Position: Family Medicine Physician
Reports to: Secondary Care and Programs Director
Commitment: Full Time (Monday-Friday)
Working Hours: Regular Office Hours (40Hrs/Week)
Location: Lisungwi Community Hospital, Neno District (with responsibility for supporting integrated clinical care across hospitals, primary health care facilities and community-based services).

POSITION SUMMARY

The Family Medicine Physician serves as a clinical leader responsible for advancing integrated, person-centered primary health care across the continuum of care, from communities and primary healthcare facilities to secondary hospitals.

Working alongside the Ministry of Health, multidisciplinary clinical teams and community partners, the Family Medicine Physician will strengthen clinical quality, improve continuity of care, build workforce capacity, mentor health professionals, support service integration, and contribute to the transformation of Neno's district health system.

The successful candidate will combine excellent clinical practice with leadership in health systems strengthening, quality improvement, medical education, implementation science and clinical governance to improve health outcomes for individuals, families and communities.

This is not solely a hospital-based clinical position. It is a district-wide clinical leadership role that supports the delivery of integrated, high-quality and equitable health services across all levels of care.

Key Responsibilities (or Tasks)

1.0. Clinical Leadership and Integrated Care

• Leading implementation of integrated clinical care models across the district.
• Supporting decentralization of chronic care, maternal and newborn health, emergency care and other priority services.
• Promoting continuity of care across community, primary and secondary care.
• Strengthening referral pathways between health centers and hospitals.
• Supporting multidisciplinary team-based care.
• Championing patient-centered, family-centered and equitable care.

2.0. Direct Clinical Care

• Comprehensive outpatient and inpatient clinical care.
• Ward rounds.
• Integrated chronic care.
• Emergency care.
• Procedural and surgical services within scope of practice.
• Complex case management.
• Clinical consultations supporting health centers.
• Outreach specialist clinics where required.

3.0. Primary Health Care Strengthening

• Conducting regular outreach visits to health centers.
• Mentoring clinicians, nurses and multidisciplinary PHC teams.
• Supporting integrated outpatient services.
• Strengthening diagnosis and management of chronic diseases.
• Supporting maternal, newborn and child health.
• Building capacity for comprehensive family-centered care.
• Improving referral and follow-up systems.
• Supporting implementation of national clinical guidelines.

4.0. Clinical Governance and Quality Improvement

• Clinical audits.
• Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response.
• Morbidity and mortality reviews.
• Clinical documentation improvement.
• Patient safety initiatives.
• Development of clinical pathways.
• Evidence-based guideline implementation.
• Monitoring quality indicators.
• Supporting accreditation and quality standards.

5.0. Medical Education and Workforce Development

• Teaching undergraduate and postgraduate Family Medicine trainees.
• Supervising interns and clinical students.
• Mentoring Medical Officers, Clinical Officers, Nurses and other clinicians.
• Developing continuing professional development programmes.
• Building leadership capacity within multidisciplinary teams.
• Supporting competency-based learning across all levels of care.

6.0. Health Systems Strengthening

• Providing technical support to the DHMT.
• Strengthening integrated service delivery.
• Supporting district clinical planning.
• Improving service coordination.
• Strengthening implementation of national priorities.
• Supporting sustainable Ministry of Health ownership of programmes.

7.0. Digital Health and Data Use

• Effective use of electronic medical records.
• Clinical dashboards.
• Population health management.
• Clinical decision support tools.
• Digital innovations that improve quality of care.
• Using routine data to guide quality improvement and clinical decision-making.

8.0. Partnerships, Government Accompaniment and Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify and assess key family medicine and medical education partnerships, potential collaboration and other strategic opportunities for approval by leadership.
• Maintain relationships with MOH departmental heads/Lisungwi Community hospital management, ward in-charges and district coordinators for joint planning and implementation of programs.
• Serve as the family medicine and medical education lead for PIH/APZU in building, nurturing and managing PIH partnerships and collaborations in family medicine and medical education programs with training institutions, professional councils, academic partners and international collaborators among others.
• Represent PIH/APZU in key forums at district, national and international forum in collaboration with APZU leadership.
• Contribute to MOH medical education policy through participation in National technical working groups.
• Support DHMT in family medicine data informed strategic decision making in coordination with APZU M&E and other relevant stakeholders.

9.0. Resource Mobilization, Research, Innovation and Learning

• Participate in identification of new funding opportunities for APZU.
• Participate in proposal development including collaborative program design, grant writing and budget development in line with identified donor requirements.
• Support operational and implementation research and evidence generation.
• Support with scientific writing, abstracts, manuscripts and conference presentations.
• Support innovations and quality improvement projects.
• Coordinate evidence dissemination with key stakeholders in family medicine and medical education to promote translation of evidence into policy and practice.

10.0. People Management, Programme Operations and Resource Stewardship

• Leading the planning, implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement of Family Medicine and Medical Education programmes in alignment with PIH/APZU's strategic priorities, Ministry of Health policies, and national health goals.
• Developing annual work plans, implementation plans, programme budgets, and resource mobilization strategies in collaboration with the Training and Development Team and other relevant departments to ensure effective programme delivery.
• Monitoring programme performance against agreed objectives, identifying implementation challenges and risks, and coordinating timely corrective actions to ensure quality, accountability, and achievement of programme goals.
• Providing effective leadership, supervision, coaching, mentorship, and performance management for direct reports and multidisciplinary clinical teams, while identifying competency gaps and implementing targeted capacity-building initiatives to strengthen service delivery across all levels of care.
• Promoting a culture of professionalism, teamwork, accountability, continuous learning, innovation, and patient-centered care across clinical and medical education programmes.
• Ensuring compliance with organizational policies, risk management frameworks, clinical governance standards, and regulatory requirements while promoting safe, ethical, and high-quality service delivery.
• Providing technical leadership and strategic guidance to PIH/APZU leadership, Hospital Management Teams, and the District Health Management Team (DHMT) to strengthen Family Medicine, integrated primary health care, medical education, and clinical service delivery across the continuum of care.
• Working collaboratively with Finance, Procurement, Logistics, Infrastructure, and other support teams to ensure the availability of appropriate infrastructure, equipment, medicines, learning resources, and other operational requirements necessary for effective programme implementation.
• Identifying, developing, and supporting strategic Family Medicine, Medical Education, and health systems strengthening initiatives that advance organizational priorities and contribute to improved patient outcomes and equitable access to quality care.