Project Officer – Community – Birth Companionship Job at Thamini Uhai – September 2026

Organization: Thamini Uhai
Position: Project Officer – Community – Birth Companionship
Department: Program
Reports To: Birth Companionship Project Manager
Location: Mwanza, Tanzania
Assignment Type: Full-time
Duration: One year
Number of Positions: 1
Application Deadline: 7 October 2026

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. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Local Government Authorities, the organization piloted a birth companionship project in nine public health facilities in Kigoma Region from 2017 to 2018 and later 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 the national eLearning platform, contributed to revisions of labour ward designs to accommodate privacy, and contributed to the development of national guidelines on integrating gender and respectful care into RMNCAH services.

Thamini Uhai 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 Summary

The Project Officer – Community will provide operational and technical support for community-based interventions under the Birth Companionship project. The role will focus on strengthening community awareness, ownership, and demand for respectful maternity care services.

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

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

Key Responsibilities

1. Community-Level Planning and Coordination

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with Community Health Workers (CHWs), community leaders, RHMTs, CHMTs, and facility teams.
• Support planning and coordination of community engagement and sustainability meetings.
• Contribute to the 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.

2. 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.

3. Implementation Support and Integration

• Support implementation of birth companionship activities across assigned sites.
• Facilitate linkages between community mobilization and facility service delivery.
• Support coordination of field activities with project teams and partners.
• Assist in implementation of integrated interventions where required.
• Ensure adherence to program guidelines and quality standards.

4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Support collection and reporting of community and facility-level data.
• Work with CHWs to ensure completeness and accuracy of community data.
• Conduct routine data quality checks and provide feedback.
• Support implementation of endline evaluations and surveys.
• Contribute to documentation of lessons learned and community insights.
• Work with the communication team to package learning for dissemination.

5. Supervision and Community Coordination

• Provide day-to-day support to community health workers and community groups.
• Monitor performance of community-level activities and provide feedback.
• Strengthen coordination between CHWs, facilities, and project teams.
• Support capacity building through mentorship and on-the-job guidance.
• Ensure community activities remain aligned with project targets.

6. Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare and submit monthly implementation reports.
• Contribute to quarterly and final project reports.
• Maintain proper documentation of community activities.
• Support compilation of data and inputs for program reporting.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of all submitted reports.

7. Operational and Administrative Support

• Assist in coordinating logistics for community activities.
• Support proper use and accountability of project resources.
• Ensure adherence to organizational policies and procedures.
• Facilitate communication and coordination across teams.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Social Sciences, or Community Development with at least three (3) years of relevant experience; or
• Diploma with at least seven (7) years of experience in RMNCAH.
• Experience working with community health workers and community-based health systems.
• Experience in community mobilization, training facilitation, and stakeholder engagement.
• Familiarity with maternal and newborn health and respectful maternity care interventions.
• Experience supporting donor-funded health programs is an added advantage.

How to Apply

Suitably qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and updated CV as one consolidated PDF document to:

hr@thaminiuhai.or.tz

The email subject line should indicate the position applied for.

Applicants must include three (3) professional referees with valid contact details in their CV.

Application Deadline

7 October 2026

Due to the anticipated high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Non-Discrimination

Thamini Uhai states that diversity, fairness, and merit drive its recruitment and are aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and values.