Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Services Specialist 3 views

JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION TITLE: Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Services Specialist

REPORTS TO: OVC Service Director

DUTY STATION: Addis Ababa

MINIMUM HOURS OF WORK: 40 Hours per Week

SUPERVISEE: None

Contract duration: Three (3) months, with the possibility of extension subject to organizational needs and funding availability.

Code of Conduct

It is our shared responsibility and obligation to treat each other with respect, take affirmative steps to prevent matters involving Sexual Exploitation & Abuse and Trafficking in Persons, and to disclose all potential and actual violations of our Code of Conduct, which may include Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption, Discrimination or Harassment. Together, we can reinforce a culture of respect, integrity, accountability, and transparency.

Background

Project HOPE is an international NGO of more than 500 engaged employees and hundreds of volunteers who work in more than 25 countries, responding to the world’s most pressing global health challenges.

Job Summary: The OVC Services Specialist provides technical leadership and day-to-day oversight for high-quality, case management–driven OVC programming under the Community HIV Care and Treatment (CHCT) activity. The role supports implementation of family-centered services for orphans and vulnerable children, adolescents, and caregivers, with priority attention to children and adolescents living with HIV, pregnant and breastfeeding women’s children, and other vulnerable households most affected by HIV in Addis Ababa. The Specialist ensures services are targeted, efficient, measurable, and aligned with evolving PEPFAR OVC programming and the America First Global Health Strategy, with strong emphasis on frontline life-saving services, pediatric and adolescent HIV treatment outcomes, local capacity strengthening, sustainability, and country-led coordination.

Under the supervision of the OVC Service Director, the Specialist provides technical assistance to sub-awardees and field teams; strengthens case management systems; supports service linkages between communities, health facilities, and social service structures; and promotes data-driven program improvement. The position works closely with project technical teams, local implementing sub-awardees, government counterparts, community structures, and health facilities to ensure integrated OVC services contribute to treatment continuity, viral load suppression, child protection, household resilience, and sustainable transition to stronger local systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and routine follow-up for implementation of integrated OVC programming, ensuring services are aligned with project goals, national guidance, and current PEPFAR priorities.
• Support high-quality household case management, including identification, assessment, care planning, referrals, follow-up, case conferencing, and safe case closure.
• Prioritize services for children and adolescents living with HIV and other vulnerable children most affected by HIV, ensuring close coordination with clinical partners to improve treatment adherence, retention, viral load monitoring, disclosure support, and overall pediatric and adolescent HIV treatment outcomes.
• Strengthen bidirectional referral systems between communities, health facilities, child protection actors, schools, and social service providers to ensure beneficiaries receive needed services in a timely manner.
• Monitor the quality, timeliness, and completeness of OVC service delivery and ensure adherence to approved service standards, safeguarding principles, confidentiality requirements, and data protection protocols.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks and service delivery risks, and support practical solutions that improve efficiency, frontline impact, and beneficiary safety.
• Build the capacity of sub-awardees, social service workers, volunteers, and relevant stakeholders through training, coaching, mentoring, supportive supervision, and performance feedback.
• Support local ownership and sustainability by strengthening community structures, government coordination, referral agreements, and the functionality of existing local service platforms.
• Promote use of data for decision-making by reviewing service, case management, and clinical cascade data to identify gaps, track outcomes, and guide targeted improvement actions.
• Ensure accurate, complete, and timely documentation and reporting of services in approved information systems, including UDS/CommCare and other project M&E tools.
• With guidance from the OVC Service Director and M&E team, track progress against targets, milestones, and quality indicators; prepare routine technical updates and contribute to monthly, quarterly, biannual, and annual reports.
• Support continuous quality improvement activities, documentation of lessons learned, and sharing effective practices across implementation areas.
• Undertake other related duties assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications and Experience

Required Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, Nursing, or a related field with at least 8 years of relevant experience.
• Relevant experience in OVC, HIV/AIDS, child protection, community health, case management, or social support programming is required; experience supporting children and adolescents living with HIV is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in capacity strengthening, supportive supervision, partner coordination, and program monitoring.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and report writing skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and routine digital data systems used for program reporting.

Core Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to coordinate, mentor, and support technical staff, community workers, and volunteers.
• Strong relationship-building skills with government, partners, health facilities, and community structures.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, solve problems, and work effectively in a team environment.
• Good written and spoken English.
• High attention to detail and commitment to service quality, safeguarding, and confidentiality.