Consultancy - Last mile delivery partnerships in underserved populations - SCSC - 90 days (4 Jul 2022 - 27 Jan 2023) - Part Time - Home Based

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: To support the development of last mile delivery partnerships for vaccines and primary healthcare commodities in underserved, remote, rural settings and document evidence of contributions in West Africa (Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia).

BACKGROUND:

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfil their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up. Strong national health supply chains are lifesaving, critical cornerstones to ensure that all children and their families can receive the best care at the right time and in the right place. Where there are no supplies, there are rarely results for children. It is important that health supplies reach the final users in primary health care facilities, however this can sometimes be difficult with numerous challenges faced in ensuring that supplies reach the last mile. In many cases, this may be due to poor transport systems or infrastructure and shortage of dedicated personnel and resources. Globally there is continued increase in financial resources dedicated to providing health commodities to vulnerable communities in developing countries. To help ensure that these commodities ultimately reach intended beneficiaries, there has been an increase in investments being made to the supply chain; with the broad objective to strengthen in-country supply chains systems that have the mandate to deliver products to the final users - particularly children. In many countries, supply chains have suffered many years of under-investment, resulting in sub-optimal performance across most of the key supply chain functional areas.

In order to mitigate these challenges, countries must apply innovative and tested approaches to reinforce national supply chains. This includes leveraging the strengths and competencies of local private sector, CSO partners and local communities and adopting new models of partnerships that can be applied to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Investment in the scaling of alternative innovative business and operating supply chain models can generate cashflows for governments and its agencies to use to sustainably scale up and operate new supply chain network structures and invest in supply chain infrastructure. In doing so, countries can extend the reach of supply chains, delivering life-saving commodities to hard-to-reach areas whilst improving efficiency and promoting local sustainability through the deployment of innovative business models.

The Supply Chain Strengthening Centre of UNICEF’s Supply Division works with countries to scale system design tools, innovations, guidance, capacity building and implementation support to regions and countries. Within this scope, this unit builds on UNICEF’s leadership in last mile innovations to expand the potential of alternative, next-generation solutions that can be integrated into sustainable supply chains in terms of cost, government ownership and environmental stewardship. This end-to-end system design lens works toward increased access to life saving commodities that impact the health, nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and education of children.

Scope of Work: DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT: The purpose of this consultancy is to develop business / operating models for last mile delivery of vaccines and related supplies and support the piloting of these context-specific optimized last mile delivery models, including but not limited to partnerships with local private sector, CSO partners and communities in remote rural settings. This is in line with the Gavi Immunization Supply Chain (iSC) strategy to ensure that countries have equitable supply chains capable of extending reach of vaccines to the last mile to serve underserved and zero dose children. Building on system design analysis and implementation plans developed by these countries, the consultant will develop business models that incorporate sustainability across environmental, social and economic dimensions and initiatives to involve and empower youth and promote economic growth will be explored.

The consultant will also support countries in the piloting of the new supply chain business models in rural remote settings and document evidence of contributions to these supply chain networks for potential scale up of efficient, effective and fit for purpose networks.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone: Landscape Report Deliverables/Outputs: • Conduct a landscape review of the current methods of storage and distribution (mechanism, frequency etc) of vaccines and dry commodities to service delivery points / the last mile in the select geographical area for each country and the different partners and stakeholders involved • Conduct desk review of existing government public private partnership modalities and how these could be applied to third party transport providers for health commodities • Identify local private sector, CSOs, youth enterprises and other local groups engaged in movement of goods and transportation and their potential relevance in the iSC • Engage with government and other stakeholders to determine scope and priority locations Timeline: July – Sept 22

Tasks/Milestone: Costed Business Models Deliverables/Outputs: • Develop 2 - 3 feasible costed sustainable business models to be considered for last mile direct delivery of vaccines with relevant local partnerships Timeline: Aug - Oct 22

Tasks/Milestone: Implementation support Deliverables/Outputs: • Develop implementation strategy and plan for at least one country • Support the initial piloting within a select part of one country, demonstrating how the new model impacts KPIs and how it can be sustainability maintained Timeline: Oct – Dec 22

Tasks/Milestone: End of project report Deliverables/Outputs: • Produce a final report documenting the evidence across the countries and how this can be replicated including, but not limited to results of the pilot implementation comparing against KPIs Timeline: Jan 23

The activity deadlines and further specification on individual activities will be specified and agreed after contracted.

Payments will follow the approval of key deliverables itemized above and according to the following estimation of workdays. 1. Payment will be aligned to deliverables as agreed when contracted. 2. All deliverables to be approved prior to payment.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• University degree is required (Advanced degree an advantage), preferably in relevant field (e.g., business planning, supply chain management, economics, global health, international development studies, procurement, logistics, or other quantitative degree). Applicable work experience can substitute in cases where university degree is not aligned to a relevant field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

• At least 8 years of experience in international public health programme management including 3 years in immunization, with experience in resource-limited environments, preferably in the areas of: • Supply chain operations • Assessing and measuring supply chain performance • Supply chain network analysis • Supply chain bottleneck analysis • Network/supply chain optimization • Familiarity with inventory policies, distribution outsourcing, segmentation strategies, integration of health products, and other system design strategies

  Experience interfacing with national ministries of health an advantage. Commercial expertise and/or experience in entrepreneurship and start ups an advantage. Local consultant based in the select countries preferred

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter
2. Financial quote at a daily rate in US Dollars including all taxes
3. Highest Education Degree (scanned copy)
4. UN P11
5. Detailed technical proposal
6. Examples of previous, relevant work
7. At least 3 References from previous direct Supervisors ( email and phone contact if applicable)

Applications must be submitted through the UNICEF electronic application system by 15 June. Please indicate your availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a technical proposal and daily rate will not be considered.

UNICEF considers best value for money as a criteria for evaluating potential candidates. As a general principle, the fees payable to a consultant or individual contractor follow the “best value for money” principle, i.e., achieving the desired outcome at the lowest possible fee. Please note that consultants and individual contractors are responsible for assuming costs for obtaining visas and travel insurance.

Successful applicants will be evaluated by the following criteria:

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (max. 75 points) Overall Response (25 points) Understanding of tasks, objectives and completeness and coherence of response Overall match between the TOR requirements and proposal Technical Capacity (50 points) Relevance of consultant’s experience with similar projects and as per required qualifications References FINANCIAL PROPOSAL (max. 25 points) Daily rate Travel costs Total estimated cost of contract (proposed contract fee only) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL - Weight Combined Score TOTAL SCORE (max. 100 points)

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.