Nursing Officer

KOPILA VALLEY SEWA SAMAJ

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj (KVSS)

“A world where every child is safe, educated, loved”- Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj is a non-profitable NGO registered in Surkhet, Nepal to provide support for children and families in our community. Our mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal’s children. KVSS programs include a residential children’s home, Kopila Valley School (KVS) for inclusive quality education, women’s empowerment, sustainability, health and wellness, and family development program. We provide our students a free education, educational materials, health treatment and medicine, counseling, and a place to live. With our innovative future program, we strive to provide our children with career guidance, and scholarships for further studies. Our children’s home provides a safe, loving, and stable home for children in extreme cases of need, when all other options have been exhausted. We do this with our funding partner BlinkNow Foundation and in close ties with the local government and communities. 

The BlinkNow Foundation is a 501(c)(3) based in New Jersey which, through its country office in Nepal, oversees these programs in rural Nepal. Every day we strive to create a sustainable organization working to educate all of Kopila’s children until they are ready to enter the world as happy, skilled, confident, self-sufficient adults. We believe we can serve as a model for quality education in Nepal. We will strive to provide our children with scholarships (should they choose to pursue higher education), the skills required to enter the world as global citizens, and ambassadors for change.

Position Summary: Nursing Officer- Children Home

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Nursing Officer to join our Kopila Valley Children’s Home. The primary responsibility of a Nursing Officer will be to provide healthcare and wellbeing services to children living at Children’s home-treat injuries and manage/refer to designated health facilities for mild to acute sicknesses, or support children with chronic illnesses. Alongside being the focal point of safety and security of Children’s home, you’ll also help with preventive care by educating children on how to avoid communicable diseases and having proper hygiene. 

The Nursing Officer will have excellent basic healthcare and organizational skills and the ability to communicate with children, caregivers, and teachers. The position will help make children’s home safe and hygienic places for all children and staff members. The Nursing Officer will have sound administrative knowledge in documentation, recording and reporting. 

This is an in-house/residential full time role. We provide market competitive benefits, learning opportunities and exciting personal and professional growth opportunities in the organization.

Work Location: Birendranagar -4, Surkhet

Application Deadline: 21 April 2024

Reporting to: Associate Manager-Children’s Home

Job type: In-house/residential full time job

The Main Responsibilities

1. Lead basic healthcare and hygiene of children living at children’s home so that children are cared for and supported in the best possible way
2.  Ensure children’s home environment is safe for all children and staff
3.  Manage caregivers at Children’s home and build capacity in child protection 
4.  Liaise between health facilities, children, and different programs for timely service delivery and integration

Detailed Responsibilities

1. Lead basic healthcare and hygiene of children living at children’s home so that children are cared for and supported in the best possible way

• Ensure all clinical practices and medication processes at Children’s home are conducted in line with legislation and children’s home operations guidelines
• Provide basic healthcare to children in case of injury or acute illness
• Develop and monitor health plans for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities
• Create and maintain schedules for activities and routines related to hygiene and wellbeing through educating children and staff on healthy habits, such as proper nutrition and hygiene 
• Make sure that medical supplies are adequate and up to date at all times 
• Detect health problems in early stages through regular screenings
• Conduct screenings and writing referrals for health services 
• Keep track of children’s vaccination records
• Update children’s medical history

2. Ensure children’s home environment is safe for all children and staff

• Ensure children’s home environment is safe for children and staff (e.g. prevention of communicable diseases)
• Lead to assess child protection risk assessment and develop risk mitigation plans and its implementation 
• Organize events like drills, mock presentations in disaster risk reduction and preparedness 
• Support to develop child protection and safety plan of children’s home and ensure its followed at all time
• Have demonstrated proactive communications and adhere to safety rules and behavior expectations in line with code of conduct and high standards set

3. Manage caregivers at Children’s home and build capacity in child protection 

• Supervise the work of caregivers at the children’s home on a daily basis and provide continued feedback for delivering quality of care
• Demonstrate discipline from personal behavior, initiate it for the team to demonstrate, and encourage it to flow from the team to the children
• Support caregivers to address any obstacles or challenges they may face
• Evaluate the performance of the home caregivers, and support them in their professional development through orientation and training

4. Liaise between health facilities, children, and different programs for timely service delivery and integration

• Establish functional working relationship with health facilities and write referrals for pediatricians and other health specialists, including mental health counseling 
• Coordinating with an Enrichment Coordinator, organize classes on enhancing self-esteem, on awareness in mental health through different extracurricular activities like debate, theater and other activities
• Coordinate with different programs to organize learning/sharing activities and document good practices
• Support supervisor to maintain children’s documentation including passport, citizenship, birth certificate and other relevant legal documents
• Ensure compliance with national and local health laws

Additional expectations 

• Take 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 basis, and as needed in case of urgent activities.
• Build and maintain a strong relationship with the children, staff and relevant stakeholders. 
• Attend weekly staff meetings and share operational updates.
• Always maintain integrity and confidentiality.
• The above list of responsibilities is not comprehensive, and the Nursing Officer may be required to take on additional responsibilities, as determined by your supervisor.

Must Haves

Education: B.Sc. Nursing or Bachelors in Nursing (BN) or Bachelors of Public health with Nursing Background.

Experience: At least 2 years of proven experience in health care, working with children. Previous work experience in the Children’s Home would be an added advantage.

Language: A good communicator, and fluent in English and Nepali

Skills and Abilities: Ability to manage, mentor and lead a team; 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 opportunity will amplify your career growth, we encourage you to apply by clicking "Apply for the Job" and submit all required documents.

Note: No telephone inquiries will be entertained. If your application is a good fit, we will follow up with you directly for the screening process.