Job Purpose:
The Physiotherapy Trainer is responsible for strengthening the skills, performance and confidence of national physiotherapists and rehabilitation staff to ensure the delivery of safe, timely and evidence-based rehabilitation services in emergency-affected settings. The role focuses on conducting training needs assessments, developing and delivering context-appropriate capacity-building initiatives, and monitoring the quality and impact of physiotherapy interventions across field locations. The position contributes to improving the functional outcomes and well-being of persons with injuries, disabilities or exacerbated conditions resulting from emergencies, also including children with clubfoot, cerebral palsy (CP), progressive conditions and developmental delays. The Trainer provides structured mentorship to physiotherapists, offers guidance to caregivers and supports the development and use of adaptive or assistive devices tailored to emergency constraints.
Based in Nangarhar, the Physiotherapy Trainer will also support one or two additional HI operational locations within Nangarhar province (such as Kunar and Jalalabad) when required. Time allocation between these locations will be determined by workload, staff capacity, and project needs to ensure optimal support to ongoing rehabilitation activities.
This role requires frequent travel and deployment across assigned bases, including hard-to-reach areas, to support mobile teams, static teams, and rehabilitation centers. The Trainer ensures that service delivery standards, clinical protocols, and safeguarding principles are consistently applied, and that physiotherapy services remain responsive to evolving humanitarian needs.
The Duties and responsibilities may include but not limited to:
- Provision of Guidance and Support in Physical Rehabilitation Training :
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- Provide specialized technical guidance and support to the Project Supervisor, Project Manager and field teams to ensure quality implementation of all physical rehabilitation training activities.
- Ensure that all training modules, methodologies, and project deliverables are aligned with HI global technical frameworks, international rehabilitation standards, and evidence-based practices.
- Adapt and contextualize existing training packages to meet project needs, local context and evolving technical requirements.
- Coordinate and collaborate closely with internal departments, particularly logistics, MEAL, and rehab technical units to ensure coherent, quality-driven, and holistic implementation of rehabilitation training initiatives.
- Capacity Building of HI and Partner Physiotherapists :
- Conduct individual competency assessments of HI and/or partner PTs using approved HI technical assessment tools.
- Develop a comprehensive capacity-building plan based on assessment results, field observations, feedback, and identified gaps in PT competencies.
- Define training topics, develop training frameworks, prepare session plans and share them with relevant departments for validation and coordination.
- Lead and facilitate the implementation of all capacity-building activities, including coaching, structured training sessions, mentorship, and follow-up support.
- Administer pre- and post-tests, conduct periodic assessments of training impact and ensure PT service quality meets the minimum standards set by HI.
- Promote evidence-based practice by sharing new scientific findings, updated guidelines, and best practices in rehabilitation with PTs.
- Facilitate or support the delivery of internal, external and online rehabilitation training opportunities for HI and partner staff.
- Provide technical coaching and on-the-job support during field visits to strengthen clinical practice and adherence to rehabilitation protocols.
- Contributes to ensuring HI's capacity building influence in Physical Rehabilitation :
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- Represent HI’s rehabilitation capacity-building expertise within local coordination networks, professional groups, and relevant sectoral platforms when requested.
- Support broader influence efforts by contributing to the development and dissemination of training tools, guidelines, and technical resources.
- Perform any additional tasks assigned by the Line Manager, Functional/Technical Manager, or Senior Management Team in support of project objectives.
- Reporting, Documentation, and Data Management:
a. Support the project team in preparing periodic documentation such as training reports, case studies, newsletters, and success stories.
b. Develop and submit weekly action plans, progress summaries, and technical reports to the Line Manager and Functional Manager in a timely manner.
c. Collaborate with the Rehabilitation Technical Officer in drafting or updating training guidelines, protocols, SOPs, manuals, and other technical documents.
d. Prepare training Terms of Reference (ToRs), attendance records, meeting minutes, and maintain systematic documentation for all training-related activities.
e. Ensure timely feedback, technical advice, and improvement recommendations are shared with PTs and project teams based on field observations and training outcomes.
f. Maintain accurate data on capacity-building activities and contribute to ensuring data quality for reporting and monitoring purposes.
- Technical Learning, Knowledge Sharing, and Capitalization from Projects:
a. Gather necessary information for capitalization or scientific documentation exercises.
b. Contribute to learning initiatives and knowledge-sharing exercises under the guidance of the Rehabilitation Technical Officer or Project Manager, ensuring integration of best practices into project implementation.