Assistant - Programme Implementation (Community Health Volunteer)

Job Title

Community Health Volunteer

Grade

I

Department

Programme Operations

Reporting to

City Health Coordinator (matrix: Assistant Manager – PIU)

Location

Kolkata, Gurugram or Ahmedabad

No. of positions

5 (Kolkata -02, Gurugram-02 & Ahmedabad – 01

Contract duration

Until 31 March 2027

Travel

Field-based; daily travel within assigned settlements

ABOUT BAL RAKSHA BHARAT

Bal Raksha Bharat (also known as Save the Children) is India’s leading independent child rights organisation and part of a global movement working to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children. By 2030 we are working towards three breakthroughs: no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday; all children learn from a quality basic education; and violence against children is no longer tolerated. We run programmes across India in Health & Nutrition, Education, Child Protection, and Livelihood & Economic Wellbeing.

About the project

The Urban MaCare Initiative, supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific, strengthens antenatal care for women in urban slum settlements. Frontline workers use the MaCare Kit — a portable, solar-powered screening kit that combines haemoglobin, blood pressure, glucose, foetal heartbeat, weight and nutrition assessment — to screen pregnant women at home, identify high-risk pregnancies early, and link them to Urban Primary Health Centres. Phase 2 runs to March 2027 across Kolkata, Gurugram and Ahmedabad.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Community Health Volunteer is the project’s frontline presence in urban slum settlements. The role identifies pregnant women early, supports home-based antenatal screening with the MaCare Kit, counsels women and their families through the continuum of care, mobilises the community for Urban Health and Nutrition Days, and ensures that high-risk pregnancies reach an Urban Primary Health Centre and are followed up.

SCOPE OF ROLE

Scope

Execution of project activities on the ground

Reports to

City Health Coordinator

Staff reporting to this post

None

Budget responsibility

No (activity-level support only)

Role dimensions

Development context; community-based

Works with

ASHAs, ANMs, Anganwadi Workers, UPHC staff, women’s groups

Key relationships

Internal: City Health Coordinator and the wider project team. External: pregnant women and their families, ASHAs, ANMs and Anganwadi Workers, UPHC staff, self-help groups, men’s forums and community leaders in the assigned settlements.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

A. Early identification and pregnancy surveillance

• Conduct household surveys and regular home visits in assigned settlements to identify newly pregnant women, prioritising the first trimester.
• Support quarterly pregnancy surveillance drives alongside ASHAs and Anganwadi Workers, using eligible-couple lists.
• Motivate women and families to register for antenatal care at the UPHC as early as possible.
• Maintain an up-to-date list of pregnant women in the assigned area, including newly identified and migrant women.

B. Home-based screening support

• Support ANMs and ASHAs in conducting home-based antenatal screening using the MaCare Kit.
• Handle the kit carefully, keep it charged and clean, and report any fault or shortage of consumables promptly.
• Record screening results accurately and legibly in the prescribed government-aligned formats on the same day.
• Coordinate with ASHAs and ANMs for follow-up visits and repeat screenings where required.

C. Counselling and behaviour change

• Counsel pregnant women on antenatal care, maternal nutrition, iron and calcium supplementation, danger signs in pregnancy and postnatal practices.
• Deliver gestation-specific counselling using the MoHFW Maternal Nutrition Toolkit and project job aids, flipbooks and videos.
• Provide risk-informed counselling to women identified as high-risk, explaining the condition, what to watch for and why follow-up matters.
• Engage husbands and family members through men’s engagement forums and family meetings (Pati Sammelan and Saas–Bahu Sammelan), focusing on support for antenatal visits and transport and financial preparedness.
• Raise awareness of government entitlements and schemes, including JSY, JSSK and PMMVY, and support families to access them.

D. Referral, linkage and follow-up

• Facilitate referral of high-risk pregnancies to UPHCs and maternity homes without delay.
• Accompany or arrange support for women who face barriers to reaching a facility, in line with project provisions.
• Follow up every referral until the woman has been seen, and report any referral that does not complete.
• Share high-risk case information promptly with the City Health Coordinator, ANM and UPHC staff.

E. Community mobilisation and UHND strengthening

• Mobilise pregnant women, lactating mothers and caregivers to attend Urban Health and Nutrition Day sessions.
• Publicise the monthly UHND calendar through community announcements, posters and ASHA networks.
• Organise and support community awareness drives, street plays and group sessions on maternal health.
• Support the training and capacity building of frontline workers as required.

F. Data, reporting and safeguarding

• Maintain accurate daily records of visits, screenings, counselling sessions, referrals and community activities.
• Submit weekly and monthly activity reports to the City Health Coordinator on time.
• Keep all information about pregnant women confidential and share it only with authorised health personnel.
• Comply with Bal Raksha Bharat’s Child Safeguarding and PSEA policies at all times, and report any concern immediately.
• Undertake any other task reasonably assigned by the line manager.

INDICATIVE DELIVERABLES

Deliverable

Home visits to pregnant women in assigned settlements

Home-based screening sessions supported with ANMs or ASHAs

Counselling sessions with pregnant women and families

Mobilisation for UHND sessions

Referral follow-up of every high-risk pregnancy identified

Community awareness drive or family engagement session

Activity report and updated records submitted

Assigned settlements mapped, with an up-to-date list of pregnant women in place.

Working relationships established with local ASHAs, ANMs and Anganwadi Workers.

Confident, routine support to MaCare Kit screening, with same-day record keeping.

First community awareness drive and family engagement session delivered, and every high-risk referral followed up to completion.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Graduate or post-graduate in social work, sociology, public health, nursing or any discipline from a recognised university.
• Candidates with an ANM, GNM or equivalent health qualification will be at an advantage.

• 1–3 years of experience working with an NGO in health and nutrition.
• Prior experience of community work — with health, nutrition or women’s groups — is strongly preferred.
• Experience of working alongside ASHAs, ANMs or Anganwadi Workers will be an advantage.

Essential skills and attributes

• Fluency in the local language of the assigned city — Bengali for Kolkata, Hindi for Gurugram, Gujarati for Ahmedabad.
• Residence in or close to the assigned intervention area, with good knowledge of local settlements.
• Strong community mobilisation, communication and interpersonal skills.
• A respectful, non-judgemental and positive attitude towards working with women, families and frontline health workers.
• Comfortable using a smartphone for data entry, photographs and communication.
• Basic record-keeping skills and willingness to maintain accurate daily data.
• Willingness to travel daily on foot or by local transport within slum settlements, and to work flexible hours including occasional weekends.

Desirable

• Experience of using digital or device-based health screening tools.
• Familiarity with government maternal health schemes and UHND or VHND platforms.
• Experience in conducting street plays, group sessions or community campaigns.

COMPETENCIES AND BEHAVIOURS

Behaviours (values in practice)

• Accountability: Takes responsibility for own decisions and results, manages resources efficiently, and holds self to the standards we expect of others.
• Ambition: Sets demanding goals for self and the team, takes the initiative, and stays focused on outcomes for women and children.
• Collaboration: Builds trust with government counterparts, frontline workers and communities, and works across teams rather than in isolation.
• Creativity: Finds practical solutions to field constraints and is willing to test new approaches and learn from them.
• Integrity: Is honest and transparent, handles beneficiary information responsibly, and acts consistently with our values.

Generic competencies

• Being the Voice of Children: Uses being part of a global movement to promote change on child-related issues.
• Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Creates an enabling environment for gender equality and inclusion, prioritising the most deprived and marginalised.
• Builds & Strengthens Partnerships: Inspires others to embrace the values that underpin partnership and localisation.
• Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and with colleagues and peers.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding Level 3 — the role holder will have frequent contact with children, young people and pregnant women through programme work, and will handle personal data. A police verification check is required.

We need to keep children safe, so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to protecting children from abuse. The role holder must comply with Bal Raksha Bharat’s Child Safeguarding Policy and PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) commitments at all times.

Data protection and confidentiality

The role holder will handle sensitive health information about pregnant women. All data must be recorded in government-aligned formats, stored securely, and shared only with authorised health personnel. Beneficiary information must never be shared on personal devices, social media or with third parties, and written consent must be obtained before any photograph, quote or case study is used.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES, SAFEGUARDING OUR STAFF & EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The duties and responsibilities set out above are not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within the reasonable scope of their skills and experience.

The post holder is required to carry out their duties in accordance with Bal Raksha Bharat’s anti-harassment policy.

Bal Raksha Bharat aims to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.