Consultancies -2 Positions

Amref Health Africa, the largest African led international organization on the continent, provides training and health services to over 30 countries in Africa. Founded in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa to bring critical health services to remote communities, Amref Health Africa now delivers preventative, community- based health care. With a focus on women and children, Amref Health Africa manages a full range of medical and public health programs tackling the most critical health challenges facing country focusing on three key programmatic areas: Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (RMNCH); Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases. Gender and human resources for health are crosscutting, reflected throughout the organization’s health portfolio. Our organization also engages in clinical outreach interventions and emergency programs including nutrition and resilience building of affected the continent: maternal and child care, HIV & TB, malaria, clean water and sanitation and surgical and clinical outreach.

Amref Health Africa partners with the Government of Ethiopia and local stakeholders to implement a diversified health project portfolio throughout the communities. In 2017, our programs supported 174districts, 390 health facilities and 27 health science institutions, reaching 1.6 million beneficiaries, 29,654 health professionals and 17,792 health extension workers and health development agents.

Amref Health Africa has projects in Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, SNNP, Ethiopia Somali regions and nationwide health systems strengthening interventions focusing the capacity building of the National Health Extension Program.

About Amref Health Africa:

Amref Health Africa is the largest African-based and led international health development organization serving over 30 million people annually across 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.  Strategically engaging with communities, governments, and local partners for the past 65 years, we work through our European and North American network of sister organizations on program implementation, advocacy, fundraising and partnership. Our subsidiaries include Amref Flying Doctors, Amref Enterprises Limited, and the Amref International University.

Our organization is driven by its vision to bring lasting health change in Africa and its mission to catalyze and drive community-led and people-centered health systems while addressing social determinants of health. Amref believes that the power to transform Africa’s health lies within its communities, and therefore strives to ensure that health systems are functioning at an optimal level and communities are empowered to hold these systems accountable for the delivery of high-quality and affordable health care.

Amref has been active in Ethiopia since the 1960s and became fully operational as of 2002. We have been partnering with the Ethiopian government and local communities to co-create solutions and implement diverse health and development project portfolios throughout the country for over twenty years. Aligning with the national Health Sector Transformation Plan II (HSTP II), we work to ensure health equity by serving women and children, reaching the most disadvantaged, inaccessible communities including pastoralist communities and placing an emphasis on youth development.

Our programs are designed to support community level interventions while strengthening health systems at the regional and national levels. With an integrated and multi-sectoral approach, Amref strategically addresses cross-cutting issues through these programmatic focus areas. For more information, visit our website www.amref.org.

Background:  interventions on youth friendly services

Amref has been intervene on youth friendly services through Reach, Expand & Access Community Health (REACH) and Packard and Lucile projects since 2015. Amref health Africa was implementing a project entitled “Enhancing reproductive health care quality to accelerate utilization of family planning services”/Quality is not as costly as you think (Q-CAT) at health post level. The project has been implemented in two phases. Phase one, which was launched in January, 2015 to enhance reproductive health care quality to accelerate utilization of family planning services have been designed and implemented in Oromia region, Jimma and East wollega zones focusing on 160 health posts. The ultimate outcome of the project was to increased access to quality community based reproductive health/ FP services. In phase II the extension of first phase has been implemented in the same geographical location by adding 40 more health posts, a total of 200 health posts. Specifically, this project was implemented in Jimma Zone: Dedo, Mancho, Shebe Sombo and Seka Chokorsa districts and East Wollega Zone: Diga, GutoGida and Leka Dulecha districts. In phase three, the project was to increased access to quality community based reproductive health service with intended outcomes of quality of care for FP institutionalized, stakeholder’s engagement and scaled at health post level.

RACH is an integrated Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR); Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM); Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) and Nutrition project which is implemented through partnership between Engender Health, Amref Health Africa and DKT Ethiopia through funding obtained from EKN (Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). The project will be operational for four years (June 2022-June 2026) at Oromia region, Jimma and Borena zones. The overall goal of the REACH project is to ensure Youth, Maternal Health, WASH, and Nutrition needs are fulfilled in Borena and Jimma Zones of Oromia Regional state, Ethiopia through integrated programming with Specific objectives; (i) Women and Young people to demand and use SRHR/MHM, WASH and Nutrition services, (ii) Improve schools and the surrounding community’s support for women and young people to demand and use REACH services, (iii) Ensure the availability of high quality REACH services, products and infrastructures to schools, and households in the surrounding communities, and (iv) Enhance enabling environment, learning & scale up.

Training Objectives:

Rationale or purposes of the Operational Research (OR): 

The purpose of this operational research is to produced evidence on service uptake and barriers of Youth friendly Services (YFS) in health post Settings and to inform decision or reprogramming. The information gained from the research will also inform policy briefs.

General objective:

To assess the implementation and performance of youth-friendly health service delivery at the health post level in Jimma zones.

Specific objectives:

1. Identify facilitators and barriers experienced during the implementation of the YFS at health post level
2. Evaluate the performance/service uptake of the youth-friendly service (YFS) at the health post level
3. Assess the quality of care provided including client satisfaction with the services
4. Assess the cost-effectiveness of the model

Geographic coverage for this operational research

Jimma zone including Seka Chekorsa, Shabe, Dedo, Mencho, Omo Nada, and Nide Gibe with selective districts for comparison.

Methodology:

Proposed Methodology

The consultant is expected to propose a scientifically sound methodology that best suits the research objective. Amref is open to considering the consultant’s suggestions.

The research methodology should include an appropriate sampling approach with robust data collection and quality assurance processes. The methodology should not only inform program decision-makers from a programmatic and scientific perspective, but also generate findings that are suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The goal is to develop a research approach that is both rigorous and practical, providing Amref with the information needed to make evidence-based decisions, while also producing outputs that contribute to the broader scientific literature in this domain.

Specific tasks to be done by the consultant

The below listed will include main activities to follow:

• Meet Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia head office to present the work plan as per the tasks required as per the terms of reference (ToR).
• Review key databases and or researches and other relevant documents like project reports, documented data …etc including but not limited to develop the introduction, frameworks and methods will used.
• All reviewed databased should be included in standard referencing software’s preferably endnote program (also share will shared the databases used to Amref for reviewing)
• The firm should get approvals from Amref M&E department on the body of the content, introduction, framework/s and methods used before starting the final tool development.
• Develop the final tool as per the agreed introductions, frameworks and methods.
• Meet Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia head office and project staff at the beginning and at the end of the field work for inception report and debriefing.
• Discuss with Amref program development/program/project managers and M&E staffs
• Identify key partner for interviews from the government and private sectors at all levels
• Develop protocol that clearly defines the methodologies for sampling/ disaggregated by district/urban, data collection, entry, cleaning, compilation, analysis of data and report writing (Approvals required from Amref M&E department) and so that Amref health Africa will have a mandate to follow the process directly or indirectly.
• Recruit qualified data collectors and train evaluation team and pre-test data collection tools;
• The team compositions for the data collectors have to be very well qualified and who has an experience in both quantitative and qualitative research.
• Coordinate data collection, processing, analysis, management and reporting;
• Conduct a final debriefing at an Amref health Africa Ethiopia Office
• Develop and submit final report incorporating all comments given by Amref Health Africa Ethiopia and datasets.

Period for Submission and deliverables

• The consultancy firm or team should follow the overall time frame of 45 calendar days starting from signing of the agreement to the finalization of report (incorporating all changes and requests from Amref).
• The consultancy firm will submit and present the inception report that clearly defines the methodologies for sampling and data collection tools in the first week following signing the contract. Final data collection tools will be annexed to the protocol and address the feedbacks in the second week of agreement.
• Training of data collectors and supervisors will take place in the second week following singing the contract.
• By end of fifth week, data should have been analyzed and first draft of report submitted. The actual data collection will take place in third and fourth week following signing the contacts.
• By end of six-week (40th day) comments and changes from Amref should have been addressed and 2nd draft submitted. At this point the consultant should provide presentation to Amref Ethiopia on final report and findings and final comments from Amref addressed and Final Report submitted in the 45 days of the assignment. 
• The consultant will update Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia on the progress of the work regularly.

Expected Key Outputs

• Detailed Final proposal: including the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology to be used (for sampling, data collection, and entry, cleaning and data analysis), report structure, deliverables, timelines, budget and CV.
• Final Data Collection Tools.
• Analysis plan and steps
• 1st Draft of the survey report.
• 2nd Draft of the survey Report
• Final survey report and presentations as required.
• Final Survey Report: hard copy, complete data set and analysis syntax / preferably stata dataset and DOfile.

Required Experience

• The team will consist of professionals in the fields of Economics, public health and Social Science with a minimum of second-Degree. Very good professional diversity is an advantage in related areas. In addition, to the above requirement, consultancy firm or team is required to meet the following minimum requirements in order to qualify for the submission of its proposal:
• Significant Previous experience in similar tasks or consultancies specifically in project integrations and outcome-based financing; previous experience in similar tasks or consultancy. In particular, the applicant must have experience in conducting quality research and evaluation and performing impact data collection methods associated with service integration setting.
• Previous outstanding research and publication in reputable journals.
• Ability to effectively coordinate with government, NGO, and local stakeholders’ essential, an understanding of sectors coordination mechanisms an asset.
• Analytical and conceptual ability, demonstrated understanding of research design and social research methods to understand the impact of service integrations (WASH, SRH, Nutrition’s……).
• The consultant  should  have  experience   of  using  digital  data  collection   tools /technologies (ODK, big data analysis and others).
• High quality English report writing and proofreading.
• The consultancy firm should be a registered firm and whose license has been re- registered and renewed for the current Ethiopian fiscal year.