Description:
The International Rescue Committee has been providing emergency relief and post-conflict development initiatives in West Africa for over a decade. The IRC is undertaking an HIV prevention project in Liberia that addresses HIV/AIDS awareness and services, blood safety, universal precautions and HIV/AIDS information systems. Fundamental aspects of this project are capacity building, strengthening of systems, the establishment of technical standards and the promotion of standards at local, national and regional levels.
The blood safety and universal precautions components are centered in a referral hospital in Ganta town. The blood safety component addresses the provision of safe blood for transfusion through recruiting voluntary non-paid blood donors, screening of all donors, and screening of all donated blood for transfusion transmissible infections, reducing unnecessary blood transfusions and establishing quality control systems. The universal precautions component involves the establishment of standard operational procedures and quality control systems for infection prevention throughout the hospital.
Responsibilities
Assist the blood safety manager and other project staff in ensuring implementation of all blood safety and universal precautions activities of the project, including:
· Community mobilization for blood donation, ensuring selecting of appropriate target groups and use of appropriate messages and media
· Assessment and documentation of the status of universal precautions at Ganta United Methodist Hospital (GUMH)
· Implementation of revised standard operational procedures for blood safety and universal precautions in GUMH
· Review of standard equipment and supplies lists for blood safety and universal precautions
· Training of hospital staff on SOPs through formal training courses and on-the-job capacity building
· Review and implementation of supervision systems for blood safety and universal precautions
· Strengthening of hospital documentation systems for blood safety and universal precautions
· Writing of reports
Requirements
· Health professional (MD, RN, or Laboratory Technician)
· Experience working in blood transfusion services preferred
· Experience working in health programs in developing countries preferred
· Strong communication skills
· Ability to work as part of a team
· Computer literate
Position length: 4-6 months
This is an unaccompanied position
