Jane Omanga

For the past 20 years Jane Omanga has had vast experience in management of peoples’ mental health by improving access to health care through comprehensive Individual, family and group psychotherapy in relation to Employee Assisted Program, Sexual Reproductive Health, Sexual/Gender Based Violence, HIV/TB and other chronic illnesses. Her training background and hands on vast knowledge and skills in defining, organizing, managing, implementing and monitoring support for vulnerable persons through mental health, psychological and social support has seen such programs under her management improve individual and groups’ wellbeing. Jane’s expertise in coordinating resources to facilitate theory of change has ensured good quality of care to vulnerable communities under her support. Jane’s passion is in working with individuals, families and groups by offering therapy, psychoeducation, training, protecting their rights, providing technical support and assistance to her clients and team documenting and sharing best practices. 

Nov 2016 to 31 Dec 2022: Médecins Sans Frontier (OCP-Kenya Mission)- Homabay Project

Position: Patient Support Activity Manager (PSAM)

Duties:

• Defining, coordinating and monitoring all patient support activities (Psychological, emotional, education and social support activities) within a vulnerable community strategy and chronic diseases project according to projects’ principles, protocols and standards in order to empower the patient/clients beyond the purely medical aspects of care
• Mental health and psychological support for staff affected by lifestyle changes, emergencies and burnout
• Provide psychological debrief and first to 1st line responders 
• Identify and offer psychotherapy to families who are mentally affected by the health challenges of their loved ones by offering family therapy sessions
• Conduct staff training needs assessment, plan and implement trainings to different category of staff based on need
• Identify and define patients/client needs, planning and informing appropriately on the strategy alighning with the budget according to the changing needs and in context following the guideline to provide optimal support at all project sites including community.
• Collaborate with external psychologist to identify and provide individual counseling
• Participate in the organizations planning and budgeting aligning resources to planned activities while monitoring the use of allocated resources
• Develop and implement standardized data collection tools and periodically review primary data and ensure consistent and timely review of data for decision making
• Accountable for the maintenance of updated and comprehensive database on mental health and psychosocial cases. 
• In collaboration with the medical team leader, define and categories monitoring indicators, analyze and report data regularly and on quarterly basis to identify and report achievements, challenges and gaps according to changing requirements adapting tools to ensure measurable outcome.
• Developing and adopt patient support IEC tools (counselling and education protocols, psychosocial and mental health, health promotion messages, Adolescent and young adults SRH education, sexual gender based) materials, flyers, flipcharts, games, etc.
• Manage and capacity built staff involved in the strategy through OJT, classroom training, coaching and mentorship, supportive supervision and evaluation.
• Ensure practical implementation of activities (support groups, assessment of patients psychological, mental and social needs, psychological first aid/debrief and mental health support for staff, vulnerable cohort of persons, sexual gender based violence support among vulnerable persons within the community and linking with other social actors)
• Manage staff, planned activities and resources involved in implementation of the strategy at the hospital, decentralized sites and in the community appropriately. 
• Plan and supervise in close coordination with the human resource department, the associated processes (recruitment, training, appraisals/performance evaluation, staff development and internal communication) of the staff under responsibility to improve staff capabilities
• Provide regular assessment of gaps and evaluation of activities in all areas of need all the project sites
• Organize timely feedback meeting with the team for updates on activity progress adherence to guidelines, standard operating procedures and protocols
• Facilitate monitoring of comprehensive care package, on-going supportive counselling and psychological support for the beneficiaries 
• Offer appropriate psychotherapy for staff and supporting the same for patients and their caregivers considering its principles and appropriate ethical issues considering safeguarding patient rights through patient centered care.
• Train the team on required intervention based on the patient need including focusing on individual and group psychological and social needs
• Support and strengthen Psycho Social Support Groups (PSSG) and committees within the county at all project sites
• Attend to all relevant communication and involvement of all project components and collaborate with relevant government authorities and actors/partners/stakeholders working on patient support, psychosocial and mental health support strategy
• Strengthen patient centered care approach at all project site by safeguarding patient rights, advocacy and protection from all forms of abuse and exploitation

Assigned Role: Detachment in Uganda 

June to November 2021: Médecins Sans Frontiers (OCP-Uganda Mission) Arua hospital, Omugo and Ivempi refugee camps and Kasese Projects

Position: Patient Support Activity Manager (PSAM)

Duties:

• Supervise and mentor Patient Support Supervisors (PSS), Mental health supervisors and the team through capacity building on planning, organizing, management and monitoring patient support, health promotion, mental health/counselling and community activities. This includes monthly planning and roadmap for patient support services, patients booking and follow up, avail patient support schedule and application of the schedule by the team. Supporting team develop updated workplan and schedule of activities and hold meetings with the supervisors to improve their planning, organization, monitoring and team management to improve reporting and communication.
• Mental health and psychological support for staff affected by lifestyle changes, emergencies and burnout
• Provide psychological debrief and first to 1st line responders 
• Conduct staff training needs assessment, plan and implement trainings to different category of staff based on need
• Collaborate with external psychologist to identify and provide individual counseling
• Work with M and E manager to review monitoring tools and improve data recording and reporting. Orientate the team on the use of monitoring tools, develop and adopt SOPs for use and ensure timeliness data collection and reporting
• Collaborate with the Mental Health team at Omugo and Ivempi refugee camps to implement a system of screening patients for Mental Health, provide counselling/ psychotherapy and referral, describing the flow of patient according to the risk assenting using recommended screening tools and referral pathway. 
• Identify and offer psychotherapy to families who are mentally affected by the health challenges of their loved ones
• Support the team in enhancing identification, support for sexual violence cases, mental health assessment, counselling, psychotherapy and referral of children’s caregivers, adolescents, youths and refugees linking them to medical and mental health support.
• Develop and implement a strategy for social support, specifically, define eligibility criteria, assessment tools and process, and provide social support to address the identified social/psychological risk factors that hinder medical adherence.
• Train supervisors, health care workers, adolescent and youth peer mentors on transition process, Sexual gender-based violence and structuring of adolescent activities using curriculum/guideline on sexual reproductive health (SRH)
• Support transition of adolescents who have attained age >19 from the adolescent cohort to the youth and adult cohort
• Plan and execute training and support for HCWs including counsellors and psychologist at the refugee camps, HIV/TB and SGBV departments in Arua regional hospital, Kasese Municipal Health centre and Kasese Adolescent Centre on HIV/TB, Mental Health and social support
• Together with the team plan and train adolescents and youth peer mentors on SRH, health promotion and peer support through on-job training, group discussions and classroom training 
• Seek support from the referent to get materials on health promotion, mental health, patient support supervision and training and support PSS to implement the material. The training needs focusing on TB health education (package), Mental health Key messages, Social Stigma, MH impact and MH indicators in vulnerable population. 
• Support the team to prepare roadmap for mental health, patient support, SGBV, adolescent/youth program, SRH and health promotion
• Finalize assessment of the recreation facility and support team in re-structuring the recreation center activities to understand better the needs of the vulnerable population

2013 April to Oct 2016: Nuru International, Kenya:

Position: Leadership Program Manager

Duties:

• Coordinating the design, implementation and management of leadership strategy including training and development, mentorship and psychosocial support
• Prepare and review timely rollout plan and budget as determined by data outcome
• Adopt monitoring and evaluation feedback to inform program changes desired towards achieving quality solutions criteria
• Providing strategic program direction driven by M and E data 
• Offer quality check on assessments tools and mentorship plan that determine quality work 
• Managing and mentoring the technical team including the District Managers, Training Managers and Senior Training Managers
• Supporting psychotherapy at the Kuria community addressing mental health and social issues related to female genital mutilation and gender-based abuse among women in the community and Migori County referral Hospital 
• Ensuring program design and implementation of activities are in line with the organization goal
• Ensure that the most impact for the program is achieved while maximizing the available resources and advice on scaling based on evidence-based interventions.
• Conduct routine feedback and performance evaluation to direct reports to improve their work performance
• Prepare and disseminate timely program reports, success stories, best practices and blogs to the organization and prepare donor requirement reports 

2010 December to 2013 March: Almond Psychosocial Consultancy (APC)/Sustainable Integrated Services for Communities (SISC)– Nairobi

Position: Program Director of Training and Development

Duties: 

• Overseeing Trainings and development aimed at filling the gaps and challenges realized from the supported organizations
• Developing reviewing and implementing work plan and budget
• Providing Counseling support supervision and training support to supported facilities/programs, groups and individuals
• Facilitating professional development therapy and mentorship to partner organizations
• Economic empowerment for support groups and individuals identified with social needs
• Appreciating what systems are capable of while changing strategy on making management decisions.
• Ensuring that psychological and social assessment and counseling is appropriately and timely offered to staff affected
• Developing and reviewing training manuals, curriculum, and assessment/evaluation tools that would bring out the desired outcome
• Ensuring adherence to strict deadline program implementation of activities compliant to the budget against the goals and objectives of the consultancy

2008 December to 2010: Academy for Educational Development (AED):

Project: Aids Population Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA) 11 Nyanza

Position: Community Care Facilitator

Duties:

• Ensuring effective program grant management as well as issuing and monitoring subcontract and grants to implementing partners
• Ensuring compliance with organization’s plan, performance, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and policies
• Identifying psychological and social needs and providing support to community-based organizations
• Coordinating identification and selection of grant beneficiaries and ensuring that they meet the criteria stipulated
• Training and development of local implementing partners including health facilities within the region to ensure maximum support for the OVC and their caregivers
• Supporting the implementing partners to analyze and use data for planning and program review
• Coaching and mentoring the local implementing partners to provide quality service to the OVC and their caregivers
• Document lessons learnt and best practices emanating from the Quality Improvement team
• Review data and reports from the partners to establish the extend of impact and outcome of the programs on the targeted children
• Proposal development and writing, preparing accurate documentation, work plan and budget for the OVC care and support activities
• Providing overall leadership, organization development and technical guidance to the implementing partners
• Organizing and facilitating stakeholders’ meetings

2006 Nov to 2008 Nov: International Training and Education Centre for Health (I-TECH):

Project: APHIA 11 Nyanza (Care and Support Program)

Position: Community Care Coordinator

Duties: As Above in AED

2004 Aug -2006 Oct: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/KEMRI

Project: Kisumu Breast Feeding Study (KiBS)

Position: Study Counsellor/Supervisor (2004 Sep- 2006 Nov)

Duties:

• Coordinating assessment of comprehension, selection and capacity building for peer counsellors and educators
• Working with stakeholders in performing assessment of comprehension and trainings
• Formation of support groups and initiation of IGAs for sustainability
• Coordinating follow up of children, of infected mother to minimize child infection and adolescents and youths infected with HIV
• Coordinating livelihood development for support groups and individuals to provide minimum health and psychosocial support to children, adolescents and youths
• Linkage of study participants to support organizations
• Training and mentoring peer educators/counsellors
• Compiling comprehensive study reports

Project: HIV Research- Baseline Cross Sectional Survey (BCS)

Position: Study Counsellor /Supervisor (2003Aug- 2004 Jul)

Duties:

• Carrying out baseline cross-sectional survey on adults and children
• Coordinating identification of study clients and supervision of study staff
• Facilitating and supervising HIV counselling and testing
• Coordinating consenting and assessment of comprehension
• Coordinating counselling and testing of study participants
• Collecting and compiling study sample reports

2002-2003 July: Kibera Community Self Help Program (KICOSHEP): Nairobi,

Kenya

Position: Program Facilitator (2002 Jan-2003 July)

Duties:

• Coordinating mobilization, counselling, testing and Home-based Care program
• Organizing community mobilization activities, referrals and linkages
• Organizing and facilitating staff capacity building
• Organizing and facilitating PLWHIV support groups
• Supervising program activities
• Planning and budgeting for program activities adhering to organization guidelines
• Compiling and submitting program reports including best practice
• Representing the organization in key meetings

Position: Field Facilitator (1994 Jul-2001 Dec)

Duties:

• Planning and conducting training and capacity building
• Mobilization and creation of awareness on HIV/AIDS and sustainability strategy
• Organizing community outreach programs
• Lobbying and advocating the rights of the children
• Compiling and submitting reports

Facilitating collaborators meetings

I hold Masters of arts in counselling psychology from Daystar university, Bachelor of arts in counselling studies from Manchester university (upper 2nd class) and diploma in social work and welfare from Kenya Institute of Social Work and Welfare (Distinction). Other key trainings include counseling supervision-LVCT health, patient and community support in mental health, psychoeducation, health promotion, social intervention and community engagement-Medicine Sans Frontier (MSF), disaster management and trauma counseling-Amref  and advocacy training-LVCT health.