Clinical Program Coordinator- Infection Control

Requirements

Grade 12 / Matric Certificate or equivalent, Diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery & Registration with the SANC as a General Nurse and Midwife or Accoucher, At least 7 years’ experience as a professional nurse and midwife, Current SANC receipt for 2026, Computer certificate and valid unendorsed EB Driver’s license. Knowledge, Skills And Experience: Good communication, Leadership and Interpersonal skills. Knowledge of Infection Control procedure, protocols, quality assurance standards and protocols. Knowledge of Infection control practice, norms and standards. Sound verbal, written communication skills. Knowledge of Public Service Policies, Acts and Regulations Knowledge of SANC Acts, rules and regulations. Knowledge of prescripts, i.e., Health and Safety Act. Good management and supervisory skills. Knowledge of National core, Standards and other relevant public service programmes. Comprehensive knowledge of infection prevention and control principles, practices and standards in healthcare settings. Knowledge of healthcare- associated infections (HAIs), including risk factors, prevention strategies, surveillance and control measures. Knowledge of standard precautions and transmission-based precautions, including hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory hygiene, isolation and safe patient-care practices. Knowledge of national, provincial and institutional IPC policies, guidelines, protocols and quality standards applicable to public hospitals in South Africa. Knowledge of outbreak preparedness, investigation, notification, response, containment and post-outbreak evaluation. Knowledge of surveillance methods, epidemiological principles, data collection, data validation, analysis and interpretation. Knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), antimicrobial stewardship and the role of IPC in reducing the spread of resistant organisms. Knowledge of sterilisation, disinfection, decontamination and safe reprocessing of reusable medical equipment. Knowledge of environmental IPC, including healthcare waste management, cleaning, linen management, water and sanitation, ventilation and environmental risk assessment. Knowledge of occupational health and safety risks, including needle-stick injuries, blood and body-fluid exposures and prevention of occupational infections. Knowledge of TB, respiratory infection prevention and other priority communicable diseases relevant to hospital settings. Knowledge of quality improvement methodologies, clinical governance, risk management and patient-safety principles. Knowledge of emergency preparedness and IPC requirements for epidemics, pandemics and emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases. Knowledge of basic health information systems, data management and reporting requirements relevant to IPC. Strong leadership 112 PUBLIC and coordination skills to implement the hospital IPC programme across clinical and support services. Excellent surveillance and epidemiological data analysis skills, including identification of trends, clusters, hotspots and emerging risks. Ability to conduct IPC audits, identify gaps, develop corrective action plans and monitor implementation. Strong outbreak investigation and incident- management skills, including rapid assessment and coordination of response measures. Excellent communication, presentation and report-writing skills for communicating IPC risks and performance to hospital management, committees and clinical teams. Training and facilitation skills for conducting staff induction, in-service education, awareness campaigns and competency assessments. Ability to influence behavioural change and improve compliance with hand hygiene, PPE, isolation precautions and other IPC practices. Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills for identifying root causes of infection risks and developing practical interventions. Data-management and computer skills, including use of spreadsheets, databases, dashboards and electronic reporting systems where applicable. Project and quality- improvement management skills, including setting objectives, indicators, targets, timelines and monitoring mechanisms. Conflict-resolution, negotiation and interpersonal skills for working effectively with multidisciplinary teams. Stakeholder-engagement skills involving nursing, medical, pharmacy, laboratory, CSSD, occupational health, environmental services, laundry, waste management and quality teams. Ability to work under pressure and respond effectively to urgent infection-control incidents and outbreaks. Ability to maintain accurate, confidential and reliable IPC documentation and records. Strategic planning and performance-management skills to translate IPC priorities into measurable hospital improvement outcomes. Practical experience in infection prevention and control within a hospital or other healthcare environment. Experience in healthcare-associated infection surveillance, data collection, analysis and reporting. Experience conducting hand-hygiene, PPE, environmental and other IPC compliance audits. Experience developing and implementing IPC improvement plans and monitoring corrective actions. Experience in outbreak investigation, outbreak response, contact management and implementation of containment measures. Experience in staff training, health education, induction and capacity building on IPC-related topics. Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and hospital management structures. Experience in quality improvement, clinical governance, patient safety or healthcare risk management. Experience in occupational exposure management and prevention of healthcare-worker infections. Experience monitoring environmental health and safety risks within healthcare facilities. Experience with sterilisation, decontamination and safe handling/reprocessing of medical equipment is advantageous. Experience in antimicrobial stewardship, laboratory liaison and management of antimicrobial resistance data is advantageous. Experience in preparing formal reports, presentations, audit findings and recommendations for senior management. Experience in developing or reviewing IPC policies, procedures, guidelines, standard operating procedures and training materials. Experience in emergency preparedness and response to communicable disease threats, epidemics or pandemics is advantageous.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinate implementation of the hospital IPC programme; maintain an annual IPC plan; support an effective IPC Committee; ensure policies and guidelines are implemented; provide regular reports to hospital management. Conduct HAI surveillance; monitor trends and infection hotspots; analyse data; initiate corrective interventions; provide monthly/quarterly surveillance reports. Ensure early detection and notification; coordinate outbreak investigation and response; implement isolation / cohorting and control measures; document outcomes and conduct lessons-learned reviews Conduct hand-hygiene and PPE compliance audits; promote standard precautions; provide feedback to clinical units; develop and monitor corrective action plans Monitor environmental cleanliness; healthcare waste management; linen management; water and sanitation risks; occupational exposure prevention and management. Monitor cleaning, disinfection, sterilisation and reprocessing of equipment; conduct audits; verify documentation; identify and address gaps in CSSD/decontamination processes. Monitor antimicrobial resistance trends; collaborate with pharmacy, laboratory and clinical teams; support appropriate antimicrobial use; participate in antimicrobial stewardship activities. Develop and implement an annual IPC training programme; provide induction and in- service training; conduct outbreak drills; assess staff competency in critical IPC 113 PUBLIC practices. Monitor occupational exposures and needle-stick injuries; promote staff vaccination; support post-exposure management; strengthen respiratory protection and other staff safety measures. Conduct planned IPC audits; perform gap analysis; implement quality-improvement projects; monitor corrective and preventive actions; evaluate effectiveness of interventions. Maintain accurate IPC records and databases; validate data; analyse trends; submit required reports on time; present IPC performance to management and relevant committees. Provide IPC education to patients, families and visitors; promote hand hygiene; strengthen isolation precautions; involve patients and caregivers in infection-prevention practices. Maintain IPC emergency/outbreak plans; ensure PPE and isolation readiness; conduct simulation exercises; strengthen preparedness for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Monitor compliance with applicable National Department of Health, KZN Department of Health and regulatory IPC requirements; prepare for assessments, inspections and accreditation processes Work collaboratively with nursing, medical, pharmacy, laboratory, CSSD, environmental/cleaning, laundry, waste-management, occupational-health and quality teams to integrate IPC across hospital services.

How to Apply

Enquiries

Notes

Detailed application for employment (Z83) and Curriculum Vitae. Certified copies – must not be submitted when applying for employment. All shortlisted candidates, including the SMS, shall undertake two pre-entry assessments. One will be a practical exercise to determine a candidate’s suitability based on the post’s technical and generic requirements and the other must be an integrity (ethical conduct) assessment NB: Please note that due to financial constraints, there will be no payment of S&T Claims. The appointments are subject to positive outcomes obtained from the State Security Agency (SSA) to the following checks (criminal clearance, credit records, and citizenship), verification of Educational Qualifications by SAQA, verification of previous experience from Employers and verification from the Company Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Due to financial constraints, S&T claims will not be paid to candidates who attended interviews. The appointment is subject to positive outcome obtained from the NIA to the following checks: security clearance, credit records, qualification, citizenship and previous experience employment verifications. (Only shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit proof of qualifications) CLOSING DATE : 04 September 2026