Contract Type: Fixed-term, 3 months with possibility of renewal
Number: 05
Management lines:
Reports to: Katsina Outreach Manager / OptiMA Manager
Functional Collaborators: Nurse Supervisor, Medical Doctors, SRH Supervisor, MHPSS Team, and other medical and paramedical staff
Supervises: Community Volunteer focal points and community volunteers for assigned field activities, as delegated by the OptiMA Manager.
MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
To implement the OptiMA/GiveWell community strategy in Kaita as a field-level coverage, follow-up, accountability and control function. The Community Mobilizer strengthens early identification and referral of children with acute malnutrition, Family MUAC and community participation, timely follow-up of missed visits and non-respondents, safe linkage to care, community feedback and safeguarding, and evidence-based monitoring of PPN/RUTF use. All activities must be carried out with respect, confidentiality, non-discrimination, patient/caregiver participation and close coordination with project, MoH and community teams.
Key responsibilities
Community strategy, mapping and mobilization
Implement the approved community engagement and mobilization workplan with the OptiMA Manager, translating project priorities into weekly field plans and documented community actions.
Maintain and regularly update the community map for the 10 operational zones, linking villages to PHCC/OTP and Mobile Clinic catchments and identifying distance barriers, low-coverage areas and other priority villages.
Support village risk classification and adapt the intensity of visits, dialogue, Family MUAC refreshers and mobilization according to missed visits, non-response, relocation, access constraints, referral refusal or other emerging signals.
Organize and facilitate ward/community meetings, awareness sessions and targeted dialogues with caregivers, fathers, grandmothers, religious leaders, ward leaders and other trusted community actors using respectful and non-coercive approaches.
Mobilize communities for planned OTP/Mobile Clinic activities, screening, Family MUAC campaigns, coverage surveys and other project activities, ensuring clear information on service availability, eligibility and referral pathways.
Family MUAC, screening, referral and linkage to care
Conduct and support broad and targeted Family MUAC training/refresher sessions, demonstrating correct MUAC use, danger signs, treatment eligibility, referral steps and when urgent facility assessment is required.
Support active case finding and community screening and ensure referred children are documented with the required caregiver, village/landmark, contact, MUAC category, referral information and intended service point.
Use approved caregiver messages to explain that referral is for clinical assessment and does not automatically mean RUTF entitlement; reinforce appointment respect, early return for danger signs and acceptance of ITFC referral when indicated.
Follow the referral pathway from community to facility/mobile clinic and support reconciliation of referred, assessed, admitted, not eligible, absent, refused, already-in-treatment, wrong-address and pending cases.
Prepare community information before Mobile Clinic days and support post-clinic reconciliation of high-risk children, referrals, admissions, missed children, wrong addresses and pending follow-up actions.
CV focal points and community volunteer coordination and capacity building
Support the organization of CVFPs and community volunteers by zone, maintaining up-to-date rosters, village assignments, PHCC/Mobile Clinic linkages and weekly reporting expectations.
Provide regular field supervision, coaching and practical support to CVFPs/volunteers; verify household visits, tracing actions, community sessions and required documentation, and report inactive or unsuitable volunteers for corrective action or replacement.
Brief and refreshing CVFPs/volunteers on role boundaries, confidentiality, respectful communication, no-blame reporting, PSEA/safeguarding, complaint channels, escalation lines and the prohibition of conflicts of interest in RUTF/PPN handling.
Contribute to practical training and role-play on Family MUAC, caregiver communication, home-visit quality, referral/refusal counselling, consent withdrawal/male engagement, relocation, default prevention, non-response follow-up and RUTF integrity.
Missed visits, defaulter prevention and non-response follow-up
Use the missed-visit and at-risk line lists to prioritize children with severe MUAC, recent admission, repeated late attendance, previous default, non-response, long distance, planned travel/relocation, caregiver fatigue, father opposition, referral refusal or suspected RUTF misuse.
Coordinate tracing of high-risk missed visits within 24 hours and standard missed visits within 48 hours through phone contact, CVTL contact or home visit, and document the action and outcome.
During tracing, confirm the reason for absence, update contact/address details and relocation information, assess danger signs, agree a clear return date and link the child to the appropriate service point.
Support respectful management of consent withdrawal and father refusal through confidential counselling, male engagement and leader mediation where appropriate, without coercion or public disclosure of the child/family identity.
For non-respondents, conduct or support documented home visits to verify that the child is seen, review RUTF use and dosage understanding, feeding/household barriers, missed appointments, illness/danger signs and referral acceptance.
Escalate unresolved high-risk cases, repeated failed tracing, serious clinical concerns or protection-sensitive barriers to the OptiMA Manager/Medical Referent and relevant focal point, with clear evidence of actions already taken.
PPN/RUTF integrity and community controls
Support residence, child-presence and caregiver verification for new admissions within the agreed 72-hour window in high-risk sites and for sampled cases in standard sites; promptly flag child-not-found, inconsistent details or address exceptions.
Participate in risk-based and random household end-use monitoring, checking whether the child is seen, RUTF is present or recently consumed, the caregiver understands the dosage and next appointment, and whether barriers to child-only use exist.
When RUTF is absent or use is unclear, record factual findings and classify the reason without blame or stigma; do not make care conditional on punitive measures or public accusations.
Escalate suspected sale, sharing, double collection, repeated child-not-found, caregiver avoidance or other diversion signals through the approved incident/escalation pathway and contribute evidence for corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
Sensitize caregivers and community leaders on child-only RUTF use, no sale/no sharing, safe storage, appointment adherence and confidential reporting channels, and collaborate with Nutrition, Pharmacy and M&E on unusual community or consumption signals.
Accountability, protection, PSEA and community feedback
Promote accessible complaints and feedback channels, including confidential options and pathways suitable for caregivers who may have low literacy, and explain the feedback loop and non-retaliation principle.
Systematically collect non-sensitive community feedback, concerns and rumours related to waiting time, staff attitude, eligibility explanations, referral, RUTF use, service barriers and community perceptions, and transmit them through the agreed mechanism.
Immediately refer to PSEA, safeguarding, protection or other sensitive concerns through the designated confidential pathway and never investigate or disclose sensitive cases outside the authorized process.
Identify social, family and protection-related barriers affecting access to care or treatment adherence and, with informed consent, facilitate safe internal or external referral to MHPSS, protection/social support or other vetted services where available.
Maintain a dignified, patient/caregiver-centred approach during community activities and home visits, protecting privacy, agency, confidentiality and the safety of children and vulnerable adults.
Monitoring, documentation, coordination and continuous improvement
Maintain complete and timely community documentation, including zone/volunteer rosters, risk maps, Family MUAC/session reports, screening/referral line lists, weekly alert logs, home-visit/tracing forms, dialogue notes, feedback logs and evidence of closed actions.
Consolidate weekly community alerts on suspected acute malnutrition, missed visits, wrong addresses, child not found, relocation, RUTF absence, referral refusal, complaints and other priority issues; ensure follow-up is evidence-based rather than closed verbally.
Work with the Data/M&E team to verify community data, protect personal information and contribute to the monthly zone scorecard covering screening, referrals, verified admissions, tracing, non-respondent follow-up, RUTF integrity alerts, complaints and action closure.
Participate in weekly community/case-review coordination with Nutrition, M&E/Data, Pharmacy, PSEA/Safeguarding and site teams; report field trends, barriers and unresolved actions and contribute to corrective measures and adjustment of community plans.
Support joint supervision, community assessments, coverage monitoring, donor/independent back-check readiness and other quality-improvement activities requested by the project, while keeping organized and auditable evidence.
Profile requirements
Education:
Essential: Secondary school diploma or equivalent.
Desirable: Diploma or bachelor-level training in social sciences, social work, behavioural sciences, public health, community health, nursing, nutrition or another relevant field.
Experience:
Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in community mobilization, health promotion/community engagement or social/community work, including volunteer follow-up, household visits/tracing, community mapping and awareness activities; humanitarian or NGO experience is strongly preferred.
Experience in nutrition/CMAM/OptiMA, Family MUAC, defaulter/non-response follow-up, community feedback/AAP or RUTF end-use monitoring is a strong asset.
Skills and Competencies:
Strong community facilitation, interpersonal communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to organize/coach volunteers, engage community leaders respectfully and escalate high-risk issues appropriately.
Results and quality orientation, cultural awareness, service orientation, integrity, discretion and strong commitment to confidentiality and safeguarding.
Good documentation, data-quality and reporting skills; basic computer literacy in Word and Excel is essential. Experience with digital data collection tools (e.g., ComCare/ODK) is an asset.
Fluency in Hausa is essential; working proficiency in English is essential. Other locally relevant languages are an asset.
Ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary medical, nutrition, M&E, pharmacy, MHPSS/PSEA and MoH/community teams.
Additional Information
Frequent interaction with children, caregivers and vulnerable adults requires strict compliance with ALIMA safeguarding, PSEA, confidentiality, data-protection and code-of-conduct requirements. A certificate of good conduct or declaration of honour may be required.
The position requires regular field travel to villages, PHCC/OTP and Mobile Clinic catchments in Kaita LGA and flexibility to work in a dynamic humanitarian and security context.
Applications are processed in the order of arrival and we reserve the right to close the offer before the term initially indicated if a good application is successful. Only full applications will be taken into account. Only accepted applications will be contacted.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
IMPORTANT REMARKS
Only successful applicants will be called for an interview.
No monetary transactions, neither demands of favors in kind, nor other types of favouritism will be tolerated in the recruitment process