Technical Specialist 10 / Technical and Management Consultant at ABT Associates

Req Id: 52302

Opportunity

• Among the thirty countries with the highest TB burden in the world, Nigeria ranks fourth. Despite the high rank of Nigeria amongst the highest TB burden countries in the world, the current TB program is primarily donor financed.
• Nigeria is undergoing health financing reforms which are aimed at increasing domestic resources for health and improving both access to health services as well as financial protection for the poor and vulnerable.
• These two aims are of particular relevance to TB given that the current program is primarily donor financed and TB is often described as a “disease of the poor”.
• TB service delivery in Nigeria is currently a vertical, federal and donor funded program (Global Fund, USG and International Federation of Anti-leprosy Association); thus increasing domestic resources for health will integrate TB service delivery into the existing health insurance schemes (benefits package) to provide a stable, predictable, and sustainable source of funding for TB even after the exit of external funding.

In order to support sustainable financing for TB through existing health insurance schemes the HFG project will hire a consultant to work closely with the HFG Nigeria team and the National TB Program to attain the following objectives:

• Inclusion of TB services into the available health insurance benefit packages
• Delivery of comprehensive TB services with financial protection under the different health insurance schemes.
• Sustainable financing for the TB response at the National and Sub-National level

The consultant will work closely with the HFG Nigeria team and the National TB program to coordinate the implementation the following activities which support the integration of TB service delivery into the benefits package:

• Activity 1: TB Financing Situational Analysis/Evidence Generation for Advocacy and Planning
• Activity 2: Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building for TB provision in health insurance scheme
• Activity 3: Technical support to integrate TB into the current benefits package

Key Roles and Responsibilities
The consultant will provide technical backstop and oversight for the above mentioned activities and in addition will serve as a quality assurance person for all TB related tasks. The consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:

• Review background documents and information provided by HFG
• Ensure all activities are implemented in compliance with the workplan, donor rules and regulations and within budget limits
• Review all major TB deliverables and ensure that the quality assurance for each is done. Will also work closely with the HFG Nigeria team to finalize these deliverables
• Provide technical and managerial assistance as needed
• Support overall management of HFG Nigeria portfolio of activities

Timeline and Deliverables
The assignment will take place between November 01, 2017 and June 30, 2018. The timelines for the below deliverables will depend on the timelines noted in the workplan. This will be discussed and agreed between the various parties at the beginning of the assignment.

The consultant will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the development and finalization of all major deliverables for the TB portfolio. This includes:

Activity 1 deliverables:

• Situational analysis report of TB response financing
• Comprehensive advocacy plan to achieve TB into BP

Activity 2 deliverables:

• National and state level TB and health care financing stakeholders map
• Training report for workshop on basic health financing/insurance concepts and road map of action for TB into BP
• Quarterly Meetings reports and action plans from CTI/TWG meeting

Activity 3 deliverables:

• Analysis report of the feasibility studies on TB inclusion into the benefit Package
• Comprehensive Actuarial analysis report of TB service inclusion in the benefit package
• Benefit package expansion draft meeting reports

Minimum Qualifications

• (6+) years of experience and a master degree OR the equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Skills / Prerequisites:

• Master’s Degree (minimum), in a relevant field such as Public Administration, Public Health, Medicine, Economics, Epidemiology, or other relevant fields;
• At least six years of progressive professional experience in public health, health financing, health economics or pubic finance management;
• Demonstrated project management and leadership capabilities and the ability to lead multidisciplinary and multicultural teams;
• Demonstrated ability to ensure that individuals and teams adhere to the highest standards of quality, relevance and timeliness;
• Knowledge about US Government development assistance policy and USAID operational procedures is desirable;
• High level of computer proficiency and demonstrated good oral and written communication skills.