Project Officer – Clinical – 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 – Clinical provides technical and operational support for the implementation of facility-based interventions under the Birth Companionship project, ensuring high-quality delivery of respectful maternity care services within supported health facilities.

The role focuses on strengthening provider capacity, improving service delivery practices, and ensuring effective integration of birth companionship within routine maternity care. Working closely with facility teams, Regional and Council Health Management Teams, and community structures, the position supports training, mentorship, supportive supervision, and quality improvement processes.

It also contributes to facility readiness assessments and supports implementation of minor renovations to improve the service environment for respectful maternity care. In addition, the role contributes to data management, monitoring and evaluation, documentation of best practices, and collaboration with the communication team to support knowledge generation and dissemination for continuous program improvement and scale-up.

Key responsibilities

I. Facility-level planning and coordination

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with facility leadership, RHMTs, CHMTs, and service providers

• Support planning and coordination of facility-level implementation and sustainability activities

• Participate in facility readiness assessments to identify gaps in infrastructure, privacy, workflow, and service environment

• Contribute to development of activity plans aligned with program workplans

• Support coordination between facility teams and community structures

• Work with the Project Manager to support planning of evaluations and future program phases

II. Clinical implementation and capacity building

• Plan, organize, and facilitate training sessions for healthcare providers on birth companionship and respectful maternity care

• Provide routine supportive supervision and on-site mentorship to healthcare providers

• Strengthen provider competencies in respectful maternity care, labour support, and client-centered services

• Promote adherence to national guidelines, labour care guide, and service standards

• Support integration of birth companionship into routine maternity care services

• Ensure consistent implementation of approved protocols and quality standards

• Support implementation of facility-level improvements that enhance privacy, dignity, and client experience