How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should forward their CV to careers@cpn-kenya.org using "Project Officer - MCH" as the subject of the email. Your application should include a cover letter stating the position applied for and highlighting relevant experience, an updated CV, copies of relevant academic and professional certificates, a valid Police Clearance Certificate, and a brief suitability statement explaining your experience and suitability for the position, particularly in Care Group programming, MCH, community health/community nursing, and work in urban informal settlements. Please also include three referees: one professional referee who has directly supervised you, and one reference from a pastor.
Mastering MCH Project Coordination in Urban Informal Settlements
Securing this Project Officer role requires more than just a strong CV; it demands tangible proof of your ability to navigate the complexities of maternal and child health initiatives within challenging urban informal settings. Hiring managers will be looking for practical experience in community mobilization, data-driven reporting, and effective stakeholder engagement.
1. Showcase Community Engagement Expertise: Detail your hands-on experience in community mobilization, health education, and fostering participation in MCH programs. Provide concrete examples of how you've successfully engaged diverse community groups, especially in informal settlements, to achieve health outcomes.
2. Highlight MCH Technical Knowledge: Emphasize your understanding and application of maternal, newborn, and child health principles, including antenatal care, safe delivery, postnatal care, and immunization. Demonstrate how you've translated national health guidelines into actionable community-level interventions.
3. Demonstrate Care Group and CHP/CHA Collaboration: Clearly articulate your experience working with and strengthening Care Groups, Community Health Promoters (CHPs), and Community Health Assistants (CHAs). Illustrate your role in their training, mentorship, and supportive supervision, as this is a core program strategy.
4. Prove Data Management and Reporting Acumen: Provide examples of your capabilities in collecting, verifying, analyzing, and reporting program data. Discuss your experience with beneficiary tracking, activity monitoring, referral follow-up, and preparing donor-compliant narrative and technical reports.
5. Emphasize Stakeholder Coordination: Detail your experience in coordinating with various stakeholders, including health facilities, County and Sub-County health teams, and community leaders. Show how you've built and maintained effective linkages to ensure continuity of care and program success.
6. Address Urban Informal Settlement Challenges: Specifically, highlight your experience and strategies for working effectively within urban informal settlements. Discuss how you've adapted approaches to overcome unique logistical, social, and health-seeking behavior challenges in these contexts.
7. Uphold Ethical and Safeguarding Principles: Integrate examples of your commitment to professional ethics, safeguarding, confidentiality, and the principle of "do no harm" in your previous roles. This is crucial for roles involving vulnerable populations and community trust.
8. Bilingual Communication for Community Impact: Stress your excellent communication skills in both English and Kiswahili, particularly in facilitating community health education and engaging diverse community members. Provide instances where your language proficiency directly contributed to program effectiveness.