Consultant: Maternal Nutrition Landscape Analysis in 7 Countries

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ANNEX 1.  TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTORS/ CONSULTANTS 

PART I
Title of Assignment	Maternal Nutrition Landscape Analysis in 7 Countries
	☒International	☐National
Contract Type	☒Individual Consultant	☐Individual Contractor (Part-Time / Full Time)
Indicate level of consultancy	Senior-Level (P-4/P5)
Hiring Section	Nutrition
Location	Remote or home-based, with minimum travel as required.
Duration	60 billable days
Start/End date	From:1-Oct-21		To:     30-Jun-22

Background and Justification

Maternal nutrition programmes have been lagging behind in the region. Evidence from maternal nutrition landscape analysis conducted in 13 countries in ESA region in 2018 revealed that progress across

key indicators in the last 17 years has been uneven across the region with deterioration in some of the key indicators (overweight, anemia, neonatal mortality, stunting, low birthweight). To accelerate actions for improving maternal nutrition, UNICEF program division developed guidance on maternal nutrition programming which is still in draft form.  Furthermore, in 2016 WHO released new ANC guidelines, 14 of the 49 recommendations are nutrition-related. These guidelines provide an opportunity to scale up maternal nutrition in the region.

Given the need to accelerate the agenda on comprehensive maternal nutrition services and to implement the 2016 WHO nutrition in ANC recommendations, there is a need to understand the current status of the maternal nutrition policy and programming landscape in ESAR countries. This information will guide country governments and development partners to understand the maternal nutrition landscape in the region, and to identify gaps in the policy and programme landscape where accelerated action is needed. Methods, tools, indicators and analysis framework will be adapted from similar consultancy done in 2018 for 13 ESAR countries.

This consultancy aims to carry out the systematic collection, appraisal, mapping and synthesis of the maternal nutrition policy and programming landscape in 7 countries namely Kenya, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Sudan, Eritrea, Burundi, and Botswana. In addition to gathering and synthesizing this information, the consultant shall review it against the WHO nutrition ANC recommendations and develop country briefs. Findings of the landscape analysis will support countries to adapt the UNICEF ESARO maternal nutrition framework thus accelerating actions towards improving maternal nutrition outcomes and contribute to the regional stunting reduction priority. 

Scope of Work 

1. Goal and Objective:  Under the supervision of the Nutrition Specialist the consultant will conduct a landscape analysis for maternal nutrition in 7 ESA countries using the same methodology and tools used in 13 ESA countries in 2018.
2. Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered: This consultancy will support the regional 2021 annual workplan, Nutrition GRP Key deliverable #2 “At least 6 regional strategies, plans, guidance and frameworks for accelerated stunting reduction are developed and/or up-dated”.
3. Activities and Tasks:    The following are the tasks to be delivered:
   1. Collate relevant documents on the status of women’s health and nutrition, and policies and programmes on maternal nutrition in ESAR with the support and contribution of UNICEF country offices and regional office;
   2. With the support of UNICEF country offices in ESAR, collate soft copies of the following documents on maternal nutrition, by country:
      1. Policies, strategies, plans and programme guidance;
      2. Advocacy and communication materials;
      3. Training materials;
      4. Any other identified relevant information
   3. Adapt a bottleneck analysis tool for the WHO nutrition recommendations
   4. Conduct a mapping of key stakeholders implementing maternal nutrition interventions in selected core countries, interventions being implemented and coverage
   5. Develop  7 country briefs summarizing the following information (see Annex 1):
      1. Status of women’s health and nutrition;
      2. Contextual information shaping the enabling environment for ANC; 
      3. Status of policies and guidelines on maternal nutrition against the WHO (2016) recommendations;
      4. Any IFA, IFA 90+, ANC1, ANC4+, iodized salt, deworming, malaria prevention (SP/Fansidar 3+ doses), HIV testing and counselling coverage of maternal nutrition interventions with disaggregation at country and regional level;
      5. Age of first pregnancy and uptake of ANC services by adolescent girls (15-19years)
      6. Summary of key system barriers and facilitators for uptake of ANC services and other contact points for delivery of preconception and postpartmum nutrition interventions;
   6. Develop a regional synthesis paper and power point presentation, summarizing the policy and programme landscape for maternal nutrition in ESAR, drawing from the country briefs and other relevant information;
4. Work relationships:  The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Regional Nutrition Specialist, ESARO, supported by the Regional Nutrition Advisor;
5. The Regional Nutrition Specialist will facilitate communication between the consultant and  the country offices as needed.
6. The consultant will complete all activities and deliverables listed within the allotted time-frame.
7. End consultancy performance review will be conducted upon receipt of all deliverables by the consultant, and finalized by ESARO.
8. Outputs/Deliverables:  

Deliverables	Duration (Estimated # of days or months)	Timeline/Deadline	Schedule of payment
Inception paper and database of documents	10 days	By December 2021	10% of the total amount of the contract will be paid on submission
7 Finalized country briefs	10 days	By January 2022	40% of the total amount of the contract will be paid on submission
First draft and final draft of the scoping review: of the risk factors of anaemia in ESAR	20 days	By June 2022	40% of the total amount of the contract will be paid on submission
First draft and final draft of the regional synthesis paper on the policy and programme landscape on maternal nutrition in ESAR;	20 days	By June 2022	10% of the total amount of the contract will be paid on submission

  

Payment Schedule 

Payment shall be made on satisfactory completion of the deliverables, as detailed above, in four payments. 

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience 

1. Education:  An Advanced University Degree in Public Health Nutrition, Nutritional Epidemiology, International Health and Nutrition, Maternal and Child Nutrition, or other Nutrition-related science field is required. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
2. A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in public health/nutrition planning, management, policy research at the international level, including in low and middle income countries;
3. Must exhibit the UNICEF Core Values of:
   1. Care
   2. Respect
   3. Integrity
   4. Trust
   5. Accountability
4. The Consultant must have the following competencies:
   1. Work collaboratively with others
   2. Thinks and acts strategically
   3. Manages ambiguity and complexity
   4. Drive to achieve results for impact
5. English both oral and written is a must and ability to read, analyze and interpret complex documents. 

 

Administrative issues

• The contract will run for a period of nine months (60 billable days) and it is expected that the consultant will be paid for completed deliverables according to the timeframe stipulated in the TOR and under the proposed contractual arrangement.

• The focal point for this work will be the Nutrition Specialist ESARO, with oversight from the Regional Nutrition Advisor.
• The consultant is expected to be home based.

 

Conditions 

• The consultancy is based remotely. No office space or equipment will be provided from UNICEF and will be the sole responsibility of the consultant.
• The consultant is expected to use their own IT equipment (laptop, cell-phone etc.), where operating communication costs – long-distance calls, internet if any should be part of the overall quoted fees (no reimbursement will be applied).
• As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
• The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.
• “As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary”.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

 

How to Apply

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV, P11 form and their technical proposals to the online recruitment portal.

• Interested candidates to indicate ability, availability, and rate (daily? monthly?) expressed in US$ to undertake the terms of reference.
• Following receipt of this TOR through advertisement, the consultant is requested to share a concept note on how they plan to execute the consultancy, an expression of interest as per the timelines and instructions of the advertisement. In addition, the consultant will share an updated CV and contacts of three referees.
• The consultant will be requested to provide an all-inclusive cost quoted in USD in the financial proposal and to factor in all cost implications for the work.
• Applications/expressions of interest without concept note and an all-inclusive cost/fee quoted in USD will not be accepted

 

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered. 

Annex 1:

Indicator

Women who are thin according to BMI (<18.5 kg/m2)

Women who are overweight or obese according to BMI (≥25 kg/m2)

Women who are obese according to BMI (≥30 kg/m2)

Women with height below 145 cm

Prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age (% of women ages 15-49)

Prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women (%)

Maternal mortality ratio

Low birth weight (<2.5 kg)

Children stunted

Children wasted

Mortality rate, neonatal (per 1,000 live births)

Early initiation of breastfeeding (%)

Infants exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life (%)

Women with secondary or higher education

Women minimum dietary diversity index (MDD-W)

Women consuming iron-rich foods

ANC from a skilled provider

Adolescent pregnancy (proportion of women aged 20-24 years who gave birth before aged 18 years)

Women who participate in decisions on their own health care (alone or jointly)

Antenatal visits for pregnancy: 4+ visits

Women with a birth in the past five years who took iron tablets or syrup for 90+ days

Households using iodized salt

Info/counselling on diet during pregnancy

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.