Peer Counselor Support

Hlfppt; India; Remote; INR 201,000 - 335,000; Full time

Job summary

Hlfppt is seeking a field-based outreach professional in India to support treatment adherence, retention in care, LFU tracking, and community engagement among PWID and people living with HIV. The role involves counselling, home visits, and coordination with ART and TI projects to ensure seamless service delivery.

You will document activities, participate in referrals, and uphold client confidentiality with empathetic, client-centered care.

Qualifications

• Minimum 1–2 years of experience working with vulnerable communities such as IDU/PLHIV on health or social intervention projects.
• Experience in HIV/AIDS, harm reduction, OST, community mobilizing and counselling.
• Fluency in the local language of the target area is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual and group counselling on ART adherence, treatment literacy, importance of regular ART intake, viral load testing, and retention in care.
• Conduct follow-up visits and telephonic counselling for clients at risk of treatment interruption.
• Support formation and functioning of treatment buddy systems and community support groups.
• Encourage participation in Community ART Refill Groups (CARGs) where applicable.
• Mobilize PWID for HIV services, OST enrolment, viral load testing, hepatitis screening, and other health services.
• Maintain regular coordination with ART Centres, CSCs, OST Centres and TI projects for identification of LFU clients.
• Conduct home visits, hotspot visits, and community outreach for tracing LFU clients.
• Facilitate re-initiation of ART services for clients who have interrupted treatment.
• Accompany difficult-to-reach clients to ART Centres, Viral Load collection sites, OST Centres, or other service delivery points when required.
• Document reasons for treatment interruption and support corrective interventions.
• Conduct outreach activities in identified PWID hotspots and congregating areas.
• Map and update information on hotspots, peak timings, and community networks relevant for client tracking.
• Build rapport with PWID communities and act as a bridge between service providers and beneficiaries.
• Facilitate referrals and accompanied linkages to ART Centres, OST Centres, ICTCs, CSCs, mental health services and drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centres
• Strengthen cross-linkages between TI projects and ART services.
• Provide basic psychosocial support and motivational counselling, identify signs of depression, anxiety, substance-use-related distress, and social isolation.
• Conduct routine mental health screening using approved tools; refer clients requiring specialized care.
• Promote safer injecting practices and harm reduction strategies.
• Educate clients on overdose prevention, safer sexual behaviour, HIV prevention, STI prevention, and risk reduction.
• Maintain records of outreach activities, counselling sessions, referrals, and LFU tracking efforts.
• Submit weekly and monthly progress reports to the reporting supervisor.
• Support maintenance and updating of client line lists, tracking registers, referral records, and follow-up documentation.
• Participate in review meetings and contribute to case discussions.
• Coordinate with CSCs, ART Centres, TI-NGOs, OST Centres, PLHIV networks, community champions, and outreach workers.
• Conduct support group meetings, community consultations, and coordination meetings.
• Assist in identification of vulnerable clients requiring travel support, nutritional support, or additional interventions.
• Strong counseling and communication skills.
• Excellent active listening and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build rapport and maintain client confidentiality.
• Empathetic, non-judgmental, and client-centered approach.
• Good problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Strong documentation and reporting skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Basic computer proficiency (MS Office and data entry).
• Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, TB, and public health programs is desirable.

Skills

Counselling skills

Communication

Community outreach

Case documentation

Empathy

Education

Graduation in any discipline

Tools

MS Office

Job description

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Treatment adherence and retention support

• Provide individual and group counselling on ART adherence, treatment literacy, importance of regular ART intake, viral load testing, and retention in care.
• Conduct follow-up visits and telephonic counselling for clients at risk of treatment interruption.
• Support formation and functioning of treatment buddy systems and community support groups.
• Encourage participation in Community ART Refill Groups (CARGs) where applicable.
• Mobilize PWID for HIV services, OST enrolment, viral load testing, hepatitis screening, and other health services.

Tracking and Re-engagement of Lost-to-Follow-Up (LFU) Clients

• Maintain regular coordination with ART Centres, CSCs, OST Centres and TI projects for identification of LFU clients.
• Conduct home visits, hotspot visits, and community outreach for tracing LFU clients.
• Facilitate re-initiation of ART services for clients who have interrupted treatment.
• Accompany difficult-to-reach clients to ART Centres, Viral Load collection sites, OST Centres, or other service delivery points when required.
• Document reasons for treatment interruption and support corrective interventions.

Community Outreach and Hotspot Engagement

• Conduct outreach activities in identified PWID hotspots and congregating areas.
• Map and update information on hotspots, peak timings, and community networks relevant for client tracking.
• Build rapport with PWID communities and act as a bridge between service providers and beneficiaries.

Linkage and Referral Services

• Facilitate referrals and accompanied linkages to ART Centres, OST Centres, ICTCs, CSCs, mental health services and drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centres
• Strengthen cross-linkages between Targeted Intervention (TI) projects and ART services.

Psychosocial, Mental Health Support, Harm Reduction and Prevention Services

• Provide basic psychosocial support and motivational counselling, identify signs of depression, anxiety, substance-use related distress, and social isolation.
• Conduct routine mental health screening using approved tools. Refer clients requiring specialized care to appropriate mental health facilities.
• Promote safer injecting practices and harm reduction strategies.
• Educate clients on overdose prevention, safer sexual behaviour, HIV prevention, STI prevention, and risk reduction.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain records of outreach activities, counselling sessions, referrals, and LFU tracking efforts.
• Submit weekly and monthly progress reports to the reporting supervisor.
• Support maintenance and updating of client line lists, tracking registers, referral records, and follow-up documentation.
• Participate in review meetings and contribute to case discussions.

Community Coordination

• Coordinate with CSCs, ART Centres, TI-NGOs, OST Centres, PLHIV networks, community champions, and outreach workers.
• Conduct support group meetings, community consultations, and coordination meetings.
• Assist in identification of vulnerable clients requiring travel support, nutritional support, or additional interventions.

Interpersonal skills:

Strong communication, active listening, problem solving and non-judgemental, empathetic attitude

Essential qualification:

Graduation in any discipline (preferably in social work, psychology, sociology or related social science disciplines)

• At least 1-2 years of prior experience of working closely with vulnerable communities such as IDU/PLHIV on health/social intervention projects.
• Preference will be given to candidates from the community, especially ex-drug users or IDU-PLHIV who are stable on treatment.
• Experience in HIV/AIDS, harm reduction, OST, community mobilizing and counselling.
• Fluency in the local language of the target area will be desirable.

• Strong counseling and communication skills.
• Excellent active listening and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build rapport and maintain client confidentiality.
• Empathetic, non-judgmental, and client-centered approach.
• Good problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Strong documentation and reporting skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Basic computer proficiency (MS Office and data entry).
• Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, TB, and public health programs is desirable.