Work Details
Department:Consultancy
Project Location(s):Samburu
Background
Biotisho Adolescent Integrated Nutrition Project is a recently UNICEF-funded project that will be implemented in Samburu-Central Sub County, Samburu County for 1 ½ years (September 2020 – February 2022). The implementation of the project will be done as a partnership involving CBCC Africa, UNICEF, National and County governments through the Ministries/Departments of Health; Agriculture; Education; Water and Sanitation; and Public Service and Gender.
The Biotisho Integrated Project seeks to contribute to improved nutrition status of adolescent girls and boys in Loosuk and Suguta wards, Samburu Central Sub County (SC) by addressing key underlying causes of malnutrition through an evidence-based package of interventions and novel SBC approaches.
Job Summary
The design of Biotisho project will be carefully informed by strong evidence/data derived from recent adolescent research studies that have been carried out in Samburu. The 2019 Samburu Adolescent Health Survey, implemented by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and UNICEF as a pilot study provides critical household survey data related to the health status of adolescents in the County. The data was on several health areas including SGBV, nutrition, WASH, FP, mental health, status of substance and drug abuse, disability levels and various morbidities – HIV, anaemia, diarrhea, pneumonia, among others. Another study, the 2018 Formative Research to inform adolescent programming carried out as a partnership between MoH and WFP in Samburu North County (Lesirkan ward) sought to not only understand nutrition needs and priorities of adolescents, but it also pointed at ideal ways of effectively engaging adolescents while reaching them with adolescent-friendly context-specific nutrition interventions. A similar formative study undertaken during the same period in 2018 as part of the USAID-AFYA TIMIZA project providing RMNCAH, Nutrition and WASH services, elucidated evidence on the status of these services, with a focus on SRH/FP issues.
The key findings and recommendations from the studies above will be used and in some cases extrapolated to the regions where Biotisho project will be implemented while still respecting the unique context and adolescent needs of the targeted population in Loosuk and Suguta wards.
In addition to using the highlighted studies to strengthen the design and implementation of the project, there is need for a baseline study to be undertaken in the specific implementation sites of Loosuk and Suguta wards within Samburu Central Sub County with the primary objective of obtaining detailed baseline data on key project indicators to be used to establish benchmarks against which achievement of the project milestones will be monitored and evaluated throughout the project life. The baseline will also bridge the research gaps related to quantifying access and availability of key health and nutrition services, coverage of these health/nutrition services and the enablers and barriers to these services. The study will also bring out the facilitating factors/enablers and positive deviance factors contributing to optimal nutrition including factors that build and sustain their resilience and best practices.
Responsibilities
The consultant is expected to also undertake the following tasks:
- Develop and submit an acceptable draft report after the analysis of data for project partner feedback following an agreed upon format. The report should be comprehensive and provide detailed specific findings within each result area and considerations/recommendations.
- Lead the analysis and synthesis of evidence to develop key findings; Discuss findings with project partners (CBCC Africa, MoH [Division of Nutrition and Dietetics (DND)] and UNICEF) and incorporate feedback to generate the final report. The consultant will be expected to make a presentation of the reviewed draft report to the relevant County TWG and also Information TWG, Division of Nutrition and Dietetics, MoH.
- Prepare and submit to CBCC Africa a soft copy (through email) of the final acceptable report in English of no more than 50 pages.
- Summary of the findings in (MS PowerPoint) to be used for subsequent dissemination.
- The final cleaned data set used for analysis and production of the final report in an acceptable electronic format (Excel, SPSS, STATA). All raw data (quantitative data files, transcripts from In-depth Interviews, FGDs etc. should also be submitted to CBCC Africa offices in Nairobi for reference and future use. UNICEF has sole ownership of all final data and any findings shall only be shared or reproduced with the permission of UNICEF.
*Kindly download the complete Terms of Reference (T.O.R.) for more information
Knowledge and Skills
The consultant must have the following qualifications and experience to be eligible for this assignment:
- The consultant must have a technical background in nutrition, public health, child rights, social sciences, education or related field (at a minimum of Master’s Degree level).
- The consultant must have demonstrated experience and expertise in designing and managing baseline studies for similar projects and in delivering agreed outputs on time and within budget.
- Team members should have a minimum qualification of a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, social sciences or related fields and detailed knowledge and understanding of factors that directly or indirectly affect improved nutrition outcomes for adolescent girls and boys in the project locations.
- Demonstrated experience and expertise in implementing rigorous research using Quantitative and Qualitative evaluation methodologies, including Human Centred Design (HCD) exploratory studies.
- Demonstrated experience and expertise in implementation of KAP Surveys (experience undertaking HCD processes is an added advantage)
- Strong quantitative data collection and analysis skills with demonstrated experience in using statistical analysis software (SPSS, STATA or similar).
- Ability to work with communities in relevant local languages (in this case Samburu will be an added advantage).
- Demonstration of good knowledge of the context in Kenya and Samburu County is an added advantage.
- Evidence of publications and reports on similar assignments.
- A demonstrated high level of professionalism and an ability to work independently and in high-pressure situations under tight deadlines.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills (high proficiency in written and spoken English) and capacity to develop high quality reports.
How to apply
If you would like to apply for this position kindly download the full terms of reference (T.O.R) here.
All applications received by the submission date will be reviewed internally at CBCC Africa. Upon selection, the consultant will be invited for a discussion and requested to submit a detailed inception report and work-plan prior to starting any data collection exercise.
Applicants should submit Technical and Financial proposals with subject line clearly marked “Consultancy for Baseline Study: Samburu Adolescent Integrated Nutrition Project” on or before 12th October, 2020 via email to hr@centreforbcc.com. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis as they are being received.