Research Officer – Operations Research Job Opportunity: Plan-International

Short Term Assignment – Operations Research

Terms of Reference

Engagement type: Short Term Assignment

Post Title: Research Officer – Operations Research

Duty Station: Kilifi, Kenya

Duration: Six (6) weeks

Engagement Period: Between 15th April and 30th June 2009

Reporting to: Project Coordinator, KIDCARE Project

Background and Rationale:

In 2004, Plan-International was awarded a five-year Child Survival grant from USAID to be implemented in the Kilifi District of Kenya (see Project Summary, Appendix 1) from 30th September 2004 to 29th September 2009. An operations research (OR) component was stipulated as part of the Cooperative Agreement.

To meet this contractual requirements with USAID, PLAN is seeking to engage a Research Officer on a short term assignment to execute this research component (see Study Design, Appendix 2) in Kilifi district and deliver its final products by 31st July 2009.

Specific Objectives of the Assignment:

1. Elaborate the study question, design and implementation plan of the OR
2. Conduct the operations research while maintaining fidelity to the final Study Design approved by PLAN and USAID
3. Oversee any necessary primary and secondary data collection and analysis
4. Supervise any required operations research support staff to ensure quality of their work
5. Present PLAN-International US and Kenya offices with final products by 31st July, 2009.
   

Expected Deliverables

1. Handover of primary and secondary datasets collected or generated for this research
2. Final statistical analysis reports of data
3. A final report on findings, addressing issues stipulated in the final Study Design
4. In-person presentation of results to USAID, KIDCARE, and PLAN-International staff
5. Handover of all final materials to PLAN-International Inc. (KCO) by 31st July 2009.

Methodologies:

The assignment will consist of a desktop study using existing information from Plan Kilifi, and interviews with key partners and target communities. It may also include primary data collection where necessary. A brief on the KIDCARE project and the proposed study design is attached as appendices 1 & 2 respectively.

Ethical Considerations

The Consultant may not publish or disseminate the data collected or any other documents produced from this assignment without the express permission of and acknowledgement of Plan.

Logistics

This assignment shall be carried out from Plan Kenya Kilifi office. Support of local travel to partner organizations with the cheapest means of transport may be provided.

Accountabilities

• S/he will directly be supervised by KIDCARE Project Coordinator.
• Regularly communicates with the Lead Health Advisor (KCO) on the OR technical issues.
  

Profile:

1. At least five (5) years experience in applied field research
2. Strong research, analysing and documenting skills backed by experience in a similar position with comparable international NGO.
3. Excellent computer skills, including EXCEL, ACCESS, Epi-Info, SPSS & other statistical softwares
4. Fluency in English and Kiswahili required; local languages a plus
5. Strong Communication & email skills
6. Willingness to take up residence in or around Kilifi town for at least one month during the OR
   

Educational Background:

Preferably a Master’s degree in a relevant field (epidemiology/social sciences preferred) from a recognised institution

Time Frame:

This assignment shall be carried for a period of six weeks to end no later than 31st July 2009.

Plan Kenya is committed to the rights and well-being of children including their protection. Accordingly, employment is subject to our child protection standards including appropriate background checks and adherence to our child protection policy.

If you meet the requirements for the above position and would like to be a part of it in our commitment to children, please send detailed and updated curriculum vitae, with a 2 page design proposal of this assignment and contacts of three professional references by 17th April 2009 to email jobs.plankenya @ plan-international.org

You are invited to read more about Plan in our website-www.plan-international.org

We regret that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Appendix 1: PLAN-KENYA Child Survival Project Summary

Plan GAD#: KEN0084 (KIDCARE Child Survival Project)

Donor: USAID Child Survival Program - RFA M-OP-GH-HSR-04-003

Project duration: 30 September 2004 – September 29, 2009

Project area: 357 Villages in the 4 Divisions of Bahari, Vitengeni, Chonyi and Ganze of Kilifi District

Total population in project Area: 257,522

Target beneficiaries: 119,735

Health Facilities in project area:

• 1 District hospital,
  
• 12 MOH Dispensaries,
  
• 1 Mission Dispensary,
  
• 4 Private Clinics
  

Socio-economic profile of project population: The inhabitants of the project comprise the Mijikenda ethnic group the majority of who are Giriama. The target group lives below the subsistence level working mostly as peasant farmers. As Kilifi Township also lies within the project area, a small cosmopolitan population is also represented.

Overall Goal: The goal of the program is to assist the MOH reduce in a sustainable way the morbidity and mortality of children and women of reproductive age in Kilifi.

Project interventions:

• Diarrhea Case Management (DCM)
• Pneumonia Case Management (PCM)
• Malaria Case Management (MCM)
• Prevention of Malnutrition
• Increased immunization Coverage
• Control of HIV/AIDS

Strategies:

• Use of the care group approach for community mobilization
• Strengthening community partnership and cost recovery
• Promotion of project's objectives through innovative BCC/IEC strategies and Outreach (Quick wins)
• Improved supervision and follow-up training to MOH health workers and volunteers
• Integration of CS activities with Plan's core program
• Collaboration with other local partners and NGOs.
  

Program objectives

1. Behavioral: Women of reproductive age and mothers of children under-five years will be practicing healthy behaviors and seeking medical care from trained health service providers;

2. Increased access to services: Communities and families will have increased access to health education, quality care, essential medicines and supplies including ITNs and Water Chlorination Kits;

3. Quality of care: MOH personnel will be practicing appropriate integrated management of sick children. Practitioners will also deliver quality counseling for care of sick children.

4. Institutional strengthening: Dispensary Health Committees; local CBOs and district MOH facilities will be developed and strengthened to support and implement activities that enhance child survival.

Appendix 2: KIDCARE PROJECT - PROPOSED or STUDY

Operations Research: Documenting Plan Kenya’s experience to inform the rollout of the Community Strategy

Goal: To retrofit the KIDCARE care group operations model and experience into the proposed MOH Community Strategy and to utilize Plan Kenya’s experience with care groups to inform of challenges and opportunities and improve rollout in districts while adopting the Community Strategy.

Rationale: The best use of lessons learned out of a pioneering project is to inform the programs which will succeed it. Support for the Community Strategy instead of competition with it provides the best chance to sustain the gains made by KIDCARE.

Strengths of the Community Strategy:

1. The adoption of a multisectoral platform for health decision-making that involves the Provincial Administration
2. Strengthening of the life-cycle approach to health care is comprehensive and to be encouraged at the community level
3. Linkages to the District Health Stakeholders Forum and the adoption of a single District Health workplan is sustainable and prevents competition and duplication of resources amongst various district partners
4. The Community Strategy comes with the goodwill of the MOH and with resources e.g. training curricula for the various categories of implementers, that can easily guide district level work
5. The Community Strategy brings in an extra cadre of MOH staff: the CHEWs
   

Challenges faced by the Community Strategy

1. The Community Strategy does not prescribe, or is otherwise silent, about how to choose a CHW from a 20-household block for example, and whether to prefer an existing CHW over a new one.
2. The Community Strategy employs very broad criteria for qualifications of a CHW especially given their expanded role in the life cycle approach
3. Community Units, made up of a 1000 households, are differently resourced in the present Kenyan scenario, with some having full access to a 1st or 2nd level health facility and some having none at all
4. Given the present scenario of operational dispensaries (1st level) and health centers (2nd level) within Kilifi’s administrative landscape it is clear that these do not fit neatly into the KEPH II (location) and KEPH III (subdivision) levels respectively and may not be reproducible within other divisions or districts.
5. The number of CHEWs working with any one facility will have a wide differential between divisions and districts
6. How effective the training curricula are has not been tested
7. Also unclear is how to best manage data through community registers and how to run the various planning /decision-making meetings at the various levels of stakeholders to ensure evidence based decision-making. What works well? What are the pitfalls you must avoid?
   

Task: To document Plan Kenya’s experience in Kilifi with the care group model and to highlight opportunities, challenges and pitfalls in community organization and health decision-making as MOH implements the Community Strategy

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