1. Call for Proposal of Individual Consultancy to serve as Midterm Review Coordinator
Request for applications to Conduct Ingobyi Midterm Evaluation
Scope of Work
Call for proposal of individual consultancy to serve as Midterm Review Coordinator
Background and Objectives of the Consultancy
Brief Background:
USAID Ingobyi Activity is a five-year grant from USAID. IntraHealth International, in close coordination with the MOH, is leading a consortium to reduce preventable infant and maternal deaths, reduce the incidence of malaria, and bring high-quality, integrated health services to more Rwandan mothers, children, and adolescents. In addition, Ingobyi is working in collaboration with the national Ebola Viral Disease preparedness taskforce to prevent the spread of the disease into Rwanda.
The Activity works in 20 districts to: (1) increase equitable access to services related to reproductive health, malaria, and maternal, newborn, and child health; (2) improve the quality of these services along the entire continuum of care; and (3) strengthen ministry and district health officials’ planning and management capacity. IntraHealth’s partners on Ingobyi are World Vision Rwanda, Urunana Development Communication, Ingenuity Ltd., Society for Family Health Rwanda, and Akros, Inc. The Ingobyi Activity consortium works closely with three professional associations: the Rwanda Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Rwanda Pediatric Association, and Rwanda Association of Midwives.
The strategic objective of the activity is to improve the utilization and quality of RMNCH and malaria services in a sustainable manner. To achieve the project objective, Ingobyi will need to produce three key results that are critical to ensuring that babies and mothers are treated with the highest degree of care. The Ingobyi Activity results framework guides the planning, implementation and monitoring of activities, as well as the management and communication of the Activity results.
The elements of this results framework are aligned to the three Activity results:
- IR 1: Increased equitable access to RMNCH/malaria services in targeted districts
- IR 2: Improved quality of high impact RMNCH/malaria services along the continuum of care in targeted districts
- IR 3: Strengthened performance of the health system at central and decentralized levels.
Overarching Goal of the Work
The mid-term evaluation of the USAID Ingobyi Activity aims to 1) assess progress towards Activity results, and 2) make recommendations for improving current Activity implementation and future USAID investments. As close partner and vital stakeholder, the Government of Rwanda will use the evaluation’s findings to track Activity progress and identify best practices for possible scale up.
Consultant value
IntraHealth currently requires the services of a consultant to act as Midterm Review Coordinator to oversee data collection and cleaning and support data analysis and reporting. The Midterm Review Coordinator is responsible for the management of the data collectors and oversight of data collection and data entry.
Responsibilities of the Midterm Review Coordinator
The consultant will be responsible for the following:
- Conduct key/high level in-depth interviews with sampled stakeholders
- Oversee data collection and data quality
- Supervise data entry and cleaning (in partnership with Ingobyi Activity staff)
- Conduct some qualitative analysis
Weekly consultations will be undertaken via Zoom with the Lead Consultant, Ingobyi staff, and HQ support throughout the performance period for this work.
Activities and method:
1. Finalizedata collection tools (in collaboration with Lead Coordinator and Ingobyi staff) (Consultant LOE 5 Days)
- Field test data collection tools, especially the discussion/interview guides
- Prepare data for secondary data analysis
2. Oversee data collection (in collaboration with Lead Consultant and Ingobyi staff) (Consultant LOE 15 Days)
- Coordinate and conduct training of data collectors
- Oversee fieldwork and supervise data collection team
- Coordinate data collection team schedules and travel
- Apply quality control procedures and ensure data quality standards are achieved
- Supervise data entry and cleaning
- Conduct some key informant interviews
- Develop data entry platforms
3. Support data analysis (In collaboration with Lead Consultant, Ingobyi staff and HQ support) (Consultant LOE 8 Days)
- Collaborate with Lead Consultant to extract data points from multiple source documents and databases
- Conduct thematic/content analysis of qualitative data
4. Support evaluation report (In collaboration with Lead Consultant, Ingobyi staff and HQ support) (Consultant 2 Days LOE)
4. Deliverables and Reports
The consultant will submit the following deliverables to IntraHealth in line with the activities and method outlined above.
- Data entry platforms
- Data sets (cleaned and final)
7. Location
The consultant will be expected to travel within Rwanda, conditions permitting, during data collection period.
8. Travel
Ingobyi Activity-supported districts throughout Rwanda
9. Consultant Qualifications
The assignment will require a consultant with demonstrable competencies and experiences in:
- Expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection and data analysis
- Demonstrated experience conducting evaluative studies
- Experience supervising data collection teams
- Experience in working with Rwanda government health agencies
- French language skills
The individual consultant will hold a minimum Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, global health research or other similar fields and at least 5 years of related experience.
10.Evaluation of proposals
Proposals will be evaluated as follows:
- Technical proposal: 70% marks
- Financial proposal:30% marks
How to apply
Interested applicants are requested to submit a technical and financial proposal (in English), electronically by June 4th, 2021 to Ingobyiprocurement@intrahealth.org. The email should be titled “Ingobyi Midterm Review Coordinator”.
Technical proposal should explain how the applicant intends to carry out the work and should include the following:
- Updated CV(s) of the proposed study team, highlighting relevant qualifications and experience.
- Certificate of protection of participants in research of not more than one year ago.
- Description of applicant’s experience with studies of a similar nature and details of 3 former clients who can be contacted for reference (name, position, contact details).
- Detailed methodology that the consultant(s) suggest would be appropriate from their understanding of the TOR.
- Detailed study schedule.
The financial proposal should detail the proposed budget for the assignment with daily rate (tax inclusive) in local currency.
2. Consultancy Opportunity –Documentation Professional or Scientific Writer
Consultancy Opportunity – Documentation Professional or Scientific Writer
About IntraHealth
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 and documentation professional or scientific writer? This opportunity might be of interest to you.
Scope of Work
IntraHealth seeks an experienced documentation professional or scientific writer to work with its USAID Ingobyi Activity team to document key project interventions, processes and outcomes. The USAID Ingobyi Activity is a five-year cooperative agreement to improve the availability, utilization, and quality of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) and malaria services, in a sustainable manner with the goal of reducing neonatal, child and maternal mortality and morbidity in Rwanda. The Ingobyi Activity builds upon the tremendous gains Rwanda has made in the health sector as well as previous USAID investments in the sector to provide a healthier, more productive future for all Rwandans.
Interventions delivered by Ingobyi Activity to achieve expected results include the following, among others: competency-based skills building through clinical training and mentorship; systems strengthening, focused on supporting district health units to organize regular DHMT meetings to discuss, prioritize and respond to key health challenges, strengthening the referral system to improve case management, capacity strengthening for community health workers (CHWs) on community level packages, including integrated community case management (iCCM), community-based maternal and newborn health (CB-MNH), and community-based program on family planning (CBP-FP); infection prevention and control, including preparedness and prevention of infectious diseases, such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and COVID-19, at facility and community levels to reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality; and promotion of healthy behaviors and demand creation through radio broadcasts, community outreach – integrated RMNCH and malaria messaging and service delivery, and health communication for clients at health facility level.
Ingobyi Activity implements globally approved high impact RMNCH and malaria interventions to increase access to high quality services for mothers, newborn, and children, such as: emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC); safe c-sections; respectful maternity care (RMC); management of pre/eclampsia; management of port-partum hemorrhage (PPH); obstetric fistula screening and repair; essential newborn care (ENC) – helping babies breathe (HBB); essential care for every baby (ECEB); essential care for small and sick babies (ECSB); family-centered care (FCC); emergency triage, assessment, treatment and admission (ETAT+); integrated management of childhood illnesses (IMCI); integrated community case management (iCCM); improved diagnostic services; management of malaria in pregnancy (MIP); and severe malaria and home-based care interventions, among many others.
The consultant will work under direct supervision of the Technical Director/DCOP and in collaboration with various technical leads during the entire course of the assignment. Occasionally, the consultant will be required to consult with key contact persons at the Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) to gather additional data and information.
Purpose of consultancy and key expected tasks
The purpose of this consultancy assignment is to support IntraHealth’s Ingobyi Activity team to document key project interventions and strategies for internal and external dissemination. The goal is to use final products as tools to promote awareness of project interventions, approaches, learning and promising practices with the global health community. The consultant will perform the following tasks, among others:
- Participate in orientation/introductory meeting with Ingobyi Activity technical team leads to gain a deeper understanding of the project, key interventions, including those to be documented as part of this assignment, documentation procedures and expected deliverables;
- Prepare and submit a generic inception report outlining key tasks, approaches to be used, sources of information/data for each intervention or strategy to be documented and the timeline for the entire assignment;
- Gather all relevant documents required for the documentation (reports, data, stories, photos, etc.) from respective Ingobyi Activity technical leads;
- Conduct desk review on each identified intervention or strategy to gather literature on current global and local knowledge and practices to provide context for documentation;
- Conduct in-depth interviews with selected staff, beneficiaries and/or partners to gain understanding of the benefits and outcomes of the strategies and interventions being documented;
- Prepare first draft (see expected content and outline of each document below) for each intervention and/or strategy pre-identified by Ingobyi Activity team (see below list for interventions to be documented – Additional areas may be identified in the course of the assignment) and submit assignment supervisor for review;
- Incorporate feedback from Ingobyi Activity team and submit revised draft of each document; and
- Present final drafts of the above documents using the outline provided below – branding guidance will be provided.
Interventions and strategies to be documented
- Low does high frequency (LDHF) training approach
- Clinical mentorship – both by professional associations and district based mentors
- e-Learning courses for community health workers
- Supportive supervision
- Infection prevention and control – both at facility and community level
- Screening, repair and management of obstetric fistula
- Citizen voice and action (CVA)/patient voice program (PVP)
- COVID-19 responses and efforts to assure continuity of health services
- Social and behavior change – interventions to create demand for, and uptake of, key RMNCH and malaria services
Expected content and outline of each document
Each document is expected to include the following topics, as applicable to each intervention or strategy (additional topics may be added in the course of the assignment). Each document is expected to be between 5 and 10 pages long (excluding references and annexes).
- Introduction;
- Description of intervention or strategy
- Purpose and objectives of the intervention or strategy
- Description of Ingobyi Activity – goal, expected results and key interventions
- Presentation of literature on the intervention or strategy – both local and global;
- The implementation approach;
- Key activities involved in the intervention or strategy and population coverage;
- Key results or outcomes to date – to include service data from project reports and databases and beneficiary voices, and stories of impact with relevant photos;
- Key lessons learned and opportunities for scale-up both locally and globally;
- Challenges and how Ingobyi Activity has responded or addressed them;
- References; and
Deliverables
Expected deliverables for this assignment include the following:
- Inception report clearly stating key tasks, approaches to be used, sources of information/data for each intervention or strategy to be documented and the timeline for the entire assignment;
- Relevant desk review (including global and local literature) for each identified intervention and strategy;
- First draft of each documented intervention or strategy;
- Second draft of each documented intervention or strategy;
- Final drafts of each documented intervention or strategy; and
- Consultancy completion report.
Requirements
The ideal candidate is expected to meet and/or possess the following qualifications and requirements.
Education and training
- Advanced degree (at least Master’s level) in public health, health communication, global health or other related fields with specialization or experience in scientific writing, informatics and global health research.
- Clinical background with working knowledge and experience in the Rwanda health sector (community, health post, health center, district hospital and district health unit, as well as central level institutions) will be required.
Experience and skills
- Minimum 10 years of relevant working experience in scientific writing, scientific publications, global health research and documentation of health programs;
- Extensive experience in scientific writing (evidence of submitted papers required), documentation of program activities, evaluation of health programs, preparation of project and research papers or policy briefs (evidence required);
- Sound understanding of current developments in RMNCH and malaria prevention and treatment programs;
- Excellent interpersonal skills, strong organizational skills and an ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment;
- Excellent writing and communication skills in English are key requirements (evidence of written work will be required);
- Solid skills in documentation and report writing (evidence of written work will be required); and
- Excellent use of MS Word and Excel required.
Assignment tasks and expected duration
This assignment is expected to commence in in early June and should be completed by end of August 2021. The below table outlines estimated level of effort for each task.
|
# |
Task |
Working days |
|
1. |
Participate in orientation/introductory meetings with Ingobyi Activity technical team leads |
2 |
|
2. |
Prepare and submit an inception report (4 days) |
4 |
|
3. |
Gather all relevant documents required for the documentation (reports, data, stories, photos, etc.) from respective Ingobyi Activity technical leads (documents for 3 interventions per day) |
3 |
|
4. |
Conduct desk review on each identified intervention or strategy to gather literature on current global knowledge and practices (1 day for each intervention) |
9 |
|
5. |
Conduct in-depth interviews with selected staff, beneficiaries and/or partners to gain understanding of the benefits and outcomes of the strategies and interventions (1 day for each intervention) |
9 |
|
6. |
Prepare first draft of the identified interventions and strategies (4 days for each document) |
36 |
|
7. |
Incorporate feedback from Ingobyi Activity team and submit revised draft of each document (1 document per day) |
9 |
|
8. |
Prepare and submit final drafts of each document (3 documents per day) |
3 |
|
9. |
Prepare consultancy completion report |
1 |
|
|
Total number of working days |
76 |
How to apply
Applications must be sent to the Chief of Party via email: ingobyiprocurement@intrahealth.org with “Documentation or scientific writing consultant” in the subject line, no later than June 4, 2021 at 5.00 pm.
Evaluation of proposals:
The proposals will be evaluated as follows:
- Technical proposal: 70% marks
- Financial proposal:30% marks
The application file should include:
- Motivation letter and updated CV;
- Three professional references with full names, phone number and email address;
- Well written technical proposal (3 pages maximum), including your past experience in similar assignments, understanding of the current assignment, and how you plan to carry out the assignment/methodology;
- Proof of completion of similar assignments within the last 5 years;
- Financial proposal – provide your daily consultancy rate including applicable taxes; and
- Proposed timeline for the assignment.
IntraHealth International is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration 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 and consultancies.
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.
