District Coordinator (Karnataka, Assam)

About YRG MERF​

Established in 1993, YRGMERF is a leading non-governmental organisation in India dedicated to improving health outcomes through integrated healthcare, inclusive partnerships, and research-driven interventions. Guided by the principles of integrity and sustainability, the organisation addresses both immediate and emerging public health challenges, with a strong focus on prevention, care, support, and treatment—particularly in the area of HIV and other infectious diseases.

In India, the TIFA project aims to strengthen national health security through coordinated action across government systems and community stakeholders. This approach is designed to build a resilient ecosystem capable of detecting, preventing, and responding to emerging infectious disease threats.

As part of this initiative, a decentralised community-based surveillance model will be implemented, aligned with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)’s Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) framework. The model enables community platforms such as Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Mahila Arogya Samitis (MAS) to identify and report early warning signals using IHIP tools, thereby strengthening community ownership, improving early detection, and enabling timely public health response.

Role Overview

The District Coordinator is the person who makes this project work on the ground. Every block visit, every community meeting, every training session, every interaction with the PHC Medical Officer, every IHIP signal follow-up – it either happens through the District Coordinator or because the District Coordinator made it happen. This is not a desk role. The District Coordinator spends 70–80% of the time in the field (blocks, sub-centres, villages, PHCs) and 20–30% at the district headquarters (government meetings, data compilation, reporting).

Key Responsibilities

Community Mobilisation

• Identify and map existing community platforms in every block of the district: Self-Help Groups, Mahila Arogya Samitis, Resident Welfare Associations, VHSNC members, Panchayat health committee members, and other community structures that can serve as sentinel reporters
  
• Meet with SHG and MAS leadership to explain the sentinel surveillance concept, secure their participation, and jointly select members who will serve as community sentinels. Selection criteria include: regular presence in the community, basic literacy, willingness to report, and access to a mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone)
  
• Conduct the initial sentinel training in each block: translation of NCDC trigger list into observable community language, IHIP CBR tool demonstration, practice reporting exercises, and distribution of job aids and laminated reference cards
  
• Establish WhatsApp groups (or phone tree systems where smartphones are not available) for each block, connecting sentinels with the District Coordinator and the assigned Medical Officer for real-time communication
  
• Conduct monthly community health meetings in each block where sentinels share observations, discuss borderline cases, and receive feedback on signals they reported. These meetings are the primary retention mechanism – sentinels who feel their reports are taken seriously continue reporting; those who feel ignored stop
  

Surveillance System Operationalisation

• Ensure that every IHIP signal reported by community sentinels in the district is tracked through to verification. Maintain a signal tracking register (physical notebook and digital spreadsheet) recording: date of signal, reporter identity, signal description, MO assigned, verification status, time taken, verification outcome, and follow-up actions
  
• Follow up with Medical Officers when verification is pending beyond 12 hours. The 24-hour verification window is a hard commitment – the District Coordinator’s job is to make sure it is met. Where MOs are consistently unresponsive, escalate to the Block Medical Officer or DSO through the State Coordinator
  
• Support Medical Officers during field verification visits when requested. Some MOs, particularly those new to community surveillance, benefit from having the District Coordinator accompany them during the first few verifications to facilitate community interaction
  
• Ensure that sentinel reporters receive feedback on every signal they report. Even if a signal turns out to be a non-event after verification, the reporter must know the outcome. Feedback closure is what keeps the reporting chain alive
  

Government Coordination at District Level

• Establish a working relationship with the District Surveillance Officer and DSO staff from the first week of deployment. Attend IDSP review meetings at the district level. Provide weekly informal updates to the DSO on community surveillance activity in the district
  
• Coordinate with Block Medical Officers to ensure that MOs at PHCs are aware of their verification responsibilities and have the IHIP access and training needed to perform them
  
• Maintain a register of all government meetings attended, with date, attendees, discussion points, and action items. This register serves as evidence of government engagement for donor reporting
  

Data Collection and Reporting

• Submit fortnightly data reports to the State Coordinator covering: number of active sentinels, signals reported, signals verified, verification time, training sessions conducted, community meetings held, government meetings attended, and any operational challenges
  
• Maintain all source documents: training attendance sheets with signatures, community meeting minutes, signal tracking registers, photograph logs, and government meeting records. These are audit-ready documents and must be kept current and complete at all times
  
• Support the DATA QUALITY CONTROL Officer during data quality audits by making all source documents available and facilitating field visits to verify reported data
  

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Graduate degree in science, public health, animal husbandry. Post-graduation in public health, or community development is preferred
  
• Minimum 3 years of field-level experience in community health programmes. Candidates who have worked as Block Coordinators or District Coordinators or District Managers in NHM, NRHM, Animal Husbandry Program or NGO-implemented health programmes will be preferred
  
• The candidate must be from the region or must have lived and worked in the state for at least 2 years. Local language fluency is non-negotiable: Kannada for Karnataka positions, Assamese for Assam positions
  
• Comfort using smartphones, WhatsApp, and basic data entry in Excel or Google Sheets
  
• Willingness to travel extensively within the district, including to remote blocks and villages with limited road access
  
• Own two-wheeler with valid driving licence is strongly preferred for Karnataka positions. For Assam positions, familiarity with local transport options including boat transport for riverine areas is important