Subject Matter Specialist, President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) Assessment

SUBJECT MATTER SPECIALISTS- MALARIA PRESIDENT’S MALARIA INITIATIVE (PMI) ASSESSMENT, LIBERIA (LIBERIAN NATIONALS ONLY)

Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

In Liberia, SI supports IBI to implement the USAID-funded Liberia Data, Evaluation, Learning and Technical Assistance (DELTA) with the goal to provide an innovative degree of analytical and advisory services to USAID/Liberia’s Office of Program and Project Development (PPD) and Development Objective (DO) teams in support of the Mission’s project design, performance monitoring and evaluation, and operational learning and adapting.

Project Objective:

USAID/Liberia has engaged DELTA to document and assess what has been achieved since the scale up of PMI interventions three years ago, taking into consideration the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed challenges to maintaining delivery of malaria services. PMI is the largest bilateral funder of malaria prevention and control interventions supporting 27 countries (24 in sub-Saharan Africa and 3 in the Southeast Asia) to control and eliminate malaria. Liberia became a PMI focus country in FY 2008 with PMI supporting the core interventions of malaria case management, ITNs, MIP, and IRS and the cross-cutting interventions like HMIS and SBC.

This assessment will synthesize evidence that highlights the scope of PMI’s investment in Liberia since 2008, demonstrate the progress that Liberia has made with malaria prevention and control since 2008, gauge efficacy of key scale-up activities since 2017, and underscore the significance of PMI’s funding to the gains Liberia has made in malaria prevention and control.

The assessment will document progress and changes, strengths and weaknesses, intended and unintended results and inform USAID/Liberia’s future planning in the following areas:

• Overarching geographical coverage
• Health facilities served and health worker coverage (public and private)
• Communities served and Community Health Assistants (CHAs) and Community Health Supervisors (CHSs) involvement
• Interventions and outcomes targeting key demographic populations
• Malaria case management, MiP indicators, and malaria burden
• Implementation processes like planning and coordination of malaria activities
• M&E reporting systems and sharing/management of malaria data
• Funding sources and resource allocation

USAID/Liberia and PMI constitute the primary audience of the assessment. USAID/Liberia intends to share the assessment findings with the Government of Liberia and the broader public, which will require an infographic brief to be developed by the DELTA in closed coordination with the Mission. The assessment finding will support future USAID’s programming related to malaria in Liberia and help in advocating for continued funding of malaria control interventions in the country.

Position Description:

SI is seeking two Subject Matter Specialists – Malariato support the implementing of this assessment. This is a consulting position with an estimated start date of October 1, 2022. The estimated level of effort (LOE) for each Subject Matter Specialist will be 35 days, with expected travel across several counties in Liberia. The Subject Matter Experts will directly report to the Team Leader (TL), as well as DELTA Deputy Chief of Party and Senior M&E Advisor and work under the supervision of the Assessment and Evaluation Specialist, both based in Monrovia.

Responsibilities:

The two Liberian subject matter specialists will work under the supervision of the TL. They will be responsible for providing specific malaria-related expertise (especially around surveillance, prevention, and treatment activities) and contributing to all aspects of the assessment, including supporting the development of the assessment’s methodology and inception report, data collection, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and writing the draft and final reports.

The TL and the two subject matter specialists will perform the following duties:

• Document gains/improvements in county malaria response and contributions of the PMI activities, and interventions in improving health service provision through a comprehensive desk review,
• Identify the enabling and limiting factors for PMI funding in key PMI counties,
• Make recommendations based on the synthesis of PMI interventions and how to improve/standardize current PMI efforts or future United States Government (USG) investments in this area for greater impact/results,
• Travel within selected counties and conduct in-person and remote KIIs.

The Subject Matter Specialists contribute to all major assessment activities, including

• document review
• crafting design documents, including workplan or inception report
• preparation of an in-brief and out-brief for USAID/Liberia in a PowerPoint format
• collecting data including conducting interviews and completing systematic data analysis.

In addition, the Subject Matter Specialists will assist the Team Lead to draft the final report and provide content for the infographic brief (to be designed with the support of SI Headquarters.

Qualifications:

Requirements for this position include:

• A master’s degree in a relevant public health discipline with 5-7 years of experience in the public health sector
• Significant experience in the malaria landscape in Liberia; other expertise in infectious disease prevention, epidemiology, community health is a plus
• Prior experience with PMI, USG funded malaria assistance and the National Malaria Control Program is required
• Proven expertise in conducting operational research (both quantitative and qualitative), monitoring and evaluation and/or health program implementation research
• Significant experience in assessments or evaluation and conducting qualitative/quantitative data analysis (including statistical regressions)
• Ability to liaise with multiple agencies/clients and exceptional organizational and communications skills,
• A commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive work and learning environment.
• Willingness to travel to multiple areas within Liberia
• Prior work experience in Liberia is recommended
• Fluency in English is required

Come join our energetic and innovative team! We offer you the opportunity to play a leading role in the growth of our company, work as part of a creative and committed team, and make a difference in the well-being of our world. To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com.

SI is an EEO/AA/ADA Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls