Consultancy opportunity: Terms of reference for the development of a family-centered guide to be used by health providers to guide companions of choice on how to support women, identify and report danger signs during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postnatal period
Background
At IntraHealth, we are a global team of creative, committed humanitarians on a mission. We are advocates, technologists, health workers, and communicators. We are passionate and diverse; and are united in our belief that everyone everywhere should have the health care they need to thrive. That’s why we work every day to improve the performance of health workers around the world and strengthen the systems in which they work.
For 40 years in over 100 countries, IntraHealth has partnered with local communities to make sure health workers are present where they’re needed most, ready to do the job, connected to the technology they need, and safe to do their very best work. Our programs are designed with a deep understanding of and appreciation for the context of human rights, gender equality and discrimination, economic empowerment, and changing populations.
Are you an experienced consultant in the development of clinical guidelines and protocols? This opportunity might be of interest to you.
Scope of Work
Momentum Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics (MSSFPO) is a five-year USAID funded project implemented by IntraHealth International aimed at contributing toward the reduction of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in Rwanda and improving the utilization of informed, voluntary, consented safe maternal health (MH) and family planning (FP) services. To achieve this goal, USAID-MSSFPO partners with the Government of Rwanda (GOR), through the Ministry of Health/Rwanda Biomedical Center (MOH/RBC), to strengthen surgical safety in maternal health and family planning, and to address existing obstacles that undermine access to, and utilization of, safe surgical care in 20 supported districts.
Efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in Rwanda have focused on improving the availability of, and access to, facility-based childbirth. As a result, at least 93% of births nationwide were at health a facility as reported in the most recent national demographic health survey (2019-2020). It is, essential that expectant women have a positive experience in health facilities before, during, and after childbirth. One way of ensuring mothers have positive experience is by promoting labor companionship as an integral component of maternal and newborn health service delivery. Labor companions, who might include a spouse/ partner, family, community member, or friend, have been shown to improve health outcomes for women and newborns. They provide support, bridging communication gaps between health workers and women by providing information about the labor process and articulating the expectant woman’s wishes to health workers. As an advocate for the woman, it is vital for labor companions to be well informed of the triggers/danger signs for critical conditions for the mother and newborn during labor and the post-natal period, which can promptly be relayed to health care providers for timely medical interventions.
The USAID-MSSFPO and MOH/RBC plan to develop an easy-to-use family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to assist health providers in orienting labor companions on the critical triggers/danger signs to watch in expectant women and newborns during pregnancy, labor, and post-natal period. These guides will mainly focus on danger signs that are easily recognizable by a non-medically trained person, such as bleeding, fever, and distressed breathing, among others.
Purpose of the consultancy
The purpose of this assignment is to develop a family-centered provider guide/handbook, flipbook, and a wall chart to orient labor companions about critical triggers/danger signs for mother and newborn to watch during pregnancy, labor, and the post-natal period.
Expected tasks
The consultant will be expected to undertake the following tasks:
- Participate in an introductory meeting with USAID-MSSFPO and RBC’s Maternal, Child, and Community Health (MCCH) and Rwanda Health Communication Center (RHCC) divisions to further discuss the scope of work, deliverables, and expectations.
- Draft and submit an inception report highlighting the purpose of the assignment, key tasks, methodology and approaches to be applied, deliverables, and the timeline for the assignment.
- Conduct a desk review of existing literature on pregnancy management and maternity care globally and in Rwanda to inform the development of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart for health providers and companions of choice.
- Prepare a draft guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to support health providers on family-centered care during pregnancy, labor, and the post-natal period, highlighting the importance and role of the labor companion, critical triggers/danger signs that the companion should watch for on the mother and newborn during labor and post-natal period and report to the health care provider for further support.
- The consultant is expected to recruit a graphic illustrator to incorporate applicable graphics on the draft guide/handbook, flipbook and wall chart to be used by health providers in providing family-centered care during pregnancy, labor, and the post-natal period..
- Participate in a three-day workshop with key stakeholders to gain insights that will inform the development of the final family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart.
- Present draft guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall charts to the Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) and the Health Promotion Technical Working Groups (TWGs) for review and input.
- Incorporate inputs from the TWGs and present a revised draft of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to the USAID-MSSFPO team.
- Present the final draft document to RHCC TWG for validation.
Deliverables
The consultant will be expected to provide the following deliverables:
- Inception report including findings of the desk review detailing the scope of work, tasks, deliverables, and timeline for completion of the assignment.
- Draft 1 of family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart.
- Documented recommendations from the workshop with key stakeholders to gain insights to inform the development of the family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart.
- Draft 2 of family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart incorporating feedback from stakeholders meeting and MSSFPO team.
- Draft 3 of family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart incorporating feedback from RMNCAH and Health Promotion TWGs.
- Final draft of guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to MSSFPO.
- Consultancy completion report.
Requirements
The ideal candidate (consultant) is expected to meet and/or possess the following qualifications and requirements:
Education and training
- Advanced degree in medicine, midwifery, or nursing, preferably with a master’s in public health.
Experience and skills
- At least 8 years of experience in the development of clinical guidelines/protocols.
- Vast experience working with MOH/RBC-MCCH Division and Rwanda Health Communication Center developing clinical guidelines, protocols, flipbooks, and charts.
- Strong clinical background with sound knowledge and experience in the Rwanda health sector.
- Excellent communication skills in English.
- Ability to work independently and to take initiative.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, strong organizational skills, and an ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.
Expected duration of the consultancy
The estimated total level of effort for this work is 43 days. The work should be completed by August 30, 2022.
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Task
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Level Of Effort
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1.
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Participate in an introductory meeting with USAID-MSSFPO
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1
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2
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Prepare and submit an inception report including findings of desk review
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3
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3
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Participate in an introductory meeting with RBC’s Maternal, Child, and Community Health (MCCH) to present the inception report and discuss the scope of work, deliverables, and expectations
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1
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4
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Participate in an introductory meeting with Rwanda Health Communication Center (RHCC) divisions to further discuss the scope of work, deliverables, and expectations
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1
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5
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Prepare the draft 1 of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart and submit it to the MSSFPO team
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20
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7
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Participate in a three-day workshop with key stakeholders to gain insights and a deeper understanding to guide the development of a provider guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart
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3
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8
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Prepare the draft 2 of the family-centered guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart incorporating feedback from the stakeholders meeting and MSSFPO team
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7
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9.
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Present the draft 2 of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to the Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) TWG
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1
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10.
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Present draft 2 of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to the Health Promotion TWG for review and input
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1
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11.
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Incorporate inputs from the RMNCAH and Health Promotion TWGs and prepare draft 3 of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart
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3
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12
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Present draft 3 of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to the Health Promotion Technical Working Group (TWGs) for final review and validation
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1
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13
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Submit the final draft of the guide/handbook, flipbook, and wall chart to MSSFPO and the consultancy completion report.
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1
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Total number of working days
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43
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Supervision:
The consultant will work closely with USAID-MSSFPO as well as RBC’s MCCH and RCCH technical teams under the direct supervision of the USAID-MSSFPO Maternal Health Advisor.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be assessed on financial reasonableness and technical considerations. Maximum scores for technical and financial applications will be 70% and 30%, respectively.
Technical evaluation criteria/ 70 marks
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At least 8 years of experience in the development of clinical guidelines/protocols (20pts)
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Vast experience working with MOH/RBC-MCCH Division and Rwanda Health Communication Center developing clinical guidelines, protocols, flipbooks, and charts (20 pts)
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Strong clinical background with sound knowledge and experience in the Rwanda health sector (10pts)
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Excellent communication skills in English and Kinyarwanda (10pts)
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Excellent interpersonal skills, strong organizational skills, and an ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment (10pts)
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How to Apply
Applications must be sent to the Chief of Party via email: ingobyiprocurement@intrahealth.org with “Development of a family-centered care guide” in the subject line, no later than June 19, 2022, before 5.00 pm, Kigali time.
Note: If you have applied you are not required to re-apply.
The application should include:
- Motivation letter and updated CV.
- Three professional references with full names, phone numbers, and email addresses.
- Technical proposal (3 pages maximum), including your experience in similar assignments, understanding of the current assignment, and how you plan to carry out the assignment/methodology.
- Proof of successful completion of similar assignments within the last 5 years.
- Financial proposal – provide your daily consultancy rate including applicable taxes.
- Proposed timeline for the assignment.
SUMMARY OF BENEFITS
IntraHealth International is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law, and requires affirmative action to ensure equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment. This is also to include inquiry about, disclosing, or discussing their compensation or the compensation of other applicants or employees.
Note: Only applicants fulfilling the above requirements will be contacted. If you don’t hear from us within one week from the submission deadline, consider your application unsuccessful.
