Consultant, Baseline Survey at International Medical Corps (IMC)

International Medical Corps (IMC) is a global, humanitarian, non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training, relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, non-political, non-sectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations.

International Medical Corps is therefore looking for suitable consultant to carry out a Baseline Survey in Maiduguri Metropolitan City, Konduga, Jere and Mafa LGAs in Borno State.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant, Baseline Survey (Local Consultants Only)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno

Objectives

• The purpose of a baseline survey is to provide an information base against which to monitor and assess the progress and effectiveness during implementation of the OFDA activities and after the activities have been completed.
• The results of the survey will be essential in comparing at the end of the project the outcomes of the intervention objectives in Maiduguri, Borno State.
• The baseline survey will provide data and information that will be to provide an information base to monitor and assess the progress and effectiveness during implementation of the OFDA activities and after the activities have been completed.

The Baseline assessment has the following objectives:

• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH):
• To assess the community’s knowledge, attitude, practice and beliefs regarding water, sanitation and hygiene, specifically to report on the following indicators:
• Number/ Percentage of persons having access to sufficient and safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene use
• Number of Households receiving hygiene kits from any organisation
• Percent/number of respondents who can name 3 of 5 critical times to wash hands
• Percent/number of target population demonstrating correct water usage and storage
• Number of persons reporting to have received any form of hygiene consumable and NFI from any organisation
• Number of persons per toilet/latrine with functioning hand washing facility
• To identify WASH related diseases in the proposed intervention communities
• To provide additional qualitative information on beneficiaries access to or willingness to adapt safe water sanitation and hygiene practices
• To assess the sustainability of the above indicators, including any threats to their continuity
• To formulate and provide practical and sustainable recommendations based on the survey findings.

Gender Based Violence (GBV):
Establish the existing knowledge and attitude towards GBV and survivors of GBV:

• Types of GBV existing in the community
• Community members most affected by GBV
• Knowledge on causes and consequences of GBV
• Attitude towards survivors of GBV
• Attitude towards perpetrators of GBV)

Establish knowledge on the services available for survivors:

• Knowledge on location and accessibility to medical, psychosocial and legal services available in the community

Establish sources of GBV information in the community:

• Sources of information on messages related to GBV

Methodology:

• The survey will use both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, which will be completed simultaneously with the focus group discussions and KIIs. The consultant is free to suggest an appropriate survey methodology in respect to the objectives of this survey but will include at a minimum, a LQAS survey. The detailed methodology plan must include:
• Data collection instruments, protocols and procedures,
• Sampling procedures,
• Procedures for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data,
• Data presentation/dissemination methods.
• The Consultant is expected to provide a detailed and suitable survey methodology in line with the survey scope, objectives and survey questions. This will require a robust selection of quantitative and qualitative methods applied at the various points in the exercise and with different sampling units (individual, household, group, etc). As a starting point, the consultant should finalize the key questions for this work, and develop a study proposal that includes the information/data as in the below table:

Sampling and data collection methods:

• In this context, the consultant has the right to involve various stakeholders to develop detailed key questions for the survey. However, the key responsibility for determining questions guiding this lies with IMC WASH and GBV staff/M&E and a number of questions are proposed in this TOR. Hopefully there will be further opportunities for input from key informants at the camp/host community level into the questions. The consultant should treat this as a single formative survey, and work with project staff to refine a set of survey questions that will guide the survey.
• The consultant will work with team members of this project to derive the best possible accuracy and relevance of the questions used in the data collection tools.
• The data collection methods that are suitable for this survey include: LQAS, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, onsite visual inspection, storytelling (e.g., by children), etc.
• The involvement of the community members in proposed intervention communities at all stages of this assessment is preferred. Thereafter preparation of draft and final reports.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Consultant

• The consultant will, in coordination with the International Medical Corps team and under direct supervision of the Emergency Program Coordinator, WASH Consultant and GBV Consultant:
• To review the core documents, including other project assessments, concept note, and any other data/ information collected.
• Design the assessment and develop comprehensive data collection tools in line with internationally acceptable standards. The consultant will do this in consultation with the IMC team. These tools to include surveys and other approaches necessary, including focus group, gender disaggregated discussions, checklists etc.
• Be responsible for preparation of the baseline KAP survey, including review of population statistics, calculating the sample size, selecting clusters, and developing an efficient survey schedule
• Train the survey teams (including pre-testing questionnaire); work closely with the IMC team in the selection of surveyors as well as data entry teams
• Assume overall responsibility for implementation of the survey, including recruiting (in collaboration with HR and senior management at country level) and training of enumerators, data entry clerks
• Throughout the evaluation process special attention to be given to include the poorest of poor, women, pregnant women, girls and less able persons in the process. Methodologies are expected to make necessary adjustments to ensure the inclusion of the above.
• Daily supervision of survey teams and daily data quality assurance
• Supervise data entry and assure data entry quality
• Be responsible for data cleaning and analysis
• Present preliminary findings to IMC
• Present the draft report of the findings for comments and feedback
• Revise and submit a final copy of the survey report including recommendations to International Medical Corps

Expected outputs:
Feedback on findings:

• The Consultant gives a briefing on the preliminary findings from the survey to International Medical Corps in Borno/or Abuja.

Final report:

• One final survey report: Consultant submits first draft for review and then based on the feedback, revises and submits the final report as well as the date set. Final report must include conclusions, recommendations outlined to International Medical Corps for future programming based on the baseline survey findings.
• As a minimum requirement, the survey report should elaborate, provide documented and specific answers to the questions raised in these Terms of Reference, the relevant background information and any other observations and information which is deemed relevant in consultants’ reasonable opinion. All sources of data used in the preparation of both documents shall be clearly identified and where assumptions were made, these should be made explicit.
• A short supplementary paper shall be provided to show the work carried out by the consultant including a list of people interviewed or met, the summary records and dates of the meetings held, a soft copy of all the raw data, photographs and the consultants' observations and recommendations. The final report and the supplementary report combined shall be submitted to IMC at the same time at a timeframe to be contractually agreed between IMC and the Consultant. Each of the final documents shall be submitted in 3 copies and in electronic form.

The final evaluation reports should be presented in the following format:

• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Affirmation
• Glossary/Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Executive summary
• Evaluation Introduction/Background
• Methodology
• Findings
• Conclusions and recommendations
• Lessons learned from the survey process
• Appendices (Notes on survey findings, recommendation and follow up, post survey action plan, disaggregated activity plan and accomplishment of the survey, survey questionnaire, checklists and instruments used for data gathering and analysis and other statistical data, etc.)

Timeframe:

• The whole assignment is expected to take no more than 20 days starting late August, 2016

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Public Health or WASH, Health Economics/Statistics or related fields - training in research methods is an advantage
• Extensive experience in health program/ GBV/ WASH research and evaluations as demonstrated through previous assignments conducted
• Experience in conducting baseline/ endline surveys including training teams, analyzing data and writing up reports
• Experience in conducting assessments in Northern Nigeria is an advantage
• Knowledge of the socio-economic, GBV and WASH development issues in relation to Northern Nigeria is desired.
• Strong competency/ understanding of the LQAs research/ survey methodologies
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, training and report writing skills
• Must be computer literate with undoubted proficiency in analytical packages such as SPSS, CSPro, STATA, and SAS
• Fluent in both oral and written English. Hausa language skills are desirable but not essential.
• Good knowledge of social and developmental issues in North East Nigeria
• Demonstrable ability and experience in working with host communities/IDPs
• In addition, the incumbent should be willing and able to work under a tight timeframe and observe security protocols of IMC Nigeria.

Application Closing Date
16th August, 2016.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following:

• CV & cover letter demonstrating capability and availability
• Telephone and email contacts of at least three references that can validate their technical expertise must be included.
• A technical proposal including methodology, work plan and activity schedule and a financial proposal which should include professional fees and other expenses required to undertake the survey

All applications should be addressed to the Human Resource Officer, International Medical Corps via the email: [email protected]

Note:

• Only Short-listed consultants will be contacted.
• Cover letter and curriculum vitae should be in a single Microsoft Word Document