Project Officer – Community – Birth Companionship job

About Thamini Uhai

Thamini Uhai, formerly World Lung foundation, is a Tanzanian non-governmental organization that has partnered with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania since 2008 to reduce maternal and early neonatal mortality and strengthen health systems in underserved rural areas.
From 2008 to 2019, Thamini Uhai worked with Bloomberg Philanthropies to expand quality Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care services and, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Local Government Authorities, piloted birth companionship project nine (9) public health facilities in Kigoma Region from 2017 to 2018 and scaled birth companionship as a core element of respectful maternity care across 28 health facilities in Kigoma, Katavi, Geita, and Mwanza Regions.
The project supported advocacy efforts for government-led scale-up through comprehensive council health budgets, introduced a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) module integrated into national eLearning platform, contributed to revision of Labour ward designs to accommodate privacy and contributed to the development of national guideline on integrating gender and respectful care into RMNCAH services.
The organization has recently secured funding for a three-year project to scale up birth companionship as a key element of respectful maternity care in Mwanza Region. The project will include health facility assessments, minor renovations of Labour rooms, community sensitization, and capacity building on supportive care during Labour using the Labour Care Guide, complemented by supportive supervision and mentorship.

Position

Position description

DepartmentProgram

Reports toBirth Companionship Project Manager

Assignment typeFull-time

LocationMwanza

LengthOne year

Position summary

The Birth Companionship Project Officer – Community provides operational and technical support for the implementation of community-based interventions under the Birth Companionship project, ensuring effective delivery of activities that strengthen community awareness, ownership, and demand for respectful maternity care services.

The role supports integration of birth companionship within community and facility systems by working closely with community health workers, local leadership, and health facility teams. It contributes to planning, coordination, monitoring, and reporting of community activities, while ensuring alignment with program objectives, national priorities, and communication strategies.

The position also supports documentation, learning, and community-level advocacy efforts to enhance sustainability and scale-up of the intervention.

Key responsibilities

I. Community-level planning and coordination

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with CHWs, community leaders, RHMTs, CHMTs, and facility teams

• Support planning and coordination of community engagement and sustainability meetings

• Contribute to development of activity plans aligned with program workplans

• Support coordination between community structures and health facilities

• Work closely with the communication team to align community activities with communication strategies

II. Community implementation and mobilization

• Conduct community sensitization sessions on birth companionship and respectful maternity care

• Work closely with community health workers to mobilize households and strengthen facility-community linkages

• Support formation and strengthening of birth companionship associations for peer support and advocacy

• Facilitate establishment of community-based support mechanisms, including village-level support funds

• Engage community leaders and groups to strengthen ownership and sustainability

• Ensure consistent delivery of approved messages and materials in collaboration with the communication team

III. Implementation support and integration