Background

The International Institute for Primary Health Care – Ethiopia (IIfPHC-E) was established by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) to work on strengthening Ethiopia's Primary Health Care (PHC) system in the context of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for health. It does this by serving as a global resource for PHC, building capacity through training and information sharing, carrying out health systems implementation research, and contributing to the global advocacy for UHC through Primary Health Care. It is expected that the Institute will be transformed into a Center of Excellence in PHC Training, Advocacy, and Evidence Generation, and ultimately serve as the first WHO Collaborative Center on the African continent. It is anticipated that the Institute will also function as a primary center in the promotion of PHC in Africa as a whole.

American International Health Alliance (AIHA), with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), will leverage its experience in establishing twinning partnerships to strengthen IIfPHC's capacity in the identified technical areas, to capacitate IIfPHC-E, to institutionalize best practices, and to share lessons learned. AIHA will also work on developing core trainers who will take the program forward and support the establishment of regional hubs to replicate the PHC training in their respective regions.

IIFPHC-E is looking for a consultant to conduct a capacity assessment. The capacity assessment is expected to identify gaps in the existing system, staff skills, and competencies.

The assignment is expected to be conducted in two phases.

The first phase involves the assessment of the institute capacity and gaps to become the WHO collaborating center and the Center of Excellence in primary health care. It is also expected to explore the capacity of Regional Health Bureaus and sections/ units at MOH and identify sites that will serve as regional hubs in consultation with IIFPHC team.

The second phase will include an in-depth assessment of the potential regional hubs identified in phase one. The regional hubs could be universities with the School of Public Health, University hospitals, regional health bureau, and offices of professional associations in health.

The consultants or consultancy firm are expected to come up with their own approach/methodology for the organizational capacity assessment considering the need of the institute. The consultants are expected to conduct the following list of activities

Under phase one:

• Conduct desk/document review of existing IIFPHC-E documents such as policies, procedures, and manuals
• Review and adapt tools for organizational capacity assessment
• Conduct interviews with staff and key stakeholders
• Conduct system assessment
• Revise and update the SWOT analysis of the Institute based on inputs from desk review, key stakeholders' interview, and organizational analysis
• Assess current policies, existing infrastructure, and service delivery, and determine gaps
• Assess the strength and weakness of each unit
• Assess the knowledge, skill, and competencies of the core teams
• Assess the existing practice, strategy, and training curricula
• Assess the training needs of staff
• Identify areas of improvement and gaps to meet the requirement to be a WHO collaboration center
• Prepare and submit an inception report
• Prepare and submit a draft report
• Organize validation workshop with relevant stakeholders
• Prepare and submit a final report

Under phase two

• Conduct desk/document review of existing IIFPHC-E documents such as policies, procedures, and manuals
• Review and adapt tools for organizational capacity assessment for regional hubs
• Conduct interviews with staff and key stakeholders
• Conduct system assessment
• Conduct the SWOT analysis of the potential regional hubs based on inputs from desk review, key stakeholders' interview, and organizational analysis
• Assess current policies, existing infrastructure, and service delivery, and determine gaps
• Assess the knowledge, skill, and competencies of the core teams
• Assess the training needs of staff
• Assess infrastructure of potential regional hubs
• Prepare and submit an inception report
• Prepare and submit a draft report
• Organize validation workshop with relevant stakeholders
• Prepare and submit a final report

Intermediate outputs

Under phase one

• Final workshop for core group/key stakeholders
• Orientation event(s) for external stakeholders
• Debriefing event for senior-level executives
• Debriefing event(s) for staff
• Summary in pages overview in an easily accessible form for wider circulation
• Confidential papers/reports on special issues
• Draft/ preliminary reports produced within four weeks of signing the agreement
• A final report including the comprehensive capacity building plan within ten or more weeks after signing the contract
• Final Capacity Assessment Report in a publishable format within 14 weeks after signing the contract

Under phase two

• Debriefing event for senior-level executives
• Debriefing event(s) for staff • Summary in pages overview in an easily accessible form for wider circulation
• Draft/ preliminary reports produced within four weeks after submitting the final report of phase one
• A final report including the comprehensive capacity building plan within eight weeks after completing phase one
• Final Capacity Assessment Report in a publishable format within ten weeks after completing phase one

Job Requirements

The firm is expected to propose a mix of qualifications for its team members. The lead consultant should have at the lowest the following qualifications

• MPH/MA/MBA in Health service management with knowledge of health systems
• Five to ten years of work experience in leadership/ managerial positions
• Experience in organizational capacity assessment and evaluation of Institutional frameworks
• Experience working in leadership and management
• Excellent report writing skills

How to Apply

The consulting firm should have:

• Experience in conducting similar organizational capacity assessment in a health system
• Renewed license, VAT, and TIN
• Interested Applicants should send a technical proposal and financial proposal with CVs and a cover letter to ssintayehu@aiha-et.com and hiwot.tadesse@iifphc.org by January 8, 2021. 
• The email should indicate "Application for Conducting Organizational Capacity/Need Assessment" in the subject line.