HSS Consultant - MCSP at Results for Development (R4D)

Background

• MCSP’s health systems strengthening and equity (HSS/E) work aims to address systems-level barriers that directly affect service delivery for high-quality, equitable RMNCH.
• From December 2017-September 2018, MCSP Nigeria will prioritize three issues identified through the 2015 Rapid Health System Assessment (RHSA) and in coordination with local health officials: commodity financing, health worker motivation, and accountability mechanisms for facility management committees.
• The HSS/E work builds on existing efforts related to advocacy, Quality Improvement (QI), HMIS Strengthening, and supportive supervision implemented by MCSP Nigeria, the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health (SMOH), the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), and Saving One Million Lives (SOML), and provides essential systems strengthening support to address bottlenecks and gaps identified in prior and ongoing work.
• The current commodity financing system in Nigeria is inadequate and often non-functional, inhibiting the availability of essential medicines in health facilities, which are critical for effective primary health care and sustained improvement in RMNCH.
• The drug revolving fund (DRF) aims to maximize access to essential medicines through seed funding from the state government used to purchase a stock of medicines, which are then sold in facilities ideally at a price sufficient to replace the stock and ensure continuous supply.
• The Governor of Ebonyi State has allocated 100,000 Naira per health facility in seed funding to procure commodities and federal guidelines on DRF exist.

Opportunity
As a partner on the MCSP Nigeria program, Results for Development (R4D) is seeking a local Health Systems Strengthening Consultant based in Ebonyi, Nigeria to assist with the following activities:

• Support to the Ebonyi SMOH and SPHCDA to design a commodity financing strategy based on a Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) for Primary Health Care (PHC) across the state
• Provide technical inputs to DRF design for the PHC level of the health system, including considerations for procurement and distribution, pricing and exemptions, cost recovery, and financial management
• Develop a DRF implementation plan and management system, including management roles and responsibilities, tracking tools and resources, and accountability mechanisms
• Develop a DRF monitoring and reporting system for rapid feedback, tracking, and assessment
• Design pilot for DRF strategy in select LGAs and facilities in Ebonyi State
• Work with SMOH and SPHCDA counterparts to outline selection criteria for LGAs
• Develop pilot design based on technical considerations, including testing models for scale-up across the state
• Design performance monitoring and recognition system to track relative effectiveness and efficiency of DRF at PHC facilities, recognize high- and low-performing facilities, and initiate peer learning across PHCs
• Highlight accountability mechanisms for communities and civil society, including Facility Health Management Committees (FHMCs) and Ward Development Committees (WDCs)
• Train representatives from select LGAs and facilities on DRF, PHC Under One Roof, and relevant skills in logistics management
• Support SMOH and SPHCDA to carry out trainings of all relevant stakeholders
• Develop system for post-training follow up and performance monitoring
• Implement pilot for DRF strategy in select LGAs and facilities in Ebonyi State, monitor and analyze results, and report on findings
• Work with SMOH and SPHCDA counterparts to implement the DRF pilot in select LGAs and facilities
• Generate and disseminate findings from DRF pilot, including recommendations to SMOH and SPHCDA on how to scale up DRF implementation in Ebonyi State

Duties and Responsibilities
As part of the MCSP Nigeria team and under the direct supervision of the Results for Development activity leader, the consultant will be expected to:

• Support to the Ebonyi SMOH and SPHCDA to design a commodity financing strategy based on a Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) for Primary Health Care (PHC) across the state
• Conduct desk review related to DRF and commodity financing to understand key strategy considerations
• Facilitate and attend meetings with the SMOH and SPHCDA counterparts to identify strategic priorities
• Collect relevant data from secondary and primary health care levels related to current commodity procurement and financing approaches
• Draft PHC DRF strategy, seek inputs from relevant counterparts, and revise based on feedback
• Design pilot for DRF strategy in select LGAs and facilities in Ebonyi State
• Outline LGA and facility selection criteria based on available data and inputs from SMOH, SPHCDA, and local partners
• Identify LGAs and facilities for pilot implementation and gain buy-in from SMOH and SPHCDA
• Outline metrics and mechanisms required for performance monitoring, recognition, and peer learning as well develop tools for performance monitoring
• Draft pilot implementation plan, including key tasks and timelines
• Train representatives from select LGAs and facilities on DRF, PHC Under One Roof, and relevant skills in logistics management
• Create training materials for capacity building of LGA Administrative Secretaries, PHC Officers in Charge and health workers, FHMCs, WDCs and other potential stakeholders
• Support logistics and organization for LGA-level training sessions
• Draft invitation letters, presentations, and talking points, as needed
• Organize and carry out post-training follow up in coordination with SMOH and SPHCDA
• Implement pilot for DRF strategy in select LGAs and facilities in Ebonyi State, monitor and analyze results, and report on findings
• Support monitoring and evaluation of DRF, including oversight for data collection, data quality, and validation
• Analyze data from DRF pilot and outline findings
• Draft final report and policy memo
• Deliver presentation of findings to SMOH and SPHCDA counterparts

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree (or higher) in Economics, Statistics, Finance/Accounting, Public Health, Health Management, or other related fields with a minimum of seven years of experience;
• Experience providing technical assistance within the health sector required;
• Experience working with government representatives, NGO partners, and related stakeholders required; familiarity with Ebonyi SMOH and SPHCDA officials preferred;
• Relevant experience in Policy Design And Implementation for health commodity financing;
• Relevant experience in Health Planning And Management, with experience in data for decision-making and civil society accountability preferred;
• Demonstrated quantitative skills, including advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency required;
• Demonstrated qualitative skills, including in-depth interviews and qualitative data analysis required;
• Solid organizational skills, including the ability to quickly respond to planned and unplanned support requests;
• Solid communication skills (oral and written), including the ability to conduct all job functions in English;
• Excellent ability to work in a multinational and multicultural team, including working with remote-based staff;
• Ability to work under pressure and with minimal supervision;
• Ability to travel and work in Ebonyi state required; residence in Ebonyi state preferred;
• Understanding of health delivery environment and the Nigerian health system;
• Experience working in Ebonyi preferred;
• Consultant must already be based in Nigeria.

Deliverables

• PHC DRF strategy document
• PHC DRF pilot design document
• PHC DRF pilot implementation plan
• PHC DRF pilot monitoring system
• Training materials
• Workshops for select LGAs and facilities
• Final report
• Final policy memo.

Period of Employment:
December 2017 - September 2018.

Total Level of Effort:
90 days.

Remuneration
R4D provides market-competitive salaries and comprehensive employee benefits.