Team leader for the evaluation of HKI Vitamin A supplementation regional project Helen Keller international is looking for a team leader to be responsible for the management of an external independent evaluation of its project named “scaling up nutrition through integrated life-saving interventions”, hereby referred to as the Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) project. The Team leader will be in charge of a team composed of 2 other consultants, recruited under a separate call for applications. The purpose of this formative evaluation, conducted at mid-point in the project life, is to contribute to improving the design and implementation of HKI VAS project. Concretely, it will look at the extent to which HKI has played an effective technical role in assisting the project target countries to achieve and/or maintain high coverage of twice-yearly vitamin A supplementation and to institutionalize Vitamin A supplementation within the respective national health systems. The evaluation will provide important feedback to ensure high, sustained coverage of VAS for children 6 to 59 months in the most vulnerable countries. Out of the 13 countries in which HKI VAS project is active, five have been identified for this evaluation: Tanzania, Cameroun, Niger, Burkina Faso and DRC. In addition, the evaluation will consider the VAS project regional team based in Kenya. Individual consultants as well as consultancy agencies may apply. The consultancy will represent an effort of 60 days over a period of five months between February 1st and May 31st, 2015. Location of the consultants is flexible. 1. Background and context Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) is dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI currently conducts programs in 21 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States. Renowned for its reliability, efficiency and high level of technical expertise, HKI promotes the development of sustainable, large-scale programs that deliver effective preventative and curative services for nutrition, eye health and neglected tropical diseases. The hallmark of the organization’s work is its proven success in developing, testing and scaling-up health interventions, and integrating them within government and community structures to support and build local capacity and sustainable solutions. HKI currently provides technical assistance to 13 countries identified as suffering from chronic vitamin A deficiency as part of the VAS project financed by DFATD. These countries are Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Cameroon, Mozambique, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, the D.R. Congo, and Guinea. HKI supports the planning, implementation and evaluation of VAS distribution activities in its 13 target countries. The scale and nature of the support varies by country: HKI support may sometimes extend to the whole country or focus on specific areas. This support takes many forms, including advocating with government officials for financial, material and human resource support; development and distribution of a communication strategy and materials; capacity building of health workers and volunteers; supportive supervision and post-event coverage surveys; and provision of material support for the events. 2. Scope of the Evaluation The scope of the evaluation is to look at the two main aspects of HKI activities: supporting Vitamin A supplementation and measuring VAS coverage as well as supporting the institutionalization of VAS into national health systems. Five countries are selected for the evaluation. The selection process considered the representativeness of the various contexts and settings HKI is operating within: various modes of VAS (door to door campaigns versus facility based ones), existence or not of a routine distribution program, level of commitment from national authorities. The five countries are Tanzania, Cameroun, Niger, Burkina Faso and DRC. It is expected that evaluation activities will take place in the five countries as well as in HKI regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. 3. Specific Objectives of the Evaluation The specific objectives of the evaluation are the following: - What are the direct results of the project to date? What are the outputs, outcomes and impact of the project? - What is the effectiveness of the project? - What is the relevance of the project? - Was the project efficient? - Are the project results sustainable? The evaluation will answer these questions and present concrete findings and provide concrete recommendations aiming at drawing lessons for adjustments of the VAS project. 4. Deliverables and timeframe The consultants will be expected to first write a workplan that will provide all details of the approaches proposed, the specific evaluation questions to be answered, the stakeholders to be met, the type of data to collect, the timeframes for each step of the evaluation, the format of the data collection and data analysis tools and the format of the final evaluation report. Following agreement between HKI and the consultants on the workplan and methods and tools proposed, the consultants will be responsible for data collection and analysis. The data collected will be shared with HKI at the end of the data analysis process. Finally, an evaluation report will be provided by the consultants according to the initial agreed upon timeframe. The timeframe envisioned for the consultancy is the following one (per consultant) - Preparation of the workplan + initial literature & Desk review: 15 days - Field visits (5 countries + regional office) for the consultant and the team leader: 25 days (five days in each country + travel) - Data analysis + reporting: 15 days These 60 days may be spread over a period from February 1st, 2015 to May 31st, 2015. 5. Profile of consultancy team required Applications from individual consultants will be considered as well as from consultancy agencies. The Evaluation team leader must be an expert evaluator at a senior level. Minimal knowledge and experience are described in Standing Offer Arrangements (SOA). In addition, the Evaluation team leader will have the following experience: a) Experience with evaluation mandates that are similar to the one for this evaluation; b) Experience working in developing countries and African countries. c) Language: functional French and English required. d) PhD is recommended in Health, Nutrition, Social Sciences, or other related field. A Masters of Science in the same areas may be accepted as a minimum. e) The team leader should have at least 8 years of experience with progressive responsibility with NGOs or UN agencies or academic institutions in program formulation, planning, management, and evaluation. The team leader should also demonstrate a number of the competencies and experience requested from consultant he will supervise: a) Fluency in English and French are required within the evaluation team b) Experience in integration of services within health systems of low or middle income countries should be demonstrated. c) Experience in health system strengthening and capacity development of health system actors is recommended. d) Experience in coordination of interventions in humanitarian settings is recommended. e) Experience in cross-sectional surveys design, implementation and analysis is required. f) Current knowledge of international public health nutrition related guidelines, policies. g) Analytical and reporting skills should be demonstrated. Experience in formal research is recommended. h) Excellent communication skills, organizational skills, training skill and the ability to work in a team are required. i) Computer and writing/reporting skills including internet navigation and various office applications. Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and good track record 6. To Apply Qualified candidates should apply by latest January 15, 2015. Both individual consultants and consultancy agencies may apply. All applications should contain: - A 3 pages proposal describing o The approach proposed to fulfil the requirements of this evaluation: data collection methods and analytical approach o Proposed budget (or fees for individual consultants) - A cover letter - A resume of each applicant detailing their experience and education background Applications should be sent to [url]VAS.recruitment@hki.org[/url] noting the evaluation title in the subject line.