National Consultant: Health Facility Assessment, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Background:

Sierra Leone has made significant progress in improving access to sexual and reproductive health services. The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel increased from 42% in 2008 to 87% in 2019. During the same period, the percentage of women who use contraceptive methods tripled (24% among all women aged 15-49) and 46% of the demand for family planning is satisfied, of 45% is through the use of modern methods. This improvement in access to family planning must have contributed to the significant reduction in maternal deaths (i.e. any death that occurs during pregnancy or childbirth or within 42 days after the birth or termination of a pregnancy) from 1165 in 2013 to 717 per 100,000 live births among women age 15-49, a 40% reduction.

Despite this progress, the unmet need for family planning has been static at 25% since 2013. Twenty-one per cent of girls aged 15-29 will have given birth by the time they are 19. The maternal mortality ratio in Sierra Leone remains one of the highest globally. In order to avert this situation, cost-effective and feasible interventions do exist. However, these interventions require a reliable supply of contraceptives and life-saving maternal health medicines. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to support voluntary family planning services through its UNFPA Supplies Partnership programme. Alongside the provision of modern methods of contraceptives and system strengthening initiatives, UNFPA supports the conduct of the National Health Facility Assessment on Availability of Reproductive Health Commodities and Services which is the focus of this consultancy service.

The Purpose:

The consultancy is to support the administration of the 2022 Health Facility Assessment for the Availability of Reproductive Health Commodities and Services in Sierra Leone. The consultant will specifically support the application of a digital tool, namely, Systmapp, to conduct the health facility-based survey using phones and tablets. The consultant will also support the data collection process, data generation, and survey report writing.

The consultant will be directly supervised by the UNFPA RHCS Technical Specialist under the overall oversight of the UNFPA Deputy Representative.

The consultant will closely work with the lead consultant to undertake the tasks listed below:

• Setup survey framework and tools for the data collection on a digital platform (tablets and smartphones)
• Support in the setup of tools for data analysis, visualization, and reporting
• Create accounts for the enumerators who will be administering the survey, and assign enumerators to specific facilities
• Support the training of enumerators and supervisors and pre-test of survey questionnaires
• Monitor field data collection, track the completion of the surveys and troubleshoot problems that may arise
• Undertake data cleaning, analysis, and production of analytical tables
• Support survey report writing, validate data sets and generate revised ones as required, and provide data in a reader-friendly data presentation method

Monitoring and progress control:

The consultant will work closely with the lead consultant and the Technical Committee for the survey which is composed of representatives from the Directorate of Reproductive and Child Health (DRCH) and Directorate of Planning, Policy, and Information (DPPI) from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), Statistics Sierra Leone and UNFPA Sierra Leone.

Weekly update meetings will be held with the lead consultant, UNFPA FP/RHCS and QA team, and the Directorate of Reproductive and Child Health team of the MoHS to ensure timely completion of the deliverables during the period of consultancy.

The consultant will further hold a debriefing session on key deliverables with the senior management team members of the UNFPA Sierra Leone Country Office.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Demography, Public Health, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing/Midwifery or another related field
• Seven years of experience in management of surveys, data analysis, and presentation

Previous experience in working with the UN

Language and other competencies:

• Proficient in spoken and written English
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Proficient in use of Microsoft applications

Required Competencies:

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity,
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
• Embracing cultural diversity,
• Embracing change

Functional Competencies:

• Strategically positioning UNFPA programme
• Providing conceptual innovation to support programme effectiveness
• Generating, managing and promoting the use of knowledge and information
• Facilitating quality programmatic results

Core Competencies:

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
• Communicating for impact

Compensation:

The compensation for this position is based on acceptance of deliverables in line with the prevailing UN Consultancy scale upon satisfactory performance

Mode of application:

Interested candidates are invited to apply to the email address sierra-leone.office@unfpa.org

not later than 06 July 2022 including:

- Motivational letter

- CV (including working experience and references)

- Copy of certificate(s)

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

UNFPA Work Environment

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, Embracing diversity in all its forms, integrity, and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and promoting equal opportunities for all.

We, therefore, encourage women and persons with disabilities to apply.

Disclaimer:

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing, or other fees in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters, or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA