GOAL is seeking an Infection Control Specialist with expertise in infectious disease specific outbreak response measures to work as part of its Ebola Response team in Sierra Leone. The post holder will in particular ensure that all infection control measures are in place as per protocols in the GOAL Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Port Loko.
S/he will also be responsible for risk management in the ETC and will ensure that all significant Events (SE) are appropriately documented and that any learning from such events is appropriately disseminated to staff.
Duties and Responsibilities
Infection Control
· Supervise and manage the IPC Supervisors and ensure that they are familiar with their role in terms of being responsible for IPC on each shift in the ETC.
· Ensure that infection control protocols and SOPs are in place in the ETC and that these are updated regularly.
· Plan and implement regular IPC on the job training and risk assessments for all cadres of staff working in the ETC or in the community.
· Provide advice to burial/surveillance and ambulance teams on how they can ensure minimal risk of infection in the community and promote community acceptance of their work.
· Participate in quality/performance improvement activities by assessing, monitoring, and measuring IPC standards on an ongoing basis and working with the overall ETC manager to ensure that all staff members are familiar with relevant protocols and SOPs.
· Serve as a knowledgeable and available resource on infection control practices and policies to families of patients, clinical staff, community leaders and GOAL support staff.
· Ensure that laboratory testing and sample transportation procedures are in line with agreed protocols.
Risk Management
· Ensure that all Risk Management protocols are in place and being adhered to in the ETC.
· Lead the Risk Management working group in the ETC and chair the bi-monthly Risk Management meeting.
· Responsible for overseeing that the Significant Event SOP and reporting template is updated and disseminated to staff.
· Ensure that all significant events are being documented as per SOP and that staff know how to provide feedback for such events.
· Provide information for staff on what they should do in the event of a significant event (breach of ETC SOPs or a near miss).
· Disseminate any learning or feedback from significant events review to relevant staff and ensure that GOAL as an organization is learning from such events.
Requirements
· Higher level degree in infection control, public health or epidemiology
· At least 3+ years working in the area of infection control and disease surveillance with ideally some of this time spent overseas in a development country or humanitarian context.
· Experience of staff training in IPC and of development of Infection Control protocols.
