Italian Association Friends of Raoul Follereau (AIFO) – AIFO-Liberia

Vacancy Announcement No. 001/22

Issued on: 15 April 2022

Deadline for Application: 08 May 2022

Position Title: Midwife (National position)

AIFO Liberia is seeking to fill the role of Midwife to support our CAD-L program team at the Central Office in Monrovia, Liberia.

Qualified women and men with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

AIFO Liberia

The Italian Association Friends of Raoul Follereau (AIFO) is a non-for-profit organisation that has been present in Liberia since 1997. AIFO Liberia offers opportunities for people affected by leprosy, persons with disabilities (PWDs), women/children and members from vulnerable and marginalised communities to lead a better quality of life. AIFO Liberia focuses on healthcare and economic empowerment to provide a better quality of life and create large scale positive change. AIFO Liberia is accredited by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Republic of Liberia; accreditation number 0094.

Coordinated Action on Disability in Liberia (CAD-L) program

The CAD-L program is a four-year intervention that aims to change systems and institutions in Liberia to include PWDs in development processes, acting as advocates and agents of change for an equitable and inclusive society. The CAD-L program, which started on 01 September 2021, coordinates the efforts of duty bearers (employers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, the police, among others), right based holders (persons with disabilities and leprosy patients), organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) and of women with disabilities (OWWDs), and the institutions and CSOs representing them, towards improving the economic independence of PWDs through access to socio-economic and sexual reproductive health rights (SRHRs) and to means of communication to advocate for their entitlements.

About the Role

This is a 1-year contract, with a 3-month probation period and with the possibility of renewal.

Objectives

The Midwife will work to enhance the project holistic approach to the promotion of Sexual Reproductive Health Rights and services aimed at targeting PWDs and healthcare practitioners in public/private facilities. PWDs will improve their knowledge about SRHRs, family planning (FP) opportunities, services and products and have better access to family planning services and products). Their increased access will be stimulated through a peer to peer referral process and through other outputs of the CAD-L program, for example sustaining start-up opportunities of SRHRs ambassadors related to the sale and promotion of family planning products. Healthcare practitioners (especially pharmacists, nurses, midwives, doctors) will improve their knowledge about disabilities and expand their capacities to unbiasedly support PWDs in their access to sexual health services and commodities. The CAD-L Theory of Change proposes improved access to SRHRs and

family planning products and services enhances the capacity of women with disabilities to engage in employment and self-employment activities.

The midwife will be based in Monrovia, with frequent trips to project counties when necessary, and will refer to the Project Officer. S/he works in collaboration with the CAD-L program team managed by the CAD-L Chief of Party, including AIFO Liberia’s Regional Office team, and Community Workers.

Main responsibilities are (but limited to):

1. Ensure that communication with project partners and interlockers considers the communication, skills and awareness needs of PWDs (including the availability of braille material, easy to read versions and sign language interpreters) and healthcare practitioners pertaining to the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and access to services and products for PWDs in Liberia
2. Lead the development of two training manuals for the execution of homogeneous information/learning sessions to PWDs on SRHRs and to Health Workers (HWs) on Disability Awareness, SRHRs and accessibility for PWDs
3. Work through the project to improve the capacity of HWs to relate to PWDs appropriately and as such to improve their capacity to provide meaningful and optimized information to protect and promote PWDs’ health, sexual and economic rights
4. Ensure the enhancement and stimulation of PWDS access to family planning services and products 5. Ensure that PWDs have increased knowledge about their sexual and reproductive health rights 6. Work to empower PWDs to make informed SRHRs’ choices about their lives, while also boosting demand of family planning services and reporting of sexual abuse
5. Ensure that SRHRs awareness is boosted at community level, to complement the services provided by the public and private health clinics and to ensure uptake of FP and declined economic dependency from family members begins at the grassroot level
6. Contribute to strengthening SRHRs coordinating efforts, supporting and participating to existing quarterly coordination meetings led by the MOH, with the main objective of ensuring that PWDs become a key focus of MOH strategy in FP and commodities 38 provision and with the long term objective of contributing to policy dialogue between organizations representing the rights of PWDs and stakeholders engaged in SRHRs in Liberia
7. Assist with the implementation of the CAD-L program awareness and advocacy initiatives, as well as communication and visibility actions in compliance with AIFO Liberia Communication Strategy, CAD L Program Communication and Visibility plans and donors’ guidelines

Requirements to achieve role’s objectives:

 A degree or diploma in midwifery or equivalent

 At least 2 years of demonstrable experience in a similar role, preferable with INGOs working in development programming with knowledge of project cycle management

 Sound knowledge on disability rights as well as SRHRs, family planning services and products  Working knowledge of MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other relevant computer applications

 Excellent English written and verbal communication skills

 Able to adapt to changing program priorities and emergency priorities that may arise

 Good planning and organizational skills coupled with problem-solving capabilities

 Hands-on community mobilization skills

 Ability to work independently and as part of a team; well organized, and able to prioritize multiple tasks

 Excellent interpersonal skills; Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment with (inter)national partners; Flexible and able to handle the pressure

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, send your CV, a cover letter detailing how you meet the job specification and three references to cv.liberia@aifo.it indicating in the subject of the email: AIFO Liberia Midwife – No.001/22

We apologise in advance, but only qualified and shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. The selection respects the principles of equal opportunities (Law 903/77).