Community Nurse Counselor

About this role

Job Title: Community Nurse Counselor Function: Community Integrated HIV Prevention, Testing, Linkage, and Retention Services Department: Community Integrated HIV Prevention Program Reports To: Project Coordinator Duty Station: Community Contact Points Employment Type: Contract Job Summary: The Community Outreach Counselor is responsible for delivering integrated, community-based HIV prevention, testing, referral, and linkage services to populations at increased risk of HIV infection. The role focuses on identifying and reaching underserved populations through hotspot-based outreach, risk assessment, HIV Testing Services (HTS), HIV self-testing (HIVST), sexually transmitted infection (STI) services, viral hepatitis screening referrals, and linkage to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The Outreach Counselor ensures timely referrals, successful linkage, retention in care, adherence support, and client follow-up while maintaining confidentiality, delivering client-centered services, and complying with national HIV guidelines and organizational standards. Key Responsibilities Community Outreach, Demand Creation, and Mobilization Conduct hotspot mapping, community profiling, and microplanning to identify emerging high-risk locations and underserved populations. Lead community mobilization and demand creation activities to increase uptake of integrated HIV prevention and health services. Promote a comprehensive package of HIV prevention and integrated health interventions, including HIV Testing Services (HTS), HIV Self-Testing (HIVST), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), STI services, viral hepatitis screening, cervical cancer screening (CXCA), family planning, and other integrated health services. Establish and maintain strong working relationships with peer educators, hotspot gatekeepers, community leaders, government health facilities, and partner organizations to strengthen community referral networks. HIV Risk Assessment and Counseling Conduct HIV risk screening using approved national risk assessment tools. Provide individualized pre-test information and post-test counseling in accordance with national HIV counseling guidelines. Provide behavioral risk-reduction counseling that addresses unsafe sexual practices, substance use, alcohol use, and other HIV risk behaviors. Support clients in developing practical risk-reduction plans and adopting healthier behaviors. Provide comprehensive condom education, demonstration, promotion, and distribution. Community-Based HIV Prevention and Clinical Services Deliver integrated community-based HIV prevention services at identified hotspot areas in accordance with national guidelines. Conduct community and home-based HIV Testing Services (HTS) for eligible at-risk individuals on a daily basis. Perform HIV rapid testing using the national testing algorithm and in full adherence to quality assurance standards. Promote and distribute HIV self-testing kits for eligible clients. Support targeted HIV case finding through hotspot-based and risk-informed testing approaches to improve positivity yield. Conduct STI syndromic screening and facilitate referral for diagnosis and treatment at public health facilities. Conduct viral hepatitis risk assessment and facilitate referral for screening and care. Promote regular HIV testing and other preventive health services among eligible clients. Ensure strict adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures during all outreach activities. Maintain client privacy and confidentiality throughout service delivery. Forecast and plan for HIV prevention and testing service commodities. Referral, Linkage, and Retention Services Ensure immediate referral and successful linkage of HIV-positive clients to ART services and eligible HIV-negative clients to PrEP and other HIV prevention services. Facilitate referrals for tuberculosis (TB), viral hepatitis, cervical cancer screening (CXCA), family planning, mental health, gender-based violence (GBV), and other health services as appropriate. Complete referral documentation accurately using approved referral tools. Follow up with all clients linked to ART and PrEP services, confirm continued engagement in care, and address barriers before and after linkage. Coordinate closely with government health facilities, Cost-Share Clinics, and implementing partners to strengthen referral and feedback mechanisms. Follow up with referred clients to confirm service uptake, ART initiation, PrEP enrollment, and completion of referrals. Provide adherence counseling, appointment reminders, and client tracing for individuals who miss appointments or are lost to follow-up. Maintain updated client contact information to support continuity of care and retention. HIV Prevention and Case Identification Commodity Supply Chain Management Conduct routine quantification and forecasting based on consumption trends and service targets. Receive, store, monitor, and manage commodities using standard warehousing practices, including routine inventory counts. Distribute commodities to contact points and cost-share clinics using the FIFO principle and redistribute stock as needed to prevent stock-outs and expiries. Monitor stock status, analyze supply chain performance, and submit timely commodity consumption, stock status, and distribution reports. Documentation, Reporting, and Quality Improvement Accurately document all services using approved project tools, including CommCare, UDS forms, integrated clinical registers, HIV-positive tracking registers, referral registers, and other approved reporting tools. Maintain complete, accurate, and timely records of outreach activities, HIV testing, referrals, follow-up outcomes, STI services, and viral hepatitis referrals. Prepare and submit daily, weekly, monthly, and other required reports within established timelines. Monitor referral outcomes and linkage performance to improve service quality. Participate in supportive supervision, clinical mentoring, data quality assessments (DQAs), and continuous quality improvement initiatives. Ensure compliance with national HIV guidelines, SOPs, organizational policies, safeguarding standards, and infection prevention requirements. Other Responsibilities Work in partnership with nearby KP-friendly clinics and respective health offices on planning, performance review, and reporting. Build and maintain strong working relationships with town-level government offices and public health facilities. Participate in integrated outreach campaigns and special service delivery events. Maintain professional conduct, confidentiality, and respect for client rights at all times. Perform any other duties assigned by the supervisor