Terms of Reference (TOR) For Barrier Analysis Study 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. IRC has been working in Ethiopia since 1999 and is implementing integrated, community-managed programs aimed at improving the quality of lives and recover of livelihood of disaster-affected population’s through promoting individual participation, strengthening institutions and emergency response.

INTRODUCTION:

In partnership with UK Department for International Development (DFID), Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) is a flagship FP program to deliver 20% of the UK’s FP global commitments. With a value of over £200 million over three years the program’s service delivery budget is set to deliver an additional 2.8m – 4.1m family planning users by end 2020.

In working across Africa and Asia to provide a comprehensive package of SRHR, the program has a primary focus on increasing the number of additional FP users alongside reducing maternal mortality and improving access to safe abortion. The priority populations include youth and some of the poorest and marginalized in society. The governments of all countries participating in WISH, including Ethiopia, have signed commitments to FP2020, a global partnership that supports the rights of women and girls to decide, freely, and for themselves, whether, when, and how many children they want to have.

WISH targets are supported by progress towards four cross-cutting outputs. These are:

·         Enabling community and individual choice by promoting more supportive social norms and lowering barriers to safe and quality care

·         Promoting national ownership through improved legal, financial, and policy frameworks for SRHR.

·         Expanding private sector access to quality, integrated FP and SRH services

·         Developing global goods (tools, best practices and evidence) to improve programming and inform policymaking.

IRC is currently seeking a consultancy firm or individual to manage and undertake Barrier Analysis studies in two zones (Arsi and East Shoa) of Oromia regional state to identify determinants that influence health seeking behaviour towards sexual and reproductive health and rights services particularly use of modern contraceptive and safe abortion care.

OBJECTIVE:

The Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Review all the relevant documents
• Develop barrier analysis study design which includes study methodology and the data collection tools (questionnaires; focus group guides, interview protocol, data entry templates, etc.), as appropriate, including a field manual for training enumerators, in consultation with the assessment team and reflect IRC’s feedback on the methodology
• Design data entry template, procedures and systems, and training of entry clerks in the use of the template
• Develop the field work schedule in consultation with assessment team
• Conduct training for the data collectors
• Supervise the data collection process, give advice and ensure the quality of the data
• Conduct the key informant interviews
• Data analysis and report writing, draft the first report and include IRC’s feedback and finalize the report for final submission
• Provide required data and dataset that is completed and labelled in English (variables and values) for both the SPSS and Microsoft file formats.
• Provide daily field briefing to the IRC FO Manager, Assistant Coordinator and MEAL Manager on the progress and any challenges from the field.
• Respect IRC’s code of conduct and adhere to it.

DELIVERABLES:

The assignment is expected to commence on 25 November 2019 culminating in the finalization of the assignment by 13 December 2019. The proposed schedule is set out below:

• An introductory meeting held with the IRC Health unit and W2A focal person.
• Regular coordination meetings to be held following the introductory meeting to provide updates to IRC team -this can either to be held at field or head office level
• An inception report detailing methodologies to be used and sample size calculations, a detailed execution plan, data-collection tools, clearly defined research/assessment questions and corresponding or feeding sub-questions (incorporating the summary of the introductory meetings).
• Production and submission of a draft outline for the report that comprises: skeletal framework including headings, subheadings, point form body, initial proposed recommendations (this will be shared while actual data collection process is under-going).
• Production and handover of draft report and recommendations of the Barrier Analysis to IRC health unit within an agreed timeframe (soft-copy).
• Validation workshop for IRC health unit and other stakeholders (where necessary) of the key findings and recommendations (this is optional it can be at Addis Ababa or field level-Adama town).
• Handover to IRC of final study report, tools and datasets, framework and means to continuously and sustainably feed into Barrier Analysis assessment to meet the objectives noted above.

DURATION:

The overall of the study is expected to take 30 working days including preparation, data collection, and analysis and reporting. The Consultant should be able to undertake some of the tasks concurrently to fit within the planned time-frame, without compromising the quality expected. The assignment is expected to commence on November 25th, 2019, with the final assessment report expected by mid of December 2019.

• Post Graduate Degree in Social or Behavioral Sciences, Health Education/Promotion, or Public Health.
• Minimum of 8+ years of relevant work and research experience in Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) and/or Public Health; experience in Public Health SBCC is a plus.
• Proven experience with the Barrier Analysis methodology, collecting and centralizing qualitative and quantitative data from the target populations.
• Demonstrated experience in leading at least three similar assignments
• Knowledge of the local contexts for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Ethiopia
• Adapting to and troubleshooting in environments with limited information and guidance
• Working both in a team and independently
• Demonstrated experience leading teams.
• Demonstrated experience in training local staff in quantitative and qualitative data collection tools including using mobile phone technology
• Demonstrated experience in designing survey methodology, data collection tools, processing and analysis of data
• Ability to interact with local government, partners and/or others as requested by IRC;
• Strong organizational, analytical and reporting skills, presentation skills, attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines, and proficiency in Microsoft Office and qualitative data analysis software/tools
• Oral and written English; fluency in languages spoken in the locality (Afan Oromo) is a plus
• Working with international and local NGOs; experience with organizations in the SRHR industry a plus