Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS)

“A world where every child is safe, educated, loved”; Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS) established in 2007, is a non-governmental, apolitical, and not for profit organization. Our mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal’s children. We do this by providing quality education, a safe environment, and through inspiring others while putting the children first, strengthening families and our communities. Most at-risk and disadvantaged children are provided with inclusive quality education at Kopila Valley School (KVS), one of the greenest schools in Nepal, made from the earth and nestled on a campus with a commitment to building sustainable programs. Along with lifelong gift education to the disadvantaged children, we support their family members to improve their living standards and make it sustainable through holistic programs ranging from children’s home, health and wellness through women empowerment to career guidance/counseling, and scholarships for further studies. Through community outreach programs like empowerment sessions, community information center and organic farming practices, we are extending our reach. Environmental sustainability is one of the guiding principles and a way of life whatever we do!

Futures program within Kopila Valley School aims to assist students and young adults for independence and self-sufficiency through guidance counseling, career education programming, higher education scholarships, as well as life skills workshops and transitional housing for students living at the children’s home. The program supports the students from Grade 8 through 12 at Kopila Valley School and alumni studying outside KVS.

We do this with our funding partner BlinkNow Foundation and in close ties with the local government and communities.

Position : Health Promotion Officer, Health & Wellness Program

KVSS – Health & Wellness – Surkhet, Karnali

No. of Vacancy: 1

You should have patience and enthusiasm about working with children and adults for maintaining their overall health, growth and wellbeing alongside being a good team player for a high performing team.

Under the leadership of the Associate Manager; health & wellness, health promotion officer is responsible for promoting wellbeing by encouraging healthy lifestyles, preventing illness and empowering children and adults to make informed health choices that revolve around basic healthcare services-curative, promotive and preventive of Kopila Valley. S/he will coordinate with the organization’s various functions including education, clinics, health promotion, and prevention activities, and community engagement and coordinate with school, teachers, parents/guardians/ community leaders to promote health and wellbeing through health literacy.

This is a full-time position and a long-term role in shaping the health and wellness of the Kopila family, Surkhet, Nepal, and will work in close coordination with the funding partner BlinkNow Foundation. The incumbent is responsible for awareness raising on health education, need assessment and research, campaigns, community engagement and support and documentation and learning/sharing with an array of stakeholders. S/he is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults.

Work Location: Birendranagar-1, Surkhet

Reports to: Associate Manager-health and wellness

Direct reports: 02

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead health education and awareness programs for good health and wellbeing of children and adults on and off campus
• Develop and implement preventive and promotive healthcare services targeting to both children and adults including community outreach initiatives
• Organize training and orientation to children, adults and community based organizations that are based on research and impact assessment

Detailed responsibilities:

1. Lead health education and awareness programs for good health and wellbeing of children and adults on and off campus

• Conduct screening and assessments to identify individuals both children and adults (staff and teachers) at risk for health problems that are physical, mental, psychosocial
• Collate and analyze data to identify healthcare related issues and challenges that could be supported at the clinic, mental healthcare support along with sharing of critical cases on real time
• Together with clinic and other relevant team members, identify the children and adults most at need or risk and establish the most appropriate method to reach that audiences
• Coordinating with line manager and relevant stakeholders, record cases for further follow ups, and communicate to the relevant referrals mechanism for appropriate services and resources
• Follow up cases and trends of of issues and challenges of physical, mental and psychosocial domains particularly among school-aged children, families, and community members also address emerging infectious disease threats and develop and adapt strategies accordingly to ensure the safety of students, guardians, staff, and community members
• Coordinating closely with the health and wellness team, KVS and other programs, develop, adapt and use age-appropriate educational materials and resources for children, adolescents, and adults on topics such as nutrition, personal health and hygiene, mental health, and disabilities

1. Develop and implement preventive and promotive healthcare services targeting to both children and adults including community outreach initiatives

• Collaborating with the health and wellness teams, school administrators, teachers, and parents/guardians, develop, implement, and evaluate health promotion programs according to the needs of children and adults targeting to preventive and promotive healthcare services
• Support Nursing Officer at the Children’s home to organize healthcare related activities mainly promotive and preventive alongside nutrition promotion together with Nutrition Officer
• Organize home and community visits to identify healthcare related issues and implement activities to address those issues and challenges in a collaborative way with local stakeholders
• Provide support and resources to caregivers of families to promote health and wellness within the home environment with the collaboration teachers and social worker.

1. Organize training and orientation to children, adults and community based organizations that are based on research and impact assessment

• Undertake various research and assessments to make sure that data is correct and current for desired outcomes of basic healthcare services
• Collaborate with stakeholders to design surveys and associated tools like focus groups discussion, and other research methods to gather data on health-related behaviors and attitudes
• Analyze assessment findings to identify priority areas for health promotion interventions and develop evidence-based strategies to address evolving needs and priorities
• Use evaluation findings to inform program planning, make evidence-based decisions, and identify areas for improvement.
• Prepare health promotion detail activities work plan on weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis.
• Prepare reports and presentations summarizing program outcomes and accomplishments for stakeholders including leadership team
• Organize community events and advocacy workshops with stakeholders for healthcare promotion targeting to children and community women

Additional expectations

• Takes ownership of change and engage and encourage innovation
• Build positive working relationships and environment in the organization by bringing solutions to the discussion table
• Report to the manager on a weekly and real time basis in case of urgent activities
• Acts swiftly to respond emergency circumstances and humanitarian assistance activities of the organization
• Build and maintain a strong relationship with the staff, students, teachers and relevant stakeholders
• Attend weekly staff meetings, and share operational updates

The above list of responsibilities is not comprehensive, and the Health Promotion Officer may be required to take on additional responsibilities, as determined by her supervisor

Must Have

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in public health
• Experience: At least 5 years of proven experience in public health and community development field preferably at non-governmental setting with school health and nutrition program
• Language: A good communicator, and fluent in English and Nepali
• Skills and Abilities: Ability to organize, mentor and collaborate with children, youth and their activities
• Passionate about and cares for children and vulnerable population; initiator, and competent in managing operations and logistics in the organization.
• Works collaboratively and independently with the least supervision required.

Key Characteristics

• You believe that we can change the world, in the blink of an eye
• You believe in making decisions that put children first
• You are self-motivated, organized, and approachable
• You enjoy creating systems, keeping records, and increasing efficiency
• You are always looking for new ways for our team to work smarter instead of harder
• You are detail-oriented and conscientious. You make sure nothing slips through the cracks
• You have a strong work ethic and a willingness to pick up new skills. You are comfortable multi-tasking
• You are positive, patient, and a clear communicator who is comfortable working with both Kopila Valley staff in Nepal and the BlinkNow staff in the United States
• You are an empathetic person, with a knack for putting out fires before they start and soothing conflicts brewing beneath the surface
• You require little supervision and are flexible. You understand that you will be wearing many hats in this role, many of which are not explicitly included in this job description

Application Procedure

If you think this career opportunity will amplify your career growth, we encourage you to apply by clicking “Apply for the Job” and go through the Job Description and submit all required documents. If your application is a good fit, we will follow up with you directly for the screening process. No telephone inquiries will be entertained.

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