Community Extender in Jharkhand | The Hans Foundation

The Hans Foundation

The Hans Foundation (THF) is a public charitable trust set up in 2009. It works for a fairer society by supporting poor and left-out communities across India. It improves health and well-being for people in remote and underserved areas, with special care for children, women and persons with disabilities, and also works on education and livelihoods. THF works in Aspirational Districts and high-poverty areas of North, North-East and Eastern India, as well as with low-income and migrant families in cities. Over 15 years it has reached more than 57 million people, both by running projects on the ground and by supporting partner organisations. This role sits within THF's malnutrition programme in Giridih, which supports Malnutrition Treatment Centres and follows up children with severe acute malnutrition in their communities.

Role

As Community Extender in Tundi, Giridih, you will help communities and health services care for children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). You will support the local Malnutrition Treatment Centre (MTC), work closely with health, ICDS and frontline teams, make sure children are followed up after they go home, and keep good data and reports. You will report to the Project Manager.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with Medical Officers, Hospital Managers and other health and administrative staff so the MTC runs well.
• Keep MTC beds well used, with a focus on cure rates and correct feeding and medicine routines for SAM children.
• Support the referral and treatment of SAM children at the MTC.
• Bring together Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the National Health Mission (NHM) and other partners so the programme runs smoothly.
• Help plan and run training for Medical Officers, Feeding Demonstrators, Staff Nurses and other MTC staff on standard procedures for SAM care, including children who do not respond to treatment and critical cases.
• Lead data reviews and monthly and quarterly review meetings on SAM indicators, findings and challenges.
• Spot gaps in supplies, record-keeping, reporting, data checks and communication, and suggest fixes.
• Maintain block-level records of Anganwadi Centres, Sub-Centres, PHCs and frontline workers (AWWs, Sahiyas and ANMs), and of malnourished children seen in OPDs, paediatric wards or community screening.
• Attend at least eight Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) sessions a month, mainly in areas with many SAM cases, and join block-level meetings on nutrition and child health.
• Follow up children discharged from the MTC by staying in touch with their caregivers and frontline workers.
• Assess the social situation of families of SAM children and connect them with Anganwadi Centres, the Public Distribution System (PDS) and other government schemes.
• Arrange groceries, medicines and supplies for the MTC, record success stories and best practices, and submit field visit and programme reports to the Project Manager.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Social Work, Public Health, Nutrition, Community Development or a related field.
• At least 3 years of work experience in public health, social work, public health nutrition, child nutrition, micronutrient supplementation, emergency nutrition or management of children with SAM.
• Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in data management and reporting.
• Experience in community mobilisation.
• Ability to work well with government departments and community groups.
• Good communication, documentation and people skills.
• Skilled in MS Office and report writing.
• Based in or willing to move to Tundi block, Giridih district, Jharkhand.

Benefits

• One-year contract, renewable based on project needs and performance.
• Hands-on work improving child nutrition alongside government health systems and communities.
• An equal opportunity employer that welcomes women, persons with disabilities, and people from economically and socially marginalised communities.

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