Lots Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) Consultant at the Management Sciences for Health (MSH)

Reference ID: R1205

Overview

• MSH has a sub-recipient agreement with Catholic Relief Services for the implementation of the Global Fund Malaria Grant (2021 to 2023) in Nigeria, which aims to implement and support malaria control activities in 11 states.
• The GF Malaria grant also support MSH to implement Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in two states of Taraba and Katsina.
• SMC is one of malaria prevention initiative requiring the intermittent administration of full treatment courses of SP and AQ to children of age 3-59 months during the malaria season to prevent malarial illness.
• In sub-Sahel regions, it has shown to be effective in protecting children from malaria attacks during high malaria transmission season and therefore considered a key intervention in bringing about reduction in childhood mortality and morbidity.
• The purpose of this LQAS consultant terms of reference (ToR) is to engage research personnel that will carry out data collection, analysis and interpretation for the End of Cycle (EoC) evaluation.
• He/She will train data collectors and oversee data collection process while other personnel will carry out the actual data collection using an electronic platform.
• The EoC evaluation will be conducted in Katsina state where SMC is being implemented.
• The process will involve identification, selection and training of supervisors at a ToT and subsequently, data collectors in the states.
• The aim of the EoC evaluation is to assess SMC coverage and adherence of CDDs to treatment protocol immediately and not more than 5 days after each cycle of treatment.
• The findings will be analyzed and any ward scoring less than 80% will be targeted for corrective measures in their area of poor performance for improvement in subsequent cycles.
• The candidate is also expected to have excellent skills in the design of mobile data collection tools, data visualization, analysis and report writing.
• Therefore experience with use of Kobo collect/Survey CTO, Tableau/Power BI, SPSS/STATA and programmable software like MySQL is desirable.
• Candidate will work with the State and LGA M&E team as SMC field officers in ensuring SMC data is harnessed in databases, meet quality standard, analyzed, reported and used for programme improvement.

Responsibilities
The LQAS consultant will support the Senior Technical Manager, M&E to carry out the following services:

• S/He shall support sample size identification according to the protocol which will cover LGAs, wards and households to be included in the evaluation.
• S/He will participate in state level entry and planning meetings where necessary
• S/He will participate in a 1-day training on SMC, LQAS data collection, protocol/methodology, data collection instrument, and art of data collection, inter-personal communication and the use of the electronic platform. The training will be facilitated by the team of trained supervisors.
• The Consultant will be responsible for coordinating the data collectors during the administration of the questionnaires at household level according to the data collection protocol to ensure that generated data meet minimum required standards and that they are captured in appropriate databases.
• S/He will participate in field work where necessary
• S/He will prepare a detailed analysis of data collected and present it using tables, graphs and charts and prepare a detailed LQAS technical report for the operational process, as well as the findings following data analysis
• Prepare an activity report for the entire LQAS activity
• Carry out other duties assigned by Senior Technical Manager

Deliverables

• Develop an activity Gantt chat for LQAS evaluation
• Share data analysis report for ongoing and completed activities
• Duly signed LQAS narrative report and timesheet

Qualifications

• B.Sc. or HND in Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics or Economics or related analytical courses is required. A master degree is an added advantage
• At least 2 years experience in conducting public health research, particularly data analysis and preparation of abstracts and proposals
• High analytical and decision making skills is desirable.
• Previous experience designing MIS for a health facility or community-based intervention is desirable
• Experience with the use of Kobo collect/Survey CTO, Tableau/Power BI, SPSS/STATA and programmable software like MySQL is a required
• Experience with GIS Mapping
• Excellent report writing, facilitation and communication skills
• Experience in the use of modern technology in research – use of phone for data collection
• Experience with implementation of SMC is an added advantage
• Ability to speak local language (Hausa etc) is an added advantage
• Familiarity with and respect for the tradition and culture of the locality
• Ability to give attention to details
• Must NOT be a staff of Government at any level and in any Ministry/Parastatal/Agency.
• Must NOT be currently engaged as an SMC personnel in whatever capacity (National, State, LGA, HFW, CHW, TA or LM).