Background

Vital Strategies is an international non-governmental organization working in over 70 countries. Our vision is a world where everyone is protected by equitable and effective public health systems. We design and support scalable solutions for the leading causes of death, disease and injury, working in partnership with governments to reimagine evidence-based, locally driven policies and practices to advance public health. Our five strategic focus areas are environmental health and climate change, urban health, public health systems, noncommunicable disease, and injury prevention.

Vital Strategies’ Environmental and Climate Health (ECUH) Division diverse team of researchers, analysts, communication, and policy experts work closely with government, civil society and corporate partners to promote healthy outcomes in urban areas. We collaborate closely with policymakers and stakeholders to compile and analyze critical data, raise awareness of pressing climate and environmental health threats, and advocate for innovative policy solutions that control air pollution, mitigate and adapt to climate change, reduce exposure to toxic chemicals, and expand clean energy and transportation options.

To find out more, please visit http://www.vitalstrategies.org/

The Consultancy

Vital Strategies is working with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health on ENABLE: Enabling environments for NCD risk reduction in Ethiopia (ENABLE) funded by Horizon Europe. The main aim of the project is to co-create, implement and evaluate a comprehensive NCD risk prevention program that empowers urban populations in Ethiopia to make healthier dietary choices, engage in physical activity and limit exposure to air pollution within an enabling environment.

Specific objectives are to:

• characterize the environment, in terms of food, build and air pollution, as contextual determinant of NCD risk in four urban communities in Ethiopia.

• co-create, equitably implement and evaluate the implementation and real-world effectiveness of the Enable prevention intervention targeting pregnant women and their children living in four urban communities in Ethiopia.

• promote the scale-up of the intervention, maintain a sustainability plan and support policy dialogues with national and international stakeholders

Communication, epidemiology, and legal experts from Vital Strategies (VITAL) will be working with Ethiopia Public Health Institute on implementing a comprehensive policy engagement and policy accelerator process, with a focus on air pollution as a risk factor. VITAL will support the policy dialogues and the active engagement with policy stakeholders. VITAL will produce a policy roadmap tool after adapting the policy recommendations, that includes the policy objectives, identifies the most likely policy mechanism, and provides relevant references to supporting material and data that can be used to support the creation of the policy. A similar approach will then be implemented for the other risk factors. 

Deliverables

The local policy and communications consultant will work closely with the local air quality and health consultant, as well as other colleagues at VITAL, EPHI, and across the broader ENABLE consortium to design and implement the policy accelerator process for air pollution. Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

• support implementation of a comprehensive policy engagement and policy accelerator process

• coordinate active engagement with policy stakeholders

• support implementation of local policy dialogues

• support development of legal and policy landscaping assessment

• development of a policy roadmap tool including materials described above

A detailed timeline for deliverables will be agreed upon with colleagues at EPHI and Norway Institute of Public Health after the official launch of the ENABLE project in February 2024.

Assignment

This is expected to be a full-time consultant position not to exceed 12 months, with possibility of renewal for a total period of 48 months. The consultant must be based in Addis Ababa, with the ability to meet with local partners in person regularly, while maintaining flexible working hours to connect as needed with the broader global team. 

For more details, and to download the solicitations, please visit https://www.vitalstrategies.org/about-us/business-and-consulting-opportunities/. 

Job Requirements

Qualifications

Independent consultant background must include:

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in public or media relations, public policy, journalism, or related field.

• Minimum of 5 years of communications or policy experience

• Interest in public health and/or environmental health issues

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to communicate effectively to technical and nontechnical audiences, develop partnerships, and contribute to interdisciplinary team

• Knowledge of policy landscape in Ethiopia

• Outstanding organizational skills and ability to successfully manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work independently, and make sound, informed decisions

• Current residency and work authorization in Addis Ababa.

• Self-starter with ability to work independently, in cross-functional teams, and flexibly with colleagues across time zones

• Fluent in English

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Preferred qualifications:

• Demonstrated interest and at least five years of experience in environmental health sciences, epidemiology, policy, and/or program implementation.

• Prior experience working with governmental health or environmental ministries.

How to Apply

Instructions for Respondents Contact Person: Respondents shall send their cover letter (including local rate) and CV to Fiza Khan by email to fkhan@vitalstrategies.org with ‘RE: ENABLE Policy and Comms Consultant’ in the subject line. Proposals must be submitted in a single PDF file by no later than January 26th at 5.00 PM EAT using the following naming convention:

Surname_ENABLE_PolicyComm.pdf Standard Agreement Terms: Our standard agreement terms can be found in Annex A “Sample Service Provider Agreement.” If the bidder disagrees with any components, please return with any comments outlined in red with the bid.