Short-Term Consultancy: Assessment of a Physical Rehabilitation program in Nepal USAID Nepal Learning for Development Activity

Short-Term Consultancy: Assessment of a Physical Rehabilitation program in Nepal

USAID Nepal Learning for Development Activity

Who we are

At Itad, we work to make international development as effective as possible to improve more lives. We have done so since 1984. This means giving organizations the information and insight they need to make development work smarter and produce better results. It is complex, meticulous monitoring and assessment work involving many different stakeholders across many different scenarios – exactly the kind of challenge on which we thrive. We work with governments, non-profits, universities, foundations and the private sector to support organizational learning and program adaptation across a wide variety of international development contexts. To learn more about Itad, please visit our website: www.itad.com

Location

• Kathmandu and with some travel outside of Kathmandu to other provinces for data collection

Estimated Start Date and Level of Effort

• Estimated to start at the End of March 2024 and run for 4 months
• Level of effort is estimated to be 30-40 days per position depending on role

Description the USAID Physical Rehabilitation Activity

USAID Learning for Development Activity is a five-year contract with USAID/Nepal to provide monitoring, assessment, learning, knowledge management, and strategic communications services to the Mission. The Learning for Development Activity is implemented by Bixal and Itad.

Itad is seeking two local experts that bring experience in physical rehabilitation,  health systems strengthening, and organizational capacity assessments for an upcoming assessment of the USAID Physical Rehabilitation Activity (PRA).

PRA has three interlinked objectives: 1) Enhance the quality of rehabilitation services; 2) Increase access to rehabilitation services, and 3) Strengthen the sustainability of the physical rehabilitation services. PRA utilizes a health system strengthening approach (WHO Rehabilitation 2030 call for action as well as the WHO Health System Strengthening)  to establish an integrated rehabilitation services system in Nepal in order to respond to the health challenges and needs of persons with disabilities. This activity helps develop an integrated public-private rehabilitation system to improve the mobility and functional independence of conflict-affected civilians, including persons with disabilities and other individuals in need of rehabilitation services. USAID’s PRA, in partnership with the Government of Nepal, supports five physical rehabilitation centers (PRCs) and 19 public sector Physiotherapy Units (PTUs). This activity also fosters their collaboration, improving access to quality rehabilitation services across the country and the sustainability of physical rehabilitation centers. This includes implementing rehabilitation policies, integrating physical rehabilitation services into ongoing health programs.

Assessment of the USAID Physical Rehabilitation Activity

The assessment will provide a landscape analysis of the rehabilitation sector in Nepal using the WHO’s Building Blocks Framework and map stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, as well as the types of services existing at the national and sub-national level. The assessment will also identify the strengths, challenges, and opportunities of the PRA’s Health System Strengthening (HSS) approach to strengthening the physical rehabilitation sector in Nepal and of working with civil society organizations to support them to sustainably provide rehabilitation services to people in need through a public-private partnership model and assess the organizational capacity of the five PRCs to manage sub-grants. Finally, the assessment will explore the opportunities to expand USAID Nepal Mission support beyond physical rehabilitation to include other health-related rehabilitation (e.g., psychosocial rehabilitation) and to integrate rehabilitation services into other health portfolios of the USAID Nepal Mission.

The assessment will primarily use a qualitative approach to draw conclusions about the assessment objectives. This will include desk review;  engaging key stakeholders from the Government of Nepal from all three tiers, PRCs, USAID, WHO, and other donors; synthesis of available secondary data; and site visits to directly interact with beneficiaries to enrich and validate other information collected during the assessment.

The assessment is expected to start at the End of March 2024 (estimated) and last for approximately 4 months. The expected Level of Effort is 30-40 days (estimated) per position. Please note this may change based on the finalized scope of work and position scope of work.

Duties and responsibilities

The team members will participate on all aspects of the assessment which includes but is not limited to, development of methodological approach and sampling, development research/data collection tools, primary data collection, and analysis and deliverable development, as well as dissemination.

Responsibilities of the team members include:

• Participate in the assessment process, ensuring the effective collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Assist with developing the sampling and also methodological approach, including an Inception/Design Report at the onset of the assessment.
• Develop a detailed work plan and timeline for the assessment ensuring adherence to project objectives, donor requirements, and best practices.
• Participate in desk review and landscaping analysis and review of secondary data and documents.
• Design and oversee the implementation of data collection tools, ensuring their validity and reliability in capturing relevant information.
• Liaise with Learning for Development Activity team, government agencies, local partners, and community representatives to ensure their involvement and support in the assessment process.
• Conduct field visits to project sites to undertake qualitative data collection with stakeholders in program provinces.
• Analyze and interpret assessment data, identifying trends, patterns, and key findings.
• Prepare comprehensive final assessment report and deliverables.

Positions Available and Qualification Requirements

• Rehabilitation Expert: Provides subject matter expertise related to physical rehabilitation

  • Qualifications:
    • Must have at least a Master’s Degree in rehabilitation or rehabilitation-related fields, such as health business administration, public health administration, or public administration
    • Experience conducting project or program evaluations or assessments or working on evaluation or assessment teams
    • At least five years of demonstrated experience working on Nepal’s health systems, including experience in budgeting and planning, health governance, and the management of decentralized health systems
    • Have a good understanding of roles, responsibilities, and budget management for health at the municipality, province, and federal level in the current federal context of Nepal
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with diverse stakeholders
    • Fluence in English and Nepali is required
    • Nepalese National

• Capacity Assessment Expert: Will assess the organizational capacity of the five PRCs

  • Qualifications:
    • Must have extensive experience using the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT) and/or the Technical Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (TOCAT)
    • Must have Bachelor's degree in management or another relevant field
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with diverse stakeholders
    • Fluence in English and Nepali is required
    • Nepalese National

If you are interested in this consultancy, please email your CV that includes your daily rate in USD and the position you are interested in (Capacity Assessment Expert or Rehabilitation Expert) to Alexandra.cervini@itadinc.com and Erin.Lynch@itadinc.com  with the subject line ‘Application for Physical Rehabilitation Assessment, Position Name’ by March 15, 2024. These positions are only open to Nepalese citizens. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Itad is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.