CONSULTANCY FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT IN HEALTH PROJECT

Background

The 2011 – 2016 Malawi Growth and development Strategy (MGDS) identifies the delivery of quality health services as one of its priority areas.  To this end, under the Essential Health Package (EHP), the Ministry of Health has put in place various initiatives as a way of improving access to quality health services.  However, one of the key challenges in implementing the EHP are the high vacancy rates for critical health professionals -- particularly specialist doctors.   In response, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Country Office in collaboration Ministry of Health for the past ten years or so, embarked on the recruitment and deployment of International United Nations Volunteer (IUNV) medical doctors to address the high vacancy rates while building the capacity of local medical personnel. This was done through the Capacity Development in Health Project. A December 2011 evaluation of the Project showed that the volunteers made a huge impact in the health status of Malawians and in the health sector and recommended that UNV doctors should be maintained.  As a result, a follow-on project was developed and signed in March 2013 between UNDP Country Office and Ministry of Health covering the period 2013-2016.  The overall goal of the follow-on project is to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry to deliver quality health services.  The funding for the Project has largely come from the Global Fund to fight Against Tuberculosis AIDS and Malaria (GFTAM) through the Ministry and National AIDS Commission (NAC).  In 2014, the Royal Norwegian Embassy (RNE) contributed a significant amount towards the implementation of this Project. UNDP Country Office is therefore calling for individual consultants to assess progress towards achieving project objectives.  The selected consultant will also provide evaluative evidence to assess the contribution of RNE funding to the project objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objectives of the Project evaluation are: To determine the impact, both positive and negative, from contribution of the project to the achievement of the program outcome; To determine the extent to which cost sharing contribution has met its objectives as defined in the PSD and the Agreement with RNE; To assess and analyze the progress made by the project to date towards achieving the program outcome and outputs and the sustainability of these results; To assess the effectiveness of institutional arrangements and partnership strategies; To analyze factors which have positively and negatively achievement of project outputs and outcome; To document lessons learnt during the course of implementation to inform future decisions in program design, implementation and management of similar interventions. to make recommendations for improving achievement of the project objective if the project happens to continue in 2015. The independent evaluation is to be conducted during the month of October and November, 2014.  The main users of the evaluation results will be RNE, MOH, NAC, UNDP, UNV Unit and stakeholders including other development partners.

Competencies

Demonstrated knowledge of current evaluation theory and practice; Knowledge of local health capacity and development issues; Excellent report writing skills; Strong communication skills; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: At least a Master’s degree in Public Health Management, Social Sciences or related discipline. Experience: 5 years experience in monitoring and evaluation with some proven evaluation of health-related programs/projects. Language: Fluent in spokent and written Engkish. Application procedure: hose interested in the assignment should obtain detailed Procurement Notice (including Terms of Reference) on UNDP website under this link http://www.mw.undp.org/content/malawi/en/home/operations/procurement/ Application can also be submitted online on the UNDP jobs portal www.jobs.undp.org or procurement.mw@undp.org. The closing date for submitting applications is the 10 November, 2014.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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