Consultant for Technical Work Stream at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Title: Short Term Consultancy for Technical Work stream as a member of the Campaign Technical Assistant Team (CTAT) Global Fund supported ITN mass campaign

Terms of Reference

• This Terms of Reference (TOR) provides the description and work to be done during the implementation of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) mass campaign (including integrated ITN and SMC campaign in states where applicable) in Nigeria.

Project Background

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 100 countries. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity, or nationality. As CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, strengthening and building the capacity of partner organizations is fundamental to the work of CRS. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on health, vulnerable children, agriculture, extractives and governance, and peace building programming.
• CRS has a long and rich history of collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). In Nigeria, CRS has been a Co-Principal Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund Malaria grant since January 2017. As a Co-PR, CRS partnered with the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP), various state governments and malaria partners and stakeholders to coordinate and implement the 2017 long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) mass campaigns in 6 states. CRS also supervised nd supported a range of malaria treatment and prevention services at the state level.
• For the 2018-2020 and 2021 – 2023 Global Fund Malaria grant, CRS has remained a Co-PR with NMEP, strengthening the synergy and collaboration with NMEP to improve efficiency and impact. CRS worked closely with NMEP, Society for Family Health (SFH), Malaria Consortium (MC), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), state governments and other stakeholders to coordinate and implement ITN mass campaigns in 13 states. CRS provided oversight and ICT4D leadership for the ITN campaigns. In addition, CRS supported the various stakeholders including NMEP and the SRs in providing support to the 13 states supported by the Global Fund, for a range of malaria treatment and prevention services at the state level.
• For the 2024-2026 (Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 (GC 7), CRS will remain a Co-PR with NMEP and provide more innovative oversight to the 3 SRs (Society for Family Health, Management Sciences for Health, and Malaria Consortium) and will work closely with all stakeholders to scale up the implementation of life saving interventions and improve access to quality malaria services in the 13 GF supported states. These critical interventions include malaria treatment and prevention services such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) campaign, ITN campaign, Integrated ITN and SMC campaign, social and behaviour change campaign, and testing and treatment interventions. CRS will continue to collaborate effectively with NMEP, the 3 SRs and other partners to consolidate on the gains of previous grants and achieve more results through new approaches. The GC 7 ITN mass campaigns will be integrated with SMC campaigns in 10 states.

Summary and Purpose of the Consultancy

• The Campaign Technical Assistants Team (CTAT) structure was established to support states with the planning and implementation of the ITN distribution activities. The CTAT play a critical function for the initial mass distribution campaigns, a role focused on planning, facilitation, capacity-building, monitoring, data management and reporting during the campaigns. The CTAT will support a broadened state structure for the mass campaigns. Each CTAT is composed of three (3) workstreams; technical, logistics and demand creation.
• The purpose of this consultancy is to serve as a member of the Campaign Technical Assistants Team (CTAT) and provide state-level technical assistance and oversight on technical-related activities for the successful coordination of standalone insecticide treated nets (ITN) mass campaigns, including integrated SMC and ITN campaign where applicable. S/he will provide training, accompaniment, and technical support to the State Ministry of Health in the mass campaign.

Objective of the Consultancy

• The overall objective of this consultancy is to support in the implementation of ITN mass campaign including integrated SMC and ITN campaign where applicable by providing technical assistance and oversight on activities to State Malaria Elimination Programme.

Main Tasks / Deliverables

• Develop state campaign training plans, facilitate trainings, and collate training reports.
• Coordinate in-process monitoring during standalone ITN mass campaign and integrated campaign during household mobilization with the issuance of net cards and SPAQ administration (where applicable), and support state implementation teams to analyze data for presentation at daily review meetings.
• Support and coordinate the sharing and distribution of campaign materials to LGAs.
• Coordinate daily review meetings and ensure timely resolution of bottlenecks.
• Support management and collation of data from household mobilization and SPAQ administration (where applicable) to feed into final pre-positioning plan.
• Collate data from ITN distribution to ensure timely reconciliation and reverse logistics planning.
• Work with ICT4D team to input data from activities into the state summary.
• Support planning and implementation of end process evaluation.
• Train and oversee work of Campaign Monitoring Team (CMT).
• Participate in planning for post-campaign ITN coverage and use survey (as applicable).

Specific Deliverables:

• Develop training plans for all trainings.
• Prepare weekly activity report and share with your workstream advisor for review and further actions.
• Prepare detailed trip reports at the end of each trip to the campaign states which should include detailed follow-up steps to be submitted within 1 week of return from the state.
• Prepare and submit detailed microplanning and campaign implementation report 1 week after an activity.
• Submit detailed activity report clearly highlighting your specific tasks/role during the activity at least 7 days after completion of the activity.

Schedule of Deliverables:

• The work will usually be completed over a period of 11 days for microplanning and 55 days for ITN campaign implementation including integrated SMC and ITN campaign where applicable per state campaign implementation schedule. However, the number of days may change in some situations.

Required Qualifications
The consultant should possess the following combination of skills and expertise and resident in one of the states supported by Global Fund:
Qualifications and eligibility:

• Minimum of First Degree in a relevant field such as Sciences, Social sciences, public health, or related field
• At least 3 years ITN and SMC campaign experience or other health programs
• Previous experience working in a National and/or State Ministry of Health preferred.
• Excellent English language skills (oral and written communication skills).
• Proficiency in MS Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience in facilitation and capacity strengthenin
• Experience in technical writing and oral presentation

Desirable Qualities:

• Knowledge of malaria and its prevention, diagnosis and treatment is required.
• Ability to interface with multiple stakeholders, representatives, and partners in a professional manner.
• Ability to work both in a team and independently.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and to prioritize competing demands.
• Experience of proactively identifying and addressing bottlenecks/issues desired.
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with team members and state personnel.
• Previous experience in electronic data monitoring systems desired.
• Strong inter-personal and public relations skills.

Management Arrangements and Follow-up:

• The Global Fund Malaria project unit will provide overall supervision and management of the consultancy. Focal contact person on this consultancy shall be the Senior Manager, Vector Control, or the designee.

Key Working Relationships / Organizations:

• Internal: Logistics, Technical and Demand Creation work stream Advisors, Global Fund Malaria Program Team, and Procurement Staff.
• External: State Ministries of Health (SMOH), National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) within the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), technical and financial Partners, partner health facilities, Local Fund Agent (LFA), Global Fund Country Team, Chemonics, relevant Third-party logistics agents.

Time and Level of Effort:

• This activity is usually expected to take place within a period of not more than 66 days per state campaign microplanning and implementation schedule. However, the number of days may change in some situations. The deliverables are expected to be timely, and reports should be submitted no later than 7 days after the completed state campaigns.

Location of the Consultancy:

• The consultancy will take place in the campaign states.

Equal Opportunity:

• “CRS is an equal –opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, etc. Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply”.

Statement of Commitment to Protection:

• “CRS’ recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Application Instructions:

The application deadline is on 10th February, 2025. Therefore, qualified and interested candidates can “CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION” It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply successfully for this vacancy.

Official Websites: https://www.crs.org

Note

• Resume’s that are not appropriately formatted (generally) will be disqualified.
• Only qualified persons will be contacted and invited for interview.
• Please note that candidates that do not adhere to application format or submit more than one application will be disqualified.