Consultant for National and District Capacity Assessments for Malaria Elimination in Zanzibar. FEB 2025
Job Overview
Population Services International (PSI) invites applications for an Individual Consultant to assess operational, managerial, technical, and financial capacity for decentralized malaria surveillance and response in Zanzibar.
Company Description
Population Services International (PSI) is a non-profit social marketing organization with programs in over 60 countries, making it easier for all people to lead healthier lives and plan the families they desire. Funded by the Gates Foundation and implemented by PSI, the Malaria Elimination in Zanzibar (MEZA) project is a 3-year activity which aims to support the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Program’s (ZAMEP) objectives, as outlined in the National Malaria Strategic Plan, and to accelerate the elimination of local malaria transmission and supporting the setup of a resilient Program to prevent re-establishment of Malaria by 2029. MEZA provides technical and implementation support to ZAMEP to improve malaria surveillance and response at the national level, decentralize malaria surveillance and response to the district level, and strengthen multisectoral engagement in malaria elimination.
Role Purpose
A primary outcome of this activity is decentralized malaria surveillance and response, which requires multi-level change management and reorientation of the health system. At the District level, District Malaria Surveillance and Response Teams (DmSRTs) need access to malaria data to understand and use data to inform programmatic decision-making and to coordinate comprehensive response activities to interrupt malaria transmission in low or very low endemic settings. At the National level, ZAMEP will shift from primary implementors to providing robust, high-quality, technical support to Districts through supportive supervision of surveillance activities and foci response, as well as strengthen advocacy for financial resources necessary to achieve elimination and prevent re-establishment of malaria. There are intervention packages that can capacitate the national and subnational teams to define, prioritize, and solve operational challenges while also leveraging opportunities for process improvement and building management and leadership skills to support the decentralization of malaria surveillance and response. To achieve these major operational shifts, both the National and District health systems and teams will undergo a leadership, management, operational, technical, and financial assessment to understand the strengths and challenges that may affect decentralization.
Responsibilities
Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for working closely with the ZAMEP, District Health Malaria Teams in 7 Districts (3 in Unguja, 4 in Pemba), and the MEZA team to:
Review, adapt, and finalize Capacity Assessment tools with ZAMEP and the District Health Management Teams.
Propose a methodology to conduct the National and District Capacity Assessments, which may include key informant interviews, focus groups, desk reviews, or other means of gathering information.
Conduct the National Capacity Assessment by March 31st, 2025.
Conduct the District Capacity Assessments by May 31st, 2025.
Present the results of the assessments to ZAMEP, District Health Teams, the MEZA team, and other implementing partners as requested by ZAMEP.
Key questions to answer include, but are not limited to:
What is the readiness of the health system for decentralization of malaria surveillance and response?
a. National level: How does ZAMEP coordinate, collaborate, develop, and manage budgets, plan, and monitor malaria elimination activities?
b. District level: How do the districts coordinate, collaborate, develop, and manage budgets, plan, and monitor health activities?
C. Technical capacity: Are the right people in the right place? What is missing, or what roles and responsibilities need to be moved?
d. Resource availability: Do the National and District teams have adequate resources to effectively implement malaria elimination activities?
e. Policies and guidelines: Are there policies and guidance materials in place? Do gaps exist? For materials in place, do people know or are they familiar with the guidance? If gaps exist, how will the gaps be filled? Is there a willingness to co-develop during a pilot phase, or do we need to write them beforehand?
f. Financial flow of resources to district level: How do current funding flows impact resource use? Can malaria-specific finances reach and be managed at the district level? Are there other examples of specific health funds being managed at the district level?
g. Are there lessons to be learned from other Departments in the Ministry of Health in Tanzania Mainland about how to effectively operate at a decentralized level?
What steps could be taken to support decentralization by ZAMEP, the MEZA initiative and other partners to decentralize Malaria Surveillance and Response?
What recommendations can be made to the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (GoZ) with regard to financing decentralized Malaria Surveillance and Response?
Measurable Output
By the end of the consultancy, the following is expected to be accomplished;
National and District Capacity Assessment tools that have been reviewed and approved by the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Program.
Complete the National & District Assessments on time (National by March 31st, 2025, District by May 31st, 2025).
Develop two assessment reports with recommendations, one each for the National and District assessments (National by April 30th, 2025, District by June 30th, 2025).
Develop two 2-page briefs of results with recommendations, one each for the National and District assessments (National by April 30th, 2025, District by June 30th, 2025).
Prepare and present two dissemination events with participants, as invited by the Program. One dissemination will be at the National level, the second at the district level (National by April 30th, 2025, District by June 30th, 2025).
Prepare a training and orient the Program on how to conduct a District Capacity Assessment (by June 30th, 2025).
Skills and Qualifications
Master’s Degree (or international equivalent) MSc, MPH, MBA, MHA, MPA, MHS or equivalent
At least 8 years’ experience supporting the transformation of health systems; including health program evaluation, decentralization, organizational change management, process improvement, policy analysis, etc.
Demonstrated ability to conduct and analyze qualitative assessments at multiple levels of the health system, including operational, managerial, financial, and/or technical components
Demonstrated ability to assess health system strengths and weaknesses using multiple data sources, including policy documents, stakeholder interviews, etc.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with government, donors, and implementing partners
Experience analyzing and interpreting interconnectedness of health policies, health workforce, and financing and providing actionable insights to strengthen health systems.
Demonstrated ability to distill, present, and disseminate findings with stakeholders including government, development, and implementing partners
Excellent diplomatic skills and proven ability to work effectively with government officials, partners, donors, and stakeholders at high levels and in complex working environments.
Fluency / professional working competency in English and Swahili required.
Contract Length
The implementation of these phases should take 30 consultancy days, to be completed within 3 months (March 1st, 2025 – June 30th, 2025), with the National Assessment completed by March 31st, 2025, District Assessment completed by May 30th, and dissemination by June 30th, 2025.
Consultancy terms
The consultant is expected to travel to both islands in Zanzibar to complete the assessments and for dissemination. Exact destinations are to be determined in collaboration with the Program.
The consultant could work remotely to develop reports, 2-page briefs, and presentations.
Slight adjustments may be accepted to the final deliverable schedule upon selection of the successful applicant with approval from ZAMEP and PSI Tanzania.
Assignment Commencement and Payment Schedule
The assignment is expected to start on March 3rd, 2025. The consultant will propose a plan that will maximize the use of the allocated number of days to deliver all of this assignment’s outputs by June 30th, 2025, with individual deliverables completed according to the above deliverable due dates.
Payment will be claimed in two batches, the first 10 days upon successful completion of output 1-4, and the last payment for 17 days to be paid upon successful completion of output 5 – 6.
Contracting Process
Selection of the consultant will follow the PSI/Tanzania procurement policies and procedures.
Upon submission of CVs, only shortlisted consultants will be contacted for further processes.
How to Apply
Please submit your applications to procurement@psi.or.tz before Wednesday 26th February, 2025 at 00.00hrs .