Consultancy/Tender jobs at Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (CISP) and other companies

Consultancy for the Third Party Assessment of ACHAP Afya Project at Palladium International

This position is open to individual consultants with the following qualifications: 

• Extensive experience with and knowledge in USAID’s MEL policies
• Knowledgeable with and solid experience in USAID guidance around performance monitoring and data quality assessment (DQA) procedures
• Prior field experience conducting data verification through third party monitoring. 
• Prior experience designing and conducting USAID evaluations. 
• Knowledgeable about the Kenyan and Ugandan community health system and contextual USAID guidance around performance monitoring.
• Familiarity with USAID family planning, MNCH and environmental risk mitigation compliance or willingness to learn and integrate into work as appropriate.

Interested and qualified? Go to Palladium International on palladium.csod.com to apply

National Consultancy on Primary Health Care Performance Index Development at UNICEF

Scope of Work

The consultancy will support the MOH to update the national VSP, county level VSPs for all 47 counties and the development of the Kenya PHC Progression Model for the national level and all Counties in Kenya.

The scope entails:

• orientation of the country team on the methodology for the PHCPI tools (VSP and Progression Model) and modification of the PHCPI tools
• capacity development of the national team on the development of VSP and progression model
• updating of the VSPs at national and county level
• development of progression models at national and county level
• facilitate the internal and external validation of the PM and VSP developed. The work on the updating the VSPs and the development of the Progression Model will be steered by the Division of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Health with UNICEF support. A task force will oversee the implementation of the activity that will draw members from MOH, UNICEF, WHO and other partners.

Required qualifications, desired competencies, technical background and experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health or related fields.

 Specialist skills/Training:

• Demonstrated experience in health system, stakeholder analysis and service delivery. Strong qualitative, quantitative research and evaluation skills, including interview guide development and conducting key informant interviews.
• At least 10 years’ experience in public health and service delivery. General familiarity with primary health care required.
• Experience of developing PHCPI progression model, Vital Signs Profile in any country context.
• Familiarity with primary health care structure and delivery in the country being assessed is strongly preferred
• Familiarity including prior working experience within the local and regional contexts. Experience working with high-level stakeholders and teams
• Clear understanding of the health sector monitoring and evaluation system
• Proven ability to conceptualize, innovate, plan and execute ideas as well as transfer knowledge and skills.
• Ability to work in a team and collaboration in a multi-cultural environment. Good analytical, negotiating, communication and advocacy skills.
• Experience with research, policy or implementation of maternal and child health service delivery
• Previous experience with facilitating training activities or teaching
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization. Ability to quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of individuals across organizational departments

Interested and qualified? Go to UNICEF on jobs.unicef.org to apply

ACHAP Afya envisions a community where adolescent girls, women and their children experience no barriers to accessing and utilizing FP, MNCAH, Nutrition and WASH services. This will contribute to reduction in maternal and child morbidity and mortality in target counties/districts of Kenya and Uganda. In these communities by 2023, there will be:

●Increased number of women accessing FP information and services through community-based distribution channels including community-based distributors (CBDs). ●Increased number of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) using a modern family planning method. ●Increased number of newborns visited at home within 48 hours of delivery. ●Increased number of completed referrals from the community to health facilities for FP, ANC, SBA, postnatal visits, Immunization and Nutrition services ●Increased number of male partners that accompany their spouses for ANC and SBA services. ●Increased number of community health committees/health unit management committees executing quarterly action plans on improving health seeking behaviors for FP, MNCAH, Nutrition and WASH services. ●Increased number of male spouses and religious leaders empowered as champions for FP, MNCAH, Nutrition and WASH services

In Year 1, ACHAP Afya successfully held inception meetings in Kilifi in Kenya and the West Nile region of Uganda and initiated capacity-building activities for various community actors. In Year 2, the project scaled up geographical coverage of activities from 4 sub-counties to 6 sub-counties in Kilifi; and doubled the number of VHT in sub-counties in Nebbi/Arua. In preparation for Year 3 work planning, the project held co-creation and feedback workshops with sub-counties, districts/county on opportunities for transitioning and sustaining project activities. In Year 3, the project will focus on sustaining activities of Year 1 and Year 2 using opportunities identified during the co-creation activities.

The Year 3 workplan activities will be funded through 2 funding streams: USAID Core to support FP community interventions and NPI EXPAND project for community MNCAH interventions, including integration with Nutrition and WASH community interventions. Despite differences in funding sources, the project will be implemented in an integrated manner to ensure continuity of services at the community level. As part of the closeout and transition of project activities, the project will focus on documenting project successes.

Company Overview: About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: NPI EXPAND is seeking a qualified individual consultant to provide third-party monitoring services that will entail independent monitoring and verification of project activities implementation, assess the level of stakeholder engagement, examine project processes and procedures, monitor the context, data quality assessment, and identifying implementation gaps and based on this derive lessons and make recommendations for improvement.

Phase 1: 2 weeks - Preparation (Document Review and site visit planning) ●Review ACHAP documents (performance reports, workplan, virtual site visit field reports, ACHAP USAID family planning compliance plan, environmental risk mitigation and compliance plan, relevant MoH guidance/policy documents, etc.) ●Review ACHAP's MEL system (data collection tools/processes, etc.). ●Review performance indicators, indicator reference sheets, data collected, and performance against targets to date ●Talk with other stakeholders as needed (e.g., Ministry of Health and sub-partners CHAK and UCMB) to better understand how ACHAP Afya project activities support the community health system. ●Complete USAID Family Planning Compliance training and incorporate as appropriate into monitoring tool/interview guide ●Prepare an interview guide/site visit reporting tool for site visits ●Identify a selection of community sites using evidence-based methods and adapt based on-the-ground logistical realities. ○Site visits would include 3-4 visits per day over a 5-day trip ○Prioritize community site over health facilities ○Each health facility visit would be coupled with 1-3 community outreach activities within catchment areas (e.g., household visit, supportive supervision visit, community meetings.) ○Identify community groups to be visited - male champions, religious leaders, mother to mother groups and teen mothers’ groups ●Document best practices that can be shared across sites and can be published. ●Set up biweekly standing meeting with ACHAP and AOR team to track progress to date against objectives.

Phase 2: 3-4 weeks - Site visits (Field visits + data quality assessments) ●Contingent on on-the-ground logistical realities, we anticipate 2 field visits (1 week each for both country where ACHAP Afya projects are implemented: Kenya and Uganda) ●Each site visit would include 15 site visits over the course of a week. Approximately 3 site visits a day for 5 days. ●Coordinate closely with ACHAP, sub-partners (CHAK and UCMB), and Ministry officials in conducting site visits and data quality assessments to promote collective learning. ●The site visits would include a mix of community meetings, household visits, supportive supervision visits (CHA with CHW), and health facility visits around a specific catchment area to verify data collection on community activities/supportive supervision/past health worker training. ●Complete USAID Recommended Data Quality Assessment Checklist for each USAID standard USAID performance planning and reporting (PPR) indicator ●Verify data for PPR indicators as part of data quality assessments ●Use photos as data collection tool

Phase 3: 2-3 weeks - Analyses/report writing/share finding with ACHAP first, then AOR team as learning exercise ●Analyze data from site visits and data quality assessments (DQA). ●Identify key findings and draft a short report with recommended follow-up action items, including potential success stories. ●Disseminate findings to ACHAP first as a learning session and AOR team.

Consultancy Deliverables: ●Completed data quality assessment checklist for USAID standard indicators for select project sites in both Uganda and Kenya ●Site visit data collection tool/interview guide ●Field/site visit reports. ●Tools and other materials for mentoring as needed ●Final report on key findings, learning, and recommendations. ●A summary presentation on key findings, learning, and recommendations Resources: The following and links to resources related to this assignment: ●USAID How-To Guide: Planning and Conducting Site Visits ●USAID Recommended Data Quality Assessment Checklist (ADS 201 Additional Help) ●USAID Performance Monitoring and Evaluation: TIPS: Conducting Data Quality Assessments ●USAID Monitoring Toolkit ●USAID Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting Toolkit - M&E for Learning ●USAID Family Planning Compliance Online Training

Required Qualifications: This position is open to individual consultants with the following qualifications:

●Extensive experience with and knowledge in USAID’s MEL policies ●Knowledgeable with and solid experience in USAID guidance around performance monitoring and data quality assessment (DQA) procedures ●Prior field experience conducting data verification through third party monitoring. ●Prior experience designing and conducting USAID evaluations. ●Knowledgeable about the Kenyan and Ugandan community health system and contextual USAID guidance around performance monitoring. ●Familiarity with USAID family planning, MNCH and environmental risk mitigation compliance or willingness to learn and integrate into work as appropriate.

Assignment Location and Supervision: The Consultant will report to the NPI EXPAND’s Manager for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, based in Washington DC, USA. The location of this assignment will be Nairobi, Kenya with field visits to Kilifi County in Kenya Coast, and Arua and Nebbi districts in West Nile Region in Uganda.

NPI EXPAND Kenya’s Country Team Lead and Capacity Development Director (both based in Nairobi, Kenya) may provide field-based support to the consultant, as may be required.

Anticipated Period of Performance and Level of Effort This consultancy is anticipated to take a maximum of 63 days from August 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

Please apply using the link below:

https://palladium.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/2/home/requisition/14738?c=palladium

Company Description
SNV is a not-for-profit international development organization that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy and WASH to local contexts. SNV has an annual turnover of €130 million, over 1,250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organization that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.

In its current Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for systems change during project preparation and implementation - by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects. We will continue to position ourselves as a premium organization, with decentralized management.

For more information on our operations in Kenya and SNV generally visit our website: www.snv. org 

Project Background
SNV through the support of the GIZ Green People’s Energy for Africa is implementing a 2-year project titled “Access to Solar Water Pumps in Laikipia’’. The overall aim is to accelerate access to appropriate, reliable, and affordable sources of energy for smallholder farmers in Laikipia County, by enhancing local distribution and uptake of quality SWPs for farming. This will in turn result in increased productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers, therefore contributing towards the nation’s economic development.

The project will be implemented through support to private sector players (SWP distributors, rural distribution partners and rural credit providers) in close collaboration/cooperation with actors relevant to the smallholder farmers market segment including existing county and business channels, platforms, and mechanisms. The project will therefore intervene on both the demand and supply side.

Job Description
The project will seek to achieve the following specific objectives:
Increase access and use of SWPs for crop irrigation and animal farming for smallholder farmers
Value chain actors ensure sustainable supply and distribution of SWPs at the local / county level.
Improve productivity and income streams for the smallholder farmers irrigating with SWPs.
Improved marketing and distribution channels for the suppliers of SWPs.
Deepened awareness of the benefits of clean energy products to enhance productivity in agricultural value chains.

Project target
500 smallholder farmers using SWPs for crop irrigation and animal farming
50% of smallholder farmers reporting improved productivity and revenues
30% annual growth in sales performance for the supported distribution network
50 jobs created along the value chain
Eligible technologies/products

The project will promote access to solar-powered water pumps for crop irrigation and animal farming for smallholder farmers. These will be appropriate SWPs that are already locally available in the Kenyan market. Priority will be given to quality products and suppliers who will provide after-sales support including product warranties. The project will therefore include measures to vet products to ensure relevance/appropriateness to the market.

Support provided by the project
Through a market-based approach, the project will focus on interventions on both the supply and demand sides to address key barriers constraining the distribution and adoption of SWPs in Laikipia county. On the supply side, the project will focus on capacity development for SWP companies and their rural distributors to ensure adequate availability and distribution in rural and remote areas. On the demand side, the project will focus on demand creation to enhance uptake of SWP technologies but will also enhance the capacity of the smallholder farmers to facilitate appropriate selection, use and maintenance of the SWPs. This will involve a mix of technical assistance and financial support to facilitate market development activities.

More specifically, eligible companies will be able to access:

Technical assistance - will involve needs-based support to enhance the supply and distribution of solar-powered water pumps.

Financial facilitation – the project will provide financial facilitation towards pre-agreed activities in line with the project intervention areas. Financial facilitation can either be:

Where SNV directly procures product or service providers on behalf of beneficiary and therefore make direct payments to these service providers.
Where the beneficiary proceeds to pre-finance and implement against pre-approved proposals (activities and budgets) and get re-imbursements from the project (project’s contribution) upon presenting proof of successful implementation/completion and verifiable proof of expenditure. SNV will allow this option on condition that planning, and implementation will be a joint process with the project team
The support will be structured in a performance-based approach in line with the achievement of the expected or agreed-upon results/outcomes. Any financial facilitation is provided on a co-financing basis.

Examples of eligible activities
Based on the intervention areas mentioned above, the project will facilitate the implementation of activities to overcome market development barriers to increase uptake and use of SWPs. The activities to address market barriers may include but are not limited to the following:

Promotion and awareness creation (e.g. market activations, product exhibitions, end-user education, behavioural change campaigns and marketing materials, etc.);
Technical training and knowledge development for smallholder farmers on the use of SWPs for farming (e.g. recruitment and training of distribution partners, stockiest, retailers, sales agents and/or group-based promoters, farmers, etc.);
Enhancing technical capacities, quality assurance and after-sales support (e.g. capacity building of technicians, provision of technical sales support to small scale businesses acquiring the products/energy solutions, enhancement of call centre services, etc.);
Business to business linkages (e.g. activities to promote and facilitate distribution partnership development and implementation);
Facilitating financial linkages (e.g. activities to promote and facilitate end-user credit models).
The companies will identify and prioritize their specific support needs in collaboration with SNV.

Qualifications
The project seeks to support organisations with the following characteristics:
Companies registered and operating in Kenya.
Companies distributing or planning to distribute solar-powered water pumps for farming in Laikipia County.
Companies with quality assurance mechanisms in place including after-sales support. Companies providing product warranties will have an added advantage.
Companies applying to receive performance based financial re-imbursements, must have the financial capacity to implement pre-agreed activities before receiving refunds from the project.
Willingness to sign an MOU and report to the project. The companies will be required to report sales data and provide periodic progress reports to the extent supported by the project.

Additional Information
Application and Submission: Through "https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/oneclick-ui/company/SNV/publication/8ed0db8c-61fd-4010-8cf8-69868d45a209?dcr_ci=SNV&sid=c2cc8851-dfcc-467d-8da5-3051a6896ef6 " tab on this page, interested applicants should Download the application template here, fill it in and submit by clicking the I'm Interested tab at the bottom of this page, creating a profile and attaching other supporting documents as are relevant.

Applications will be accepted from July 2021 on an open-ended basis. The project will assess applications, undertake due diligence and sign MoUs continuously over this period, but priority will be given to applications on a first come, first serve basis.

Method of Application

Method of Application

Purpose of the Evaluation

HIH EA is commissioning an End line evaluation to assess the project progress against the OECD DAC Evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. This evaluation also seeks to compile, consolidate, analyze and synthesize existing and new project data to assess the extent to which the project has delivered the outputs and achieved the desired outcomes. The evaluation also aims at highlighting the best practices, key lessons and performance of the EDRF III project, with a view to informing future strategic and operational decisions.

Objectives of the End line evaluation

1. To assess the relevance of the project design, in terms of meeting the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries.
2. To assess the coherence of the project design, in terms of coordination with, or avoiding duplication of, other efforts in the area.
3. To assess how well the project has achieved its outcomes.
4. To assess whether the project delivered and achieved outcomes within agreed budget and schedule.
5. To assess the project’s direct and indirect benefits, and if any, unintended positive and negative consequences brought about by the project.
6. To assess the extent to which benefits delivered by the project are likely to last post-project.
7. To assess the contribution of Technical Assistance to improved capacity among HIH EA staff on market access, gender, climate resilience, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) aspects.
8. To assess the adaptive and responsiveness of the organization, donor, project teams and communities to weather shocks of pandemics such as Covid-19, and recommend relevant adaptive management strategies.
9. To assess the extent upon which the midline recommendations were implemented
10. To assess how the project has contributed towards change in gender and youth dynamics within households and communities in the project focus areas.
11. To assess appropriateness of the implementation strategies and give recommendations to inform future similar projects.
12. To document lessons learnt/knowledge generated and best practices that can be replicated to future similar projects. Also, assess what should have been done differently and should be avoided in such similar projects in future.

Approach and Methodology

The methodology chosen should demonstrate attention to impartiality and reduction of bias by relying on mixed methods approach (quantitative, qualitative, participatory etc.) and different primary and secondary data sources that are systematically triangulated. The evaluation must also be structured around the OECD DAC criteria for evaluation (specifically: Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability), since the evaluation is summative. The evaluator must ensure all relevant project indicators are addressed comparably between baseline and end line. The consultant will be required to provide calculations/analytical frameworks on how they will measure change between baseline, midline and end line.

Ethical Considerations

The evaluation must conform to International ethical guidelines for research and evaluations. Accordingly, the selected evaluation firm will be responsible for safeguarding and ensuring ethics at all stages of the evaluation process. The evaluation firm will be responsible for managing any potential ethical risks and issues and must put in place processes and systems to identify, report and resolve any ethical issues that might arise during the implementation of the evaluation.

Deliverables

HIH EA is seeking for an independent evaluator firm to undertake this assignment who will design the study and prepare the data collection tools. The evaluator will clean, analyze, visualize, and write a comparable (baseline, midline and end line) report, drawing on insights from both the qualitative and the quantitative datasets. HIH EA will provide all technical documents necessary to ensure the assignment is completed successfully, including the project proposal narrative, baseline & midline survey reports, logic model, and MEL Plan; a survey template with our standard indicator questions and answer options; and the HiH EA evaluation report template. The data collection tools prepared by the consultant must align with the definitions provided in the MEL Plan, and should make reference to the tools used at baseline and midline evaluations.

Role of the Consultant

The consultant will be required to undertake at a minimum the following;

1. Desk review of the project documents to understand the design
2. Develop the sample design for the end line survey and any qualitative data collection
3. Design/adapt/refine (as appropriate) the end line data collection tools – both quantitative and qualitative. The indicator data will be disaggregated appropriately into gender, age, and whether a beneficiary is a start-up, carry-over or extension.
4. Conduct a pre-test of the tools and finalize, incorporating changes
5. Identify and train the field supervisors and enumerators
6. Plan the field work logistics
7. Prepare survey implementation and questionnaire user guide documentation e.g. enumerator supervision manuals, etc.
8. Supervise survey implementation and ensure quality control
9. Clean and analyze all datasets
10. Document success stories
11.  Assess the project’s initiatives contributions to outcomes against Hand in Hand’s theory of change
12. Write an end line evaluation report, compiling the findings of both qualitative and quantitative datasets, and using the HiH evaluation report template provided.
13. Submit raw, cleaned, and worked datasets to HiH in .xlsx or .csv format
14. Submit the report for review and feedback
15. Hold a validation workshop
16. Incorporate feedback from HIHEA, HiH SWE, HIHI and SIDA.
17. Submit a final report

Consultants Requirements

HiH EA requests consultants to submit proposals to respond to this Terms of Reference as outlined above. We expect the consultancy firm to demonstrate the skills and experience outlined below (or equivalent):
The lead consultant must have a background (atleast a Masters degree) in Social sciences, Project management, Community development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, Agricultural Economics or related field.
The lead consultant should have a minimum of 10 years’ experience in field research and monitoring and evaluation of community development projects.

1. Gender expert must have a background (atleast a University degree) with atleast 5 years of professional experience in areas of gender equality, gender mainstreaming, youth and women empowerment and related disciplines.
2. The lead consultant and his team should demonstrate evidence of past relevant evaluation assignments in rural and peri-urban areas of Kenya (share sample reports).
3. Proven track record in analytical report writing
4. Proven track record on working with digital data collection approaches
5. Proven capacity to assess unintended consequences of a project particularly for women participants
6. Strong understanding and capacity to undertake gender analysis in rural areas
7. Experience of field work and data collection at household level in rural areas of Kenya
8. Operational capacity, understands the Kenyan and Eastern Africa contexts
9. Solid understanding of agriculture, small, medium and micro enterprises, economics, monitoring and evaluation and value chains.

The proposal should include the following:

1. A detailed explanation of understanding the Terms of Reference (max. 2 pages)
2. A short outline of evaluation approach, research design and methodology for the Evaluation. Max. 3 pages.
3. A proposed process and time frame for the Evaluation setting out the phases, the number of consultants and the number of days. Max. 2 pages.
4. The anticipated challenges and dependencies likely to affect the implementation of the Evaluation and how these should be addressed. Max. 1 page.
5. A description of how to ensure data quality throughout the process/assignment. Max. 1 page.
6. A description of how gender will be mainstreamed throughout the evaluation questions with consideration of how the perspectives of men, women and youths will be sought in the evaluation process. Max 1 page.
7. A narration of how ethical issues will be mitigated/safeguarded throughout the evaluation process. Max 1 page.
8. A summary of the most relevant skills and experience of the proposed lead consultant and the consultant(s) together with her/his CV showing relevant previous assignments and clients. (Annex CVs separately). Max 2 pages per CV.
9. A detailed fee quote and rationale for the consultants and an estimate for the operational costs. Max. 1 page.

Budget and Payment

The consultancy firm will provide a detailed budget, with a breakdown of the consultants’ fees and logistical expenses. The terms of payment will be negotiated upon signing of the contract.

Award Criteria

The evaluation of the quotations will be based on the best value for money, weighing up technical quality (the methodology and the CVs of the consultants).

Assessment of CV’s

The assessment of the CV’s will be reviewed of the appropriateness of the proposed consultants based on their stated skills and experiences as well as additional criteria outlined above.

Appointment

Shortlisted applicants will be called for an interview (physical/virtual] and may be requested to submit samples of work.

Management of Consultant(s)

The appointed consultant will be managed by Hand in Hand Eastern Africa. The consultant will make themselves available for weekly coordination meetings with HiH EA throughout the duration of the contract, until the final report is delivered and signed off.

Method of Application