and updates in Viwandani.
• Assist with necessary preparations during community mobilization and sensitization on Child protection activities.
• Perform any other duty assigned.

Minimum Qualifications and Requirements:

• Must be Registered with relevant certifying bodies e.g. KNDI, PHOTC etc.
• Experience in implementation of health and nutrition programs in urban’s informal settlements.
• Good computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Conversant with the national guidelines on IMAM, IYCF and high impact nutrition interventions.
• Knowledge of community-based approaches to improving nutrition and food security.
• Excellent interpersonal relationship.
• Excellent communications skills – both oral and written.
• Highly motivated, self-starter able to work on own initiative in difficult conditions.
• Good team player, flexible.
• Excellent in English, Swahili languages.
• Conversant with child protection rights and related policies.
• Accurate data entry skills.
• Proven ability to work with strict confidentiality on children matters

Travel Required:

Field Based staff in Viwandani ward with 20% travelling to the Nairobi Gigiri Office.

Level of Contact with Children:

High contact- the job responsibilities of this position require the post holder to have frequent contact with children. It is expected that children shall always be protected.

Diploma in Nutrition, Public Health/Environmental Health or Community Health