Psychologist (Sessional) – Key Populations Programme (Transgender) Wits RHI

Main purpose of the job:

• To provide gender-affirming health care services for adult trans and gender diverse clients within a comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment package (a maximum of 10 working hours per week, likely 2 x 5-hour sessions at the clinic)

Location:

• Hillbrow – Johannesburg

Key performance areas:

• Create a safe and affirmative space for trans and gender diverse clients accessing services
• Address primary mental health needs of transgender people including:
  • Exploration of gender identity
  • Coming out and social transition
  • General mental health issues, possibly unrelated to gender identity
• Conduct mental health evaluation for the initiation of hormone therapy, entailing:
  • Current transition aims and expectations
  • Exclusion of differential diagnosis
  • Confirmation of the client’s ability to provide informed consent
  • Assessment of any serious mental health issues to be addressed prior to hormone therapy
• Assess psychosocial factors impacting client wellbeing such as employment, domestic situation, risk factors, sexual history, recreational drug or street hormone use, social support systems, social transition needs and need for supportive counselling
• Provide ART adherence counselling for HIV positive clients who are virally unsuppressed
• Support clients’ accurate use of PrEP
• Help establish and maintain a multi-disciplinary network of private and public gender-affirming health care and associated professionals
• Function as part of a multi-disciplinary clinic team to optimise case management
• Attend a 1,5-hour onboarding workshop conducted by the TG technical consultant to improve trans competent health service delivery
• Attend 1,5-hour small group mentoring and case conferencing sessions led by the TG technical consultant
• Provide a 3-5-page quarterly report to the Site Manager on service delivery challenges and mitigation approach

Required minimum education and training:

• MA/MSocSc Clinical Psychology/Counselling Psychology
• Registered with the HPCSA or SACSSP
• Competency in transgender health and HIV care

Required minimum work experience:

• 3 to 5 years of experience working in a primary health care/NGO/community setting

Desirable additional education, work experience and personal abilities:

• Previous work experience with LBBTQI community members
• Understanding of the challenges facing key population members in the health context; prior sensitisation and/or hormone provision and monitoring experience or training are desirable
• An ability to communicate and work well with Key Population members; prior counselling experience with key populations is desirable
• Previous experience in Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services and ART adherence support
• Knowledge of national, provincial and district health and social service structures
• Able to prioritise own workload and work towards deadlines
• Self-motivated, able to work independently, take initiative and work as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Pro-active, able to exercise discretion and independent decision making
• Able to speak South African languages
• Attention to detail
• Report writing skills

TO APPLY:

• Only if you do meet the minimum job requirements and experience as mentioned above, you may submit a detailed updated CV.
• Please Apply Online and complete your registration on Ditto Hire (our application tracking system) to enable and protect you as a candidate to accept the new POPIA terms and conditions. This will then create your permanent profile with which you can apply for all jobs as advertised by AJ PERSONNEL. However, you may remove your profile from AJ PERSONNEL when you are no longer in the job market.
• AJ Personnel is fully POPIA Compliant.
• Please take note that the applicants who do not adhere to the above criteria will not be considered for the respective position.
• The closing date for all applications: 23 May 2022.
• Wits Health Consortium will only respond to shortlisted candidates.
• Candidates who have not been contacted within two weeks of the closing date can consider their applications to be unsuccessful.

Please note:

• Our Client, WHC - RHI, maintains mandatory Covid-19 requirements, and as such only Covid-19 vaccinated incumbents will be considered for positions.
• WHC, in accordance with its Employment Equity goals and plan, will give preference to suitable applicants from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and subsequent amendments thereto.
• AJ Personnel is only responsible for advertising the advertisement on behalf of their client Wits Health Consortium.
• AJ Personnel does not have any salary or other information regarding the position.