Consultants at PACT

Location: Adamawa and Gombe
Nature of Work: Short-term Consultancy Assignment
Slot: 10

Job Description

Project Goal:

•     Pact Nigeria, headquartered in Abuja, with offices throughout the country including Yola and Gombe, is the Nigerian Country office of Pact Inc, an independent International nonprofit Organization headquartered in Washington, DC. Under a S-month "Learning Grant" from the Gates Foundation, Pact is undertaking an assessment to gather, analyze, and report on data that will provide a dearer understanding of the quality and utilization of maternal neonatal and child health (MNCH) in Adamawa and Gombe States.
•     The results of this assessment will feed into an overall vision around social accountability for quality health service delivery and eventually into the design of a longer-term project intervention.
•     The goal will be to improve responsiveness and quality of MNCH health services through applying best practices and breakthrough approaches to meet the key needs and expectations of mothers and families in Adamawa and Gombe States. At the same time, the project will seek to strengthen community-led contributions towards health sector decision making and service provision by ensuring continuous and informed feedback to providers, policy makers, partners, and beneficiaries

Purpose of Consultancy Assignment:

•     A team of ten consultants will be selected to conduct an assessment of community expectations and utilization of local heath services with a focus on the quality and accountability of maternal, child, and neonatal health provision. Three local government areas will be selected in each of Adamawa and Gombe states. Consultants are not required to be health specialists but should be conversant with basic concepts of community development and standard methods of primary field research.

The specific objectives for this assignment will be to:

•     Undergo one week of training on the tools and methods of for the field research required.
•     Review and pre-test questionnaires and question schedules for interviews, focus groups, and health facility assessments.
•     Conduct primary field research in all wards of the selected LGAs to determine the quality health services as well as their uptake and expectations by community members, especially women. This work will include interviews with local government officials, health care managers and decision makers, health providers at all levels, health facility checklists, and satisfaction surveys among health clients. At the same time, community members and community committees will also be questioned about their experience and expectations of health services through small group discussions or focus groups. Typically these groups will include ward or village development or health committees.
•     Analyze quantitative data from surveys and quality checklists.
•     Type qualitative data and submit in a standard format.
•     Write a brief report on key findings, conclusions, and recommendations
•     Contribute (GIS or other data as requested for "mapping" ward (or village) development committees in each state.

Period, Location and Schedule of the Consultancy:

•     The ten consultants selected must be available full time (except Sundays) for a one-month period from 20 January to 19 February 2014. Work will involve extensive field travel and research in three selected LGAs in each of Adamawa and Gombe states. It is expected that visits to all wards in each LGA will be completed in one week by a group of 4-5 team members, so that three LGAs are covered in three weeks in each of the two states.

The proposed schedule of work is:

•     20-25 January: Training in tools and methods specific to the assignment.
•     27 January 15 February: Field research, analyze data and type field notes
•     17-19 February: Complete data analysis, field notes, write and submit final brief report on findings, conclusions, and recommendations with all annexes.

Qualifications

The individual consultants who propose to work on this assignment must have a minimum of:

•     University-level training in social science, development, public health, or other relevant fields.
•     Fluency in Hausa and/or Fulfulde languages.
•     Knowledge of primary field data collection and analysis, especially surveys and qualitative methods such as key informant interviews, small group discussions, and focus groups.
•     Basic computer skills in WORD and Excel.
•     Excellent written and spoken English; strong skills in report writing.
•     Knowledge of health and gender issues is an asset.
•     Familiarity with Adamawa and/or Gombe states an asset.
•     Able to work effectively and cooperatively as a member of a team.