Hellen Keller International is recruiting 1 health & nutrition consultant (research assistant) and 1 operations / management consultant to conduct an assessment to support opening of Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) project in Democratic republic of Congo (DRC)

Scope of Position

When delivered twice a year to at least 80% of children aged 6 to 59 months in countries with high under five mortality and high rates of vitamin A deficiency, Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) can contribute to a reduction of U5M by up to 24%.

Helen Keller International was operational in DRC to support the Ministry of Health deliver VAS to children under five years of age until July 2016, when the organization closed its office due to lack of funding available.

Needs for VAS in DRC remain very high, however, with a prevalence of vitamin A deficiency considered to be above 50% of children under five and mortality rates among children under five remaining above 100 death for 1,000 live births. Since 2016, funding gaps have led to VAS campaigns being cancelled in many provinces of the country, leaving millions of children unsupported by this essential life saving intervention.

In 2020, the prospects for HKI to receive funds to resume VAS support in DRC are high, but in a complex context such as the DRC one, HKI wishes to conduct an assessment of the best approach to resume its activities. Questions to be answered are financial (what is the most cost effective approach to resume activities and open an office considering the high cost of life in Kinshasa) ; operational (what are the minimum standards to ensure high levels of accountability of HKI operations and safety of HKI teams) ; technical (what is the most effective process to provide support to the MoH, ensure programs are lead by the MoH, and be the most cost effective).

For this purpose, HKI is recruiting two (2) consultants, one with operations background, one with technical background (research assistant), to conduct a scoping assessment in DRC and provide guidance to HKI to make informed decision on best approach to resume activities in DRC.

Objectives

The two consultants will work as a team but with separate objectives, although their findings should be linked as they will influence one another.

The technical consultant will:

• Map the situation of VAS in all provinces of DRC: delivery mechanisms used, number of children reached by each mechanism, administrative coverage, survey measured coverage, actors supporting the delivery, budget associated.

• Assess the strategy of the MoH and partners for VAS in DRC and identify gaps that HKI could fill, geographic, financial and technical.

• Identify the geographic areas where HKI could support VAS to ensure high levels of cost effectiveness while ensuring safety of its teams and programs and accountability with a small office team

• Assess the mechanisms to be employed for HKI assistance to the MoH in DRC for VAS programming

• Propose a technical team structure for VAS programming

The operational consultant will:

• Identify the security constraints associated with the context in DRC and areas where HKI could support VAS programming with a limited operations team (i.e. without a dedicated security officer) without endangering its teams and programs

• Identify possible modalities for HKI to open an office in Kinshasa for the management of its projects at a limited cost (subcontracting, subletting, etc.).

• Identify potential partner organizations with which HKI could share office space and operations functions and the modalities for such partnership

• Identify operational and logistical constraints and solutions for conducting VAS programming in DRC and the minimum operations team requirements (finance, logistics, HR) to ensure safety, efficiency and accountability of HKI programming.

Deliverables, timeframe and level of effort

• Preparation (home based) – 5 days

• Field visit – 10 days

• Debrief and reporting – 10 days

Total level of effort: 25 days

Qualifications

• Masters level for both consultants

• At least 10 years of experience at managerial level

• Experience in VAS programming for technical consultant

• Experience in operations management for operations consultant

• Experience in conduction of scoping studies

• Good English and French speaking and writing capacity compulsory