Community Nurse

Cotlands is a registered non-profit organisation (NPO) committed to creating access to quality play-based early learning experiences through toy libraries and early learning playgroups.

Join the passionate team at this leading NGO, with a strong national footprint. The organisation is well established and has been in operation for more than 86 years.

The **community nurse** will be responsible to provide vulnerable children and their families with quality health support and services to cope with their health challenges and needs while operating in an integrated model.

Duties include

**Nutrition and Health services**
- Implement the health, nutrition and psychosocial support activity plan
- Address the health functioning of the children and their families
- Participate actively and positively in the inter/multi-disciplinary team
- Implement appropriate nursing methods
- Conduct home, toy library, early learning and playgroup visits
- Maintain clients records
- Assist with programme and policy development
- Process new admissions
- Assist with drop-ins
- Report writing and statistics capturing
- Develop and implement IDPs
- Develop and maintain exit plans
- Discharge clients

Advocacy
- Demonstrate respect for ethnic and cultural issues
- Treat all children equally
- Enforce patient and children’s rights; and the best interest of the child
- Refer clients for health services

Capacity Building:

- Facilitate health talks in support groups
- Develop and implement community capacity building training programmes
- Provide in-service training to team members
- Develop and implement awareness or health campaigns
- Contribute to the development of the profession by educating and supervising auxiliary

Conduct developmental assessments and referrals
- Conduct quarterly medical assessments of children in the playgroups
- If necessary refer to clinic/hospital or to other health agencies

Administration
- Write reports
- Update statistics daily and monthly
- Liaise and network with outside agencies
- Attend relevant meetings - IDT, Health Forums, Department of Health and others; and provide feedback to relevant team members
- Coordinate and update IDP reports
- Document case studies and best practices
- Participate in the formulation of policies, strategies, priorities and plansStrategic planning, Research and Monitoring and Evaluation
- Strategic planning, Research and Monitoring and EvaluationKeep abreast with current trends and practices
- Document case studies
- Document models of care used by the department
- Participate in the formulation of policies, strategies, priorities and plans

Strategic planning, Research and Monitoring and Evaluation
- Keep abreast with current trends and practices
- Document case studies
- Document models of care used by the department
- Participate in the formulation of policies, strategies, priorities and plans

Inter-departmental cooperation
- Provide assistance and health information to other departments in Cotlands when necessary/required
- Provide fund development department and marketing and communication department with information, success stories and case studies as required for proposals, feedback to donors and newsletters

**Role**:To provide effective nutrition and health services to vulnerable children, and their families.

Personal Requirements
- Strong desire to help improve people’s lives
- Assist clients who face a life-threatening disease and/or social problems
- Work in the community care programmes
- Emotional maturity
- Be objective
- Sensitive to people and their problems
- Be able to handle responsibility
- Work independently
- Maintain good working relationships with clients and co-workers
- Work a standard 40-45 hour week
- Handle emergencies and crisis situations
- Travel locally
- Network with service providers
- Attend meetings and workshops - internally and externally

Skill and Knowledge Requirements
- Communication - Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing (including presentation)
- Decision making and judgement - Ability to make effective judgements on available data
- Influencing - Ability to influence others
- Resilience - Ability to cope under pressure and to persevere
- Thinking process - Ability to use judgement to make sound decisions
- Planning and Organising - Ability to identify the steps to be taken to achieve objectives
- Accountability - Taking personal responsibility for actions
- Relationship building - Ability to build healthy relationships with clients, volunteers and colleagues

Qualification and Requirements
- Registration with the South African Nursing Council
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of child development and community health
- Computer literate - MS package
- Driver’s licence
- Prepared to drive long distances between projects
- Working long hours but not more than 40hours per week, Monday to Friday