Consultants - Health Strategic Plan at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries, including the United States. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities. In times of acute crisis, we mobilize rapid assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Each year, we and our partners reach millions of children in communities around the world. Join our dedicated and diverse staff in their work to improve the well-being of children everywhere.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Consultancy - Development of Lagos State Human Resources for Health Strategic Plan

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Job Description

• The National Human Resources for Health Policy (NHRHP) 2007, the National HRH Strategic Plan (2008-2012), and the recently validated National HRH Strategic Plan (2015-2019) set out the basis for human resource planning, management and development across the health sector in the country.
• Ongoing health reforms in Nigeria recognizes that strengthening the health workforce is critical to accelerating progress towards the health related Sustainable Development Goals, and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all.
• In line with this mandate, the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH) has developed the State HRH Policy 2011-2016 (currently under review), State Strategic Health Development Plan 2010- 2015 and HRH Assessment 2010.
• A well- resourced HRH is vital to the survival, health, development and general well- being of children and their mothers. Therefore, Save the Children International (SCI), the world’s leading organization for children, thus considers it pertinent to support HRH institutions in collaboration with its multi- sectoral partners, to put in place processes and structures, to guarantee a sustainable and efficient HRH system within Lagos state.

Approach
The Consultant will:

• Adopt participatory and collaborative techniques to facilitate stakeholder leadership, engagement and ownership in the planning process and its outcomes. This will be informed by the principles of the country coordination and facilitation (CCF) process and stakeholder leadership group (SLG) guidelines and principles.
• Support the Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH) and the State HRH Technical Working Group (TWG) to review the Process and Report of the Situation Analysis previously carried out in April, 2016, and develop an HRH strategic and implementation plan, through an agreed process that is responsive to the specific HRH issues in the state.
• Support the LSMOH to facilitate regular state HRH technical working group (TWG) meetings to review and finalize the Reviewed HRH Policy and Situation Analysis Report.
• Document the process and support the collation and submission of the following validated documents: HRH SA, HRH policy, and HRH Costed- Strategic Implementation Plan.

Major Tasks
The Consultant will carry out the following indicative tasks and support the LSMOH to facilitate the activities of the HRH TWG in collaboration with SCI Nigeria:

• Participate in preparatory meetings with SCI and LSMOH for briefing and joint planning for the assignment.
• Conduct thorough review of the National HRH Situation Analysis, HRH Policy and Plan viz a viz the reviewed Lagos HRH Policy and Situation Analysis. This will also take into account all Global, Regional and National HRH priorities and guidelines alongside other recent work done on the subject till the time of taking- on the assignment.
• Obtain approval from Lagos LSMOH to lead the process of validating the HRH Situation Analysis and HRH Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan.
• Update the HRH Situation Analysis (SA) of the State, and support the pre- validation and validation of the State SA, Revised HRH Policy, State Strategic Health Development Plan 2010- 2015, HRH Assessment 2010 and other state documents and document findings.
• Hold preliminary and exit/final discussions with key stakeholders and build consensus for the validation of the state SA and HRH Policy prior to the HRH strategic implementation plan.
• Work closely with the Health Professionals Integration Unit (HPIU) of the LSMOH and the State HRH TWG on all the activities.
• Develop a refined methodology, work plan and timeframe for the assignment and present it to SCI, the LSMOH Central (HPIU) and the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics of the Lagos state government for finalization and approval.
• Work with LSMOH mandated HRH TWG to agree and finalize the structure and format of the HRH Strategic Implementation Plan and its alignment with the SSHDP
• Develop strategies, activities and an M&E framework for the HRH Strategic Implementation Plan - in line with the agreed structure and format.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations, meetings and workshops throughout the process to share information and build consensus and ownership.
• Present key deliverables to LSMOH leadership and SCI for review and endorsement at pre-defined stages of the process.
• Maintain a smooth flow of communication with all the policy- makers and decision- makers, while giving particular attention to bureaucratic protocols. This will include all written correspondences, phone- conversations, and other methods of interaction.
• Provide continuous feedback on the process to LSMOH and the SCI HCB project officers in Lagos

Key Deliverables
The consultant is expected to work collaboratively with the Lagos state HRH TWG, the State Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Health Professionals Integration Unit, HRH Desk Officer and the SCI Advocacy Officer to develop the Lagos state HRH SA and a costed HRH strategic plan. The HRH SA and costed strategic plan will enable the state to define and cost its HRH interventions and integrate these with the existing SSHDP 2010-2015 for the remaining implementation period:

• Inception report with clear methodology, work plan and timeframe for the assignment
• Validated Lagos State HRH Situation Analysis andHRH Policy and draft and validated HRH Strategic Implementation Plan reports
• Detailed minutes of HRH TWG meetings and workshops,
• Structure and format (e.g. Outline) of the SA and the HRH Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan
• Zero and final drafts of the SAs, and Lagos State HRH Strategic and Costed  Implementation Plans with M&E framework

Final Report on process, including achievements, limitations, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations for its further improvement and/or refinement.

Time Period

• The consultancy shall be from August 01. 2016 to September 30, 2016.  The anticipated level of effort (LOE) is 30 days.

Supervision

• The consultant is expected to work collaboratively with the Lagos state HRH TWG, the State Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Health Professionals Integration Unit, HRH Desk Officer and the SCI Advocacy Team to develop the Lagos state HRH SA and a costed HRH strategic plan. The HRH SA and costed strategic plan will enable the state to define and cost its HRH interventions and integrate these with the existing SSHDP 2010-2015 for the remaining implementation period

Analysis of Work:

• Sign Contract for a 30 days project with SCI which will be executed in Lagos State
• Submit an inception report  and a Scope of Work which will be a narrative of his/her understanding of the assignment
• Conduct a state scoping and rapid mapping of the relevant stakeholders to understand the intricacies of the assignment
• Conduct a careful and detailed HRH situation analysis and submit a report of the same to SCI.
• Support the validation process of the current Lagos State HRH Policy
• Work in close collaboration with the State HRH Desk and HRH TWG.
• Facilitate the finalisation of a State HRH Situation Analysis and HRH Policy, and develop the HRH Strategic and Implementation Plan and submit initial and final validated drafts to SCI.

Qualifications
Skills and expertise required for this consultancy are as follows:

• An advanced degree in Public Health, Health Economics, Health Management/Human Resources Management, Demography or any other relevant field.
• Previous Health Systems Strengthening experience in Nigeria with particular expertise on Human Resources for Health (HRH).
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in a high level management and/or consultant role.
• Demonstrated experience in policy development, strategic planning and implementation
• Extensive knowledge and working experience at the state and LGA levels.
• Strong interpersonal facilitation and communication skills and team working.
• Demonstrated ability to work proactively and collaboratively in an unsupervised role
• Excellent computing skills for documentation, presentation and basic data analysis.
• Excellent written and communication skills.
• Public relations, gender awareness, tact and diplomacy.

Application Closing Date
8th September, 2016.

How to Apply
Interested and qualied candidates should:
Click here to apply online