HIV Care and Treatment Lead

Job Description

Position: HIV Care and Treatment Lead

Reports to: Deputy Chief of Party

Location: Mzuzu Hub Office

Job Summary

The HIV Care and Treatment Lead, under the supervision and guidance of the Deputy Chief of Party, will ensure

that HIV Care and Treatment (C&T) interventions are clinically sound, evidence-based, and aligned with the priorities of Malawi’s Ministry of Health (MoH), donors, and program beneficiaries. The position will work closely with District Program Managers to provide technical support to district implementation teams in the design, planning, implementation, and monitoring of HIV care and treatment interventions aimed at sustaining program gains, ensuring continuity of services, improving treatment outcomes, and facilitating the transition of HIV service delivery to the Ministry of Health.

The HIV Care and Treatment Lead will maintain a high level of technical expertise and innovation in HIV C&T

programming, with a specific focus on rapid ART initiation, treatment continuity, differentiated HIV care and treatment models, advanced HIV disease management, viral load monitoring, management of treatment failure, integrated HIV care, and documentation of best practices.

Core Responsibilities:

Be part of RTC middle management team overseeing the care and treatment services

Provide technical guidance to district implementation teams in the planning and implementation of client-centered and context-specific HIV care and treatment interventions.

Lead the development of evidence-based strategies to inform targeted programming and address prevailing gaps in HIV care and treatment services.

Strengthen and scale up differentiated HIV care models aimed at improving treatment continuity, viral load coverage and viral load suppression across all supported facilities.

Support the implementation of pediatric focused initiatives such Chivwati Cha Wana to improve treatment adherence and viral load suppression among children accessing care and treatment services in RTC supported facilities.

Closely work with District program managers, MoH ART Coordinators, Molecular lab managers and Riders for Health to optimize viral load monitoring and management of HIV treatment failure.

Collaborate with District Health Management Teams (DHMTs), implementing partners, community-based organizations, and other key stakeholders to streamline care and treatment interventions, optimize resource utilization, and maximize program impact.

Organize and lead routine technical meetings with district implementation team to track C&T program progress, trouble shoot gaps and enhance cross-learning

Enhance service integration and promote innovative HIV C&T programming through the initiation of quality improvement (QI) projects, program optimization approaches and documentation of best practices.

Lead the development of training materials, SOPs, Job Aids, and tracking tools to support the implementation and monitoring of high-quality, evidence-based, and innovative adult HIV care and treatment interventions across the program.

Support the development of targeted annual, quarterly, and monthly work plans including activity budgets aligned with MoH and donor priority areas.

Work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team to monitor and report regularly on progress toward project milestones related to the adult HIV care and treatment component.

Timely submission of monthly program performance to Manco, Exco and Board report

Support the M&E team in developing monitoring and evaluation tools and organizing progress review meetings to track project performance, including facilitating routine HIV C&T data quality audits.

Facilitate implementation of remedial actions where performance has been suboptimal

Build the capacity of Right to Care Malawi and MoH staff through mentorship, supportive supervision, coaching, and training to address program gaps and facilitate program transition.

Provide technical assistance to RTC supported prisons through regular mentorship on the implementation of the Peer Educator microplanning strategy.

Lead knowledge management initiatives related to HIV care and treatment across the program.

Participate and represent Right to Care Malawi at strategic meetings at both district and national levels, including Technical Working Groups (TWGs), planning meetings, data review meetings, conferences, and other relevant forums.

Required Minimum Qualifications

Medical Degree (MBBS/MD) Or Nursing Degree or an equivalent qualification from a reputable academic institution

Master’s degree in public health or its equivalent will be an added advantage.

Trained in Malawi HIV treatment guidelines

Required experience, skills and knowledge

Minimum of 5 years progressive experience in leading and managing PEPFAR/MoH funded HIV care and treatment programs

Competent in program design, implementation and monitoring

Strong experience in capacity building of frontline health care workers

Well conversant with the development of work plans and activity budgets

Proven ability to work with MoH, community-based structures, and other key stakeholders.

Demonstrated experience in initiating quality improvement projects

Excellent leadership and management skills

Strong experience in providing mentorship and technical assistance

Self-motivated and demonstrated success in building effective project teams

Excellent oral and report writing and presentation skills

Proven ability to write high quality scientific/management documents

Excellent collaboration and partnering skills in a teamwork environment

Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities

About the Organization

Right to Care Malawi, with support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), complements the Malawi Government’s efforts in provision of an integrated HIV response. The organization supports the implementation and management of integrated and client-centered HIV services in 40 public health facilities and five major prisons across six districts in the Northern Region through direct service delivery and technical assistance. To sustain HIV epidemic control and address the remaining gaps in case finding and HIV treatment outcomes, Right to Care seeks to recruit dedicated technical specialists to lead and provide technical support for the delivery of government-led differentiated HIV testing, and care and treatment services across all RTC-supported health facilities.