Re-advertisement of National Consultancy - To conduct an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) assessment in Health Care Facilities (HCF) in maternity and neonatal settings, Windhoek, Namib

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, good health

A desktop review shows that there is limited information of the the status of WASH in HCFs in Namibia. A situation analysis is needed to determine the true status of WASH in HCFs to inform future interventions. The MoHSS with support from UNICEF aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of WASH in public HCFs in all 14 regions. The study will be confined to 21 maternity hospitals which provide antenatal and delivery care services. It is against this background that UNICEF seeks the services of a qualified and experienced individual to undertake the WASH in HCFs assessment inline with international accepted standards.

How can you make a difference?

Scope of Work

*Goal and Objective*****:

Under the supervision of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, in the Child Survival and Development section, the Consultant will conduct a situation analysis to generate quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform interventions to improve WASH in HCFs, with focus on quantity and quality of, and access to, water, toilets, health care waste management, and hand hygiene in facilities, the cleanliness of the environment; level of resilience of WASH services to climate change (source of water, use of renewable energy for pumping, energy efficiency practices),knowledge and practices of IPC.

The assessment has three subsidiary objectives:

1. To collect data on HCF characteristics, water supply, sanitation, general cleanliness and hygiene, and health care waste management in these HCFs using the WASH fit tool.
2. To assess the WASH and IPC situation in a representative sample of the 21 maternity hospitals implementing quality improvement programme, identify gaps, related constraints and potential solutions.[1]
3. Review current national standard tools monitoring of WASH in HCFs and compare it to indicators for monitoring WASH in HCFs proposed by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for water supply and sanitation (JMP).

The assessment will seek to answer the following pertinent questions.

1. What are the current levels of access to WASH services in maternity and neonatal wards in HCFs?
2. Where such services exist, what is the level of functionality in the various HCFs, particularly maternity and neonatal care settings?
3. How is access to WASH services impacting the hygiene practices of health care providers and patients?
4. What are the institutional hygiene behaviors (including hand hygiene, waste management, proper use of latrines)?
5. What are the challenges that the HCFs/maternity and neonatal settings have in observing hygiene practices and infection prevention and control in the HCFs?
6. Are there national WASH in HCFs/IPC monitoring tools/indicators aligned to JMP proposed monitoring indicators for WASH in HCFs/IPC/maternity and neonatal settings?
7. What institutional initiatives or measures are in place to monitor and encourage IPC in HCFs/maternity and neonatal settings?
8. How much WASH and IPC is integrated in existing quality of care programmes?
9. What are the appropriate means or channels of communication for hygiene promotion for the HCFs and possible entry points for good hygiene promotion?
10. To what extent are the WASH services resilient to climate change extremes?

[1] The study will not take place in all 21 hospitals. A representative sample will be taken in consultation with MoHSS.

Activities and Tasks:

Below are the details of activities and tasks to be completed in line with the objectives of the consultancy. Activities to be undertaken by the Consultant:

1. Undertake a literature review in order to understand relevant priorities for WASH in HCFs with focus on maternity setting and to determine applicable options for the Namibia context.
2. Conduct interviews and consultations with all relevant stakeholders including relevant UNICEF staff, Government officials and other stakeholders.
3. Undertake field data collection, data management and analysis and compile a report using the WASHFIT tool.
4. Formulate programme interventions based on the field findings including defining the level of activities (national, sub national or local level), and specifying target locations and,
5. Discussions with key stakeholders and partners to understand the needs and priorities for WASH in healthcare facilities at the local and national level and to raise awareness of the project within the government.

Work relationships:

The Consultant will report to the WASH Specialist, or his designate who will monitor and issue instructions on the expected deliverables and timelines. The Consultant will further work closely with both the UNICEF Health Specialist and the Communication for Development Specialist given the cross-sectional nature of the assignment. The Consultant will prepare a work plan covering the duration of the assignment and subsequently submit deliverables against the approved work plan (ref. Section 5 below).

The Consultant will be contracted by, and report to UNICEF Namibia. The MOHSS, the lead Ministry for implementing WASH and IPC in HCFs, will also provide quality assurance on the expected deliverables. Strategic guidance will be provided to the Consultant by technical team led by the MoHSS and comprising UNICEF, other relevant line ministries including the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, and other relevant partners (e.g. WHO).

Deliverables:

The key deliverables under this consultancy are shown in Table 1 below.

Deliverables

Core elements of deliverable

Duration

(Estimated # of working days)

Schedule of payment

Inception report

• Inception meeting(s) with MoHSS, MALR, UNICEF and other strategic partners to inform development of the approach.
• Methodology, work plan and data collection tools that responds to the ToRs

10 days

1st Payment 20%

Draft report

• Comprised of key findings on WASH status and answers to all research questions of the study, summary analysis and recommendations.
• Summary advocacy document (maximum 4 pages) highlighting key finings and actionable recommendations

30 days

2nd Payment 30%

Validation workshop

• Validate key findings in the draft report with key stakeholders
• Support the MoHSS-led core team to develop an action plan responding to the findings of the study through a consultative working meeting

8 days

3rd Payment 50%

Final report

• With key information from main study and feedback received from stakeholders during the validation workshop and all interactive sessions with UNICEF & MoHSS along with a with a comprehensive power point presentation of findings and recommendations

12 days

All deliverables will have to meet expected quality and standards as assessed by the supervisor of the assignment or their designate, and by the MoHSS lead focal point. Should the Consultant fail to deliver as per expected quality and standards, UNICEF reserves the right to amend the payouts accordingly, or to delay them until satisfactory submission has been received.

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

Desired profile

1. Education: A minimum of a master’s degree in Public Health, Environmental Health, Social Science, Development/Humanitarian Studies or related fields.
2. Background and Experience: A minimum 5 years of progressive experience and knowledge in implementing similar Infection Prevention and Control assignments in health care settings.
3. Demonstrable qualitative and quantitative research experience and skills.
4. Demonstrable understanding of the relationship between IPC and MNH outcomes critical.
5. Experience working on behavior change promotion in a health care setting an added advantage.
6. Experience in public health context in Namibia or similar developing country(s).
7. Language Proficiency: The incumbent must be fluent in both English. Knowledge of a local language is a strong advantage. The incumbent must have a proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
8. The incumbent must have demonstrated ability to produce professional quality technical and analytic materials. Samples of previous work outputs may be requested at a later stage.
9. Skills and Abilities: The ability to obtain, evaluate and interpret factual data and prepare precise, accurate and complete reports is required. Strong computer skills and knowledge, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint or other database software, and word processing programs are necessary.

Administrative issues

1. Consultant will provide an all-inclusive cost in the financial proposal, factoring in all cost implications for the required assignment, excluding the cost of workshops for stakeholder engagements.
2. Consultant will include cost of travel and accommodation for field trips.
3. The Consultant shall arrange his/her own workspace, office equipment, supplies, etc. If the Consultant is based in Windhoek, they will have access to UNICEF in-house printing equipment for small-scale printing/photocopying.
4. Except for the costs included in the financial proposal and those for workshop venues where applicable, UNICEF will not pay for any other expenses incurred when implementing this assignment. In light of COVID-19 protocols, the Consultant should be prepared to undertake most, if not all, workshops online.
5. The Consultant will not commence work until a written contract is issued.
6. Written consent will be obtained prior to photographing or recording of any stakeholder or community in the study.
7. The contract will include other general terms defined by UNICEF, which will be availed at time of contracting.
8. Property rights
9. UNICEF shall be entitled to all property rights, including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to material which bears a direct relation to, or is made in consequence of, the services provided to the Organization by the Consultant. In certain cases, UNICEF will be prepared to share intellectual property rights, requiring at a minimum, that UNICEF must be acknowledged in all use and publications of the data generated under the present consultancy, and retains the right to use the data for further analysis and publication with acknowledgement of the research institution concerned (where applicable).

Risks

Namibia like the rest of the world is fighting against the spread of COVID-19 with cases of community transmission reported in the study areas. Public gatherings pose a high risk of community transmissions. Consultations will be done in strict adherence to the national COVID-19 regulations in relation to the number of people allowed per gathering, the mandatory wearing of masks, maintaining of the required social/physical distance and the practice of hand hygiene.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

How to Apply?

Please visit our careers page at https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ or Vacancies | UNICEF Careers for details on the consultancy assignment and how to apply. The search criteria are Namibia and Consultancy.

Qualified candidates are requested to complete an online application including profile to the respective advertisement at https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ Please indicate your ability, availability, and financial proposal/quote to complete the terms of reference above.

Rates must include all expenses related to the assignment (e.g. consultancy fee, and field trips).

Applications submitted without a technical or financial proposal will not be considered.

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.