Consultant – Coordination, Operations and Monitoring – Technical Assistance for 2023 national ITN campaign in Sierra Leone

Background

The Sierra Leone National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) will implement a national ITN mass campaign in October – November 2023 targeting 8,746,749 people with two types of ITNs – PBO and dual active ingredient (AI). The ITNs will be targeted based on malaria incidence and insecticide resistance data.

The TA consultant will be directly integrated into the NMCP to facilitate the coordination of the campaign processes, collaborating with the campaign coordination structures such as the Command Centre and the different technical sub committees, as well as key campaign stakeholders.

—–

Proposed activities

The consultant will provide in-country and distance technical assistance to all campaign implementers during two phases.

Planning phase (38 days in-country) – Timeline: proposed dates are February 15 – May 15, 2023.

Role and responsibilities

The consultant will support the NMCP and partners and will particularly:

• Assist NMCP to effectively plan, implement and monitor the 2023 ITN mass campaign
• Reenergize the Command Centre, which is the central level structure responsible for the overall planning and implementation of the campaign and includes the chairs of all of the campaign sub-committees:
  • Support the chair of the Command Centre with the organization and management of the meetings (e.g., development of the meeting agenda and presentations, send invitations) and the documentation of the proceedings and the decisions
  • Support the chair of the Command Centre with the follow up of the decisions and key action points from the meetings
  • Support the chair of the Command Centre in producing and sharing regular updates on campaign status (including any key bottlenecks requiring resolution by the NTF or other partners) with all partners
• Participate in the meetings of the technical sub-committees to ensure planning is on track, including for the digitalization
• Work with the chair of the Command Centre and the chairs of technical sub-committees to ensure feedback on different campaign documents/materials from different stakeholders (i.e., Global Fund, PMI, AMP, etc.) is effectively incorporated into the drafts before documents are finalized
• Identify campaign key bottlenecks and share with relevant focal points for timely resolution
• Support finalization of the macroplanning documents, budget, risk assessment and mitigation plan and timeline and their updating based on activities achieved and pending (as applicable)
• Support finalization of the microplanning packages for operations/M&E, logistics, SBC, digitalization, and finance including agendas, presentations, standard operating procedures (SOPs), etc.
• Support development or updating and finalization of all training materials (agendas, presentations, SOPs, practical exercises, job aids, etc.), including for digitalization
• Support finalization of the protocol and tools for independent monitoring
• Support planning for the pilot of the digitalization based on the microplans and timeline
• Support validation of the microplans and ensure that final microplans and budgets are shared with the districts
• Support the development of the payment plan for the campaign based on the local context and the finance microplanning for Global Fund validation

Implementation phase (48 days in-country) – Timeline: to be determined according to the updated campaign timeline

Role and responsibilities

To provide program support to NMCP and partners, the consultant will:

• Support the Command Centre with:
  • The organization and implementation of the central level TOT, the step-down training for Western Area and ensure monitoring of the quality of the district, chiefdom, and PHU level training sessions
  • The organization and implementation of the household registration, including compilation of information from the daily review meetings for the campaign (e.g., development of the meeting agenda, presentations, setting up invitations) and the documentation of the decisions and action points
  • The final validation of the household registration data and monitor the implementation of the micro transport operations based on the final data
  • The organization and implementation of the ITN distribution, including associated trainings and the compilation of information from the daily review meetings for the campaign (e.g., development of the meeting agenda, presentations, setting up invitations) and the documentation of the decisions and action points
  • The final validation of the ITN distribution data and monitor the implementation of the reverse logistics and waste management plans
  • The final reconciliation of the ITNs received, distributed, and remaining at the end of the campaign
• Support with the follow up of the decisions and key actions points from the meetings
• Support the chair of the Command Centre in producing and sharing regular updates on campaign status (including any key bottlenecks requiring resolution by the NTF or other partners) with all partners
• Support in preparation of the campaign wrap up meeting
• Support compilation of lessons learned, including from the digitalization

Distance support (20 days overall including for final campaign report) – Timeline: to be determined according to the updated campaign timeline

Communication and reporting during the TA support period

• Prepare a weekly situation report using the AMP template each Tuesday in collaboration with the NMCP and partners
• Participate in weekly AMP conference call (as much as possible) and ensure NMCP participation once per month
• One-page summary of recommendations from each activity phase supported and at the end of each in-country mission to submit to NMCP prior to departure from the country
• Final mission report and supporting documents within 10 days of end of mission

—–

Duration of work

The duration of the project is 106 days in total:

• Planning phase: 38 days in-country – proposed dates are February 15 – May 15, 2023;
• Implementation phase: 48 days in-country – dates to be confirmed based on the updated campaign timeline;
• 20 days for distance support during the election period and at the end of the distribution period to support report writing

—–

Location

The consultant will be based into the Sierra Leone National Malaria Control Programme, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Travel to the field (locations to be decided with the NMCP) will be required for all phases of the TA support (e.g., microplanning, digitalization pilot, full campaign implementation).

—–

Required qualification of the candidate

We are hiring a national or an international consultant for undertaking this ToR.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in public health or social science.

Experience

• 3–5-years of experience with National Malaria Control Programmes
• A minimum of 3 years of experience in at least one of the core ITN mass distribution campaigns, mass vaccination campaigns, or other large-scale health commodity delivery operations areas:
• Strategy, planning and implementation assistance
• Logistics and in-country supply chain management
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Work experience with the digitalization of health care systems
• Work experience at field / operational level

Languages

• Fluency in (spoken and written) English is required