KENYA COUNTRY OFFICE, NAIROBI
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT -
Monitoring
and Evaluation Field Officer, Homa Bay – NO-B
Temporary Appointment
Duration:
5 months
Date of
Issue: 27 January, 2014 Closing Date: 09 February, 2014
Applications are hereby invited from suitably
qualified candidates to fill the above Temporary Appointment position in the
Health Section, UNICEF Kenya Country Office
Purpose of
the Post:
Working under the supervision
of Resident Programme Officer, Kisumu, and with regular inputs and support from
the Nairobi-based M&E Team (Quality Assurance Officer and M&E
Specialist), the M&E Field Officer will responsible for day-to-day tracking
and documenting the outputs and results of the DFID-funded MNH project,
supplementary data collection and reporting, and for supporting the MOH and
other partners to constantly develop and refine effective microplans and
project budgets.
Justification
Maternal mortality is said to represent the biggest disparity in health
status between rich and poor countries (or rich and poor communities within the
same country). Health is a form of human capital; high numbers of maternal and
child deaths are holding back a significant portion of the population of Kenya
from achieving their full potential. High newborn and child mortality rates are
sustaining high fertility, perpetuating a vicious cycle of vulnerability among
women and young children. Moreover, maternal and newborn mortality do not only
affect women and babies: poor health and health disparities are preventing Kenya
from achieving economic progress and stability, particularly in the poorest
parts of the country.
Hemorrhage is by far the leading cause of maternal deaths. Hemorrhage
and hypertension collectively account for more than half of all maternal
deaths. HIV-related illnesses also play a major role in maternal deaths,
especially in regions such as Western Kenya, where HIV is more than four times
the national average, and Turkana County where HIV prevalence is twice the
national average and increasing.
In most of sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, neonatal mortality has
seen no significant change in over a decade. Nearly 4 in 10 under-five deaths
are among newborns, making neonatal mortality reduction increasingly the
‘unfinished business’ of under-five mortality reduction. Both neonatal and
maternal mortality are heavily concentrated in the delivery period and initial
week after delivery. Most of these deaths occur at home; two-thirds of such
deaths could be averted if mothers and babies were attended by trained health
professionals.
More specifically, Kenya’s maternal
mortality rate remains unacceptably high (at 488/100,000 live births
nationally), even as under-five mortality rates are decreasing. Disparities in access to health
services and in maternal and newborn health outcomes have become slightly worse
over the last decade, with the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands region (ASAL) in the
North and Nyanza province in the West of Kenya maintaining mortality rates that
are substantially higher than the national average. The maternal mortality rate
in Turkana County, for example, is estimated to be above 1500 per 100,000 live
births—three the national average, according to the 2013 Kenya Population
Situation Analysis Report.
Kenyan mothers’ access to skilled delivery
and emergency obstetric care have stagnated in the past decade: in both 2008
and 2003, the KDHS surveys found that approximately 40% of women make the
recommended 4 antenatal visits and the same number deliver in a health
facility. Moreover, the significant regional disparities in skilled delivery
coverage noted in 2003 have not improved in recent years. The difference in
coverage between the poorest and wealthiest quintiles also increased during
this period. Access to basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care appears
to have decreased over the past decade (5,6). Disparities in C-section rates
have been reduced within the upper 60% of the population, but the poorest 40%
still lag far behind in coverage. With these stagnating coverage trends and
widening disparities, it is unlikely that the country will achieve the MDG
maternal mortality target of 147/100,000 by 2015.
This situation,
which is increasingly acknowledged in Kenya’s national health and development
policies, led DFID to develop a Business Case for aggressively reducing
maternal and newborn mortality in the most vulnerable counties in Kenya over
the next five years (2014-2018). UNICEF with financial support form DFID has
been engaged to oversee the project,
which will involve a number of different service providers, and to manage
direct implementation of activities in two of the three focus counties (Homa
Bay and Turkana). The primary outputs of this project shall be 1) increased
coverage of skilled birth attendance, 2) increased availability of BEmONC and
CEmONC services, and 3) a reduction in the obstetric case fatality rate.
Accordingly, the overall project has three major components: 1) improving the
availability and skills of human resources for health, 2) strengthening the
health system, and 3) generating demand for skilled delivery and emergency
obstetric care services.
UNICEF’s five-year
work plan contains twelve areas of work, which shall be monitored and evaluated
through a new Monitoring and Evaluation unit. This unit shall be directed by an
M&E Specialist, working closely with a Quality Assurance Officer (both
based in Nairobi) and two M&E field officers (based in Lodwar and Homa
Bay). These terms of reference are for the Quality Assurance Officer: a
position that shall be filled on a temporary basis from February 1- June 30,
2014, and thereafter on a permanent basis through the end of the project period
in 2018.
Scope of Work for the TA
Working under the guidance of
the UNICEF Homa Bay MNCH Coordinator, and with regular inputs and support from
the Nairobi-based M&E Team (Quality Assurance Officer and M&E
Specialist), the M&E Field Officer will responsible for day-to-day tracking
and documenting the outputs and results of the DFID-funded MNH project,
supplementary data collection and reporting, and for supporting the MOH and
other partners to constantly develop and refine effective microplans and
project budgets.
This position is based in Homa
Bay County and will involve regular travel (approximately 40% time) to Homa
Bay’s sub-counties, monthly trips to Kisumu and quarterly trips to Nairobi.
More specifically, the
Monitoring and Evaluation Field Officer/ Homa Bay will be responsible for the
following work:
1)
(50%) Monitor MOH and
partner activities/ outputs and reports against defined work plans and alert management
to any delays or irregularities. The TA will participate actively in joint
planning and budgeting activities with each partner in the field, and will be
expected to know the resulting plans well and to develop strong relationships
with the field teams from each of the project partners. The TA will then be
expected to communicate by phone or email on a weekly basis with each partner
and visit each in person at least once a month. He or she should also
communicate on a daily basis with the Quality Assurance Officer in Nairobi, who
will be charged with overall program documentation and quality assurance. The
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will participate in key project activities,
collect relevant data, and document the results; all documentation shall be
sent to the Quality Assurance Officer and M&E Specialiast. When neceTAry,
the M&E Officer will work with the MOH Health Information Officer and
partners to collect supplementary data as specified by the DFID MNH Log Frame
and Performance Monitoring Framework. Delays in program implementation should
be reported immediately to the supervisor and the Quality Assurance Officer;
the TA will also be expected to proactively propose solutions, based on his or
her in-depth understanding of the project and key players.
2)
(20%) Process monthly
and quarterly reports from partners and documents results across the entire
project. Each of the contracted service delivery partners will be required (by
DFID) to submit monthly and quarterly reports on results achieved against
defined milestones. The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will remind the
partners of these responsibilities and the details of the reporting
requirements, and provide support as needed to complete them; the M&E
officer should also support the partners to verify key data before submission
(to the Quality Assurance Officer and M&E Specialist). In case of any
irregularities, either in reporting (for example, missing data or insufficient
detail), the M&E Officer and Quality Assurance Officer will together work
with the partner to revise the reports until it is satisfactory. The M&E
Officer will help to extract key data from the reports into the MNH project
database, which shall be verified by the M&E Specialist. The final reports
and updated database shall be provided to the M&E Specialist, who will
verify and consolidate them for quarterly, biannual and annual progress
reports. Finally, the Quality Assurance Officer will help to coordinate
monitoring-related field trips from high-level UNICEF and DFID staff.
3)
(20%) Verify correct
placement of supplies and equipment; Perform financial spot-checks and support
financial reporting (with assistance from UNICEF’s supply and finance
divisions). This project will involve the placement of a substantial amount of
medical supplies and equipment in health facilities in Turkana and Homa Bay
Counties. Each major delivery will need to be verified at its final destination
(end user monitoring). The responsibility for end-user monitoring lies
principally with the UNICEF Supply Division, but the M&E Field Officer will
be expected to support these activities on a regular basis. For example, during
every partner visit of visit to a health facility, the M&E Officer should
perform random spot-checks for UNICEF-provided equipment and supplies and relay
any pertinent information to the Quality Assurance Officer. Finally, the
M&E Officer will also review expenditure reports from partners to ensure
accuracy and completeness of documentation before forwarding this information
to the Quality Assurance Specialist. The Supply and Finance Divisions will
provide the TA with training on how to perform these spot checks and financial
oversight in accordance with UNICEF norms and regulations.
4)
(10%) In partnership
with the UNICEF Advocacy and Communications Division, generate human interest
stories, photographs, videos and short stories about best practices in the
field.
During his or her regular field monitoring visits, the M&E Officer should
work with the Quality Assurance Officer and UN Volunteers to take photographs
of project activities and document at least one short human interest story or
best practice story each month that can be relayed back to DFID and other
supporters. These activities will be supplemented by the UNICEF Advocacy and
Communications Division. In the event of an important activity, the M&E
Field Officer should work proactively with the Quality Assurance Officer and
Advocacy and Communications colleagues to send a video team to the field and
support this team to generate effective advocacy films.
RWPPCR/IRs areas covered
UNICEF will contribute to
increasing the number of women and children have equitable Access to and Use of
Quality Essential Social and Protection Services and practices with focus on
vulnerable groups and the most marginalised regions of Kenya by 2014
ü IR 1: Increased proportion of women and children
receiving quality evidence-based essential integrated maternal and child care
services by June 2014
ü IR 2: Increasing number of
households practicing improved health care practices with focus on reaching the
un-reached by 2014 and sustained after that
ü IR3: Health policies, strategies
and systems supportive of MNCH scale-up and mitigation of emergencies
Expected
Deliverables
and Results
|
The TA will be expected to deliver the following each month:
1)
Brief
report (5-7 pages) detailing a) the TA’s activities for the month, b) progress
in the field—major results, challenges, etc, c) suggested priorities for the
following month
2)
Updated
project database for Homa Bay County
The TA will be expected to deliver the following each quarter (end
March, end June):
3)
Summary of
each partner’s activities during the period, with an assessment of progress
towards milestones, challenges, and suggestions for how UNICEF can support
improved performance in the subsequent quarter
4)
Summary of
spot-checks and financial monitoring activities and findings
*Please note that the TA shall be
invited to apply for a longer-term (4 year) position to continue this work,
provided he/she has demonstrated superb performance during the five-month
consultancy.
Desired background and experience
The TA should have a first Degree in Health related fields,
with at least three years of experience working for a development organization
in the area of project management and/or M&E, preferably in a field office
or other remote location. The TA should have demonstrated ability to understand
and process public health data and perform basic calculations and quantitative
analyses. Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel) is required;
knowledge of other statistical software is a plus. The TA must also have
excellent (English) writing skills; familiarity with the language or culture in
Homa Bay is a plus.
In addition, the TA should have the following personal
attributes:
- Enjoys travel and working in the field under harsh conditions (Homa Bay County)
- Excellent interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and conflict resolution skills (essential for working with partners and donors and diverse UNICEF staff)
- Independence: provided with a clear Terms of Reference and regular supervisor feedback, the TA should be able to work independently, whether in the office or in the field. Please note that the TA will not be sitting in the same office as his/her supervisor, so independence and excellent, proactive communication skills are absolutely essential.
- A proactive attitude: notes problems and seeks to address them in a positive and timely manner
- Drive for results: the TA should have a clear commitment to achieving results, and to maintaining the highest quality standards
Conditions (Important)
The
TA will be based in the MOH Office in Homa Bay County, with frequent trips to
the outlying areas in the County, monthly trips to Kisumu and quarterly trips
to Nairobi. Travel time is expected to be approximately 30-40%% but could
surpass this occasionally, during busy activity periods.
Competencies
- Communication
- Drive for Results
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts
- Relating and Networking
- Persuading and Influencing
- Applying Technical Expertise
- Learning & Research
- Working with People
- Planning and Organizing
Languages:
Fluency in English. Knowledge of
Kiswahili would be an asset.
Interested and suitable candidates should ensure
that they forward their applications along with their curricula vitae, to;
The Human Resources Manager
UNICEF Kenya Country Office
Email address: kenyahrvacancies@unicef.org
Please indicate Reference No. “KCO/HEALTH/2014/006”
in the email subject.
Interested candidates should also complete the
Personal History (P11) form, which can be downloaded from the UNICEF Kenya
website (http://www.unicef.org/kenya).
“QUALIFIED FEMALE
CANDIDATES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY”
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE
UNICEF IS A SMOKE-FREE
ENVIRONMENT
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