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For every child, good health!
Background :
COVID-19, a disease caused by the virus SARS-Cov-2, has been declared a pandemic and is creating an unprecedented emergency globally. WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30th January 2020.[1] The outbreak continued to engulf the entire globe in a short period of time with Malawi reporting its first case on the 2nd of April 2020. The rapid escalation of COVID-19 at global and country levels have clearly and quickly transformed the pandemic from a pure health event into a broader and much more complex phenomenon, which has immediate and medium term social and economic consequences on the society at large and on vulnerable communities in particular. The first three cases of COVID-19 in Malawi were recorded on April 2, 2020 in Lilongwe. Since then the cases have reached 555 with 5 deaths and 69 recoveries spread across 26 districts as of 15 June 2020. 97 of those cases are local transmission while 443 are imported. Districts affected are Lilongwe (77), Kamuzu International Airport (6) Blantyre (71), Zomba (8), Chikwawa (4), Nkhotakota (4), Thyolo (13), Mwanza PoE (271), Mulanje (2), Nsanje (11), Mangochi (14),Machinga (11), Phalombe (1), Rumphi (1), Mzimba (3), Balaka (4), Dowa (4), Kasungu (3), Dedza (8), Salima (9), Ntcheu (11), Chiradzulu (1), Mzuzu (10), Chitipa (1), Nkhatabay (5) and Karonga (2)[2].
Since the onset of the emergency, UNICEF Malawi (MCO) has worked closely with the Government, WHO, the designated UN agency leading COVID-19 preparedness and response, to support the Government in developing and implementing its COVID-19 preparedness and response plan. MCO’s prompt action to ensure presence at National, District and Community level has been appreciated by the Government as well as by UNICEF Regional Office and HQ.
The UNICEF MCO included some coronavirus-related preparedness and response activities in its annual response plan in January 2020 alongside with its regular Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) and Cholera response plans. This was part of a multi-agency UN health systems support and resilience grant application with the UK Aid for International Development (DfID). The declaration of the epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) brought urgency to some preparedness measures. Points of entry at Lilongwe and Chileka International Airports were targeted for prevention, with training of staff on 31 January, and on 01 February all border crossings land and air were provided with health declaration forms, infrared thermometers, WASH facilities, HTH for infection prevention and control, as well as masks and gloves for port health officials and immigration forces that came in direct contact with travelers. Since then prevention and response activities are scaled up across the country with health workers training, distribution of PPE supplies, nationwide Communication for Development (C4D)/ Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities and technical support to national and sub national COVID-19 coordination efforts. Further details of UNICEF and its partners’ response to the COVID-19 outbreak are provided in Annex B to help the evaluation teams understand the current status and scope of response.
Justification :
UNICEF Malawi intends to commission a Real Time Evaluation (RTE) of its COVID-19 crisis response to provide real-time feedback and learning and inform the on-going UNICEF COVID-19 response by ensuring that evaluation serves for timely learning and adaptation. The RTE will be implemented at the earliest stage of UNICEF’s COVID-19 crisis response to ensure that real time evaluation data is considered alongside monitoring and other data to contribute to evidence-informed decision-making throughout the response.
Purpose of the evaluation :
The main purpose of the RTE is to inform UNICEF management and support decisions in adjusting the Country Office COVID-19 response. The RTE will produce ongoing findings on a fortnightly basis which will be presented at meetings of the Malawi COVID-19 Taskforce to allow for fast and timely operational course correction. The RTE will further provide recommendations on UNICEF Malawi overall emergency preparedness and readiness for effective and efficient response to emergencies, including recommendations on improvement of ongoing preparedness, response plans and contingency plans. Recommendations of linking the humanitarian and development efforts of UNICEF Malawi Country office will be provided as well. Where appropriate, relevant findings may also be shared with the government, UN and civil society partners involved in the COVID-19 crisis response and is expected to be used by them to increase learning, accountability, collaboration and a more effective and targeted response. The evaluation can bring lessons for to other regional countries through dissemination by UNICEF ESARO.
[1] World Health Organization website: Coronavirus timeline
[2] Public Health Institute of Malawi- Daily updates.
How can you make a difference?
The evaluation key objectives are to :
- Evaluate in real time the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of UNICEF Malawi’s COVID-19 emergency response and provide related recommendation to UNICEF Malawi Senior Management for immediate corrective actions ;
- Provide real time feedback to the UNICEF Malawi COVID-19 Taskforce to allow timely operational adjustments on UNICEF’s COVID-19 response ;
- Evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of UNICEF Malawi COVID-19 Accountability to Affected Populations, including the engagement of UNICEFs implementing partners, government, UN and CSО partners and beneficiaries in shaping UNICEF’s crisis response and reinforce UNICEF’s accountability to them ;
- Identifying challenges and bottlenecks and act as a real time lessons learning exercise on what works and what does not work for girls, boys, men and women from various socio-economic groups including the marginalized ones in order to promptly adjust and help improve planning and performance and allows for ongoing correction of the crisis response ;
- Collect joint and harmonized data that can be used in a summative evaluation of the response.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have :
Academic qualification : Advanced Degree in Public Health, Social Sciences or related field.
Work experience :
- at least 7 years of professional experience in conducting evaluations ;
- Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative research in public health or another social field or human rights area ;
- Proven knowledge of Child and Human Rights Based Approach and Result-based Management ;
- Familiarity with international frameworks related to humanitarian response ;
- Familiarity with methods and approaches to and gender responsive evaluation methodologies ;
- Demonstrated knowledge of the education system in Malawi is a strong asset ;
- Demonstrated experience of work with the Government counterparts in undertaking research, evaluations, reviews in the social field is a strong asset ;
- Previous work with UNICEF /other UN agencies and international organizations is an asset.
Technical skills and knowledge :
- Strong gender analytical skills and previous experience researching and evaluating children’s issues in Malawi would be of significant advantage ;
- Strong knowledge of gender in research and evaluation ;
- Strong analytical and report writing skills ;
- Excellent mastery of English, both oral and written.
Competencies :
- A high level of organizational and coordination skills ;
- Working with People ;
- Drive for Results ;
- An excellent command of the English language – both written and oral ;
- Ability to produce quality work within a deadline and under pressure ;
- Highly developed communication skills.
Languages : English and local languages (Chichewa) for a national consultant.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results…
View our competency framework at…Competencies.pdf
View further details about this consultancy in the attached Terms of Reference…
UNICEF Malawi Covid19 Real Time Evaluation – TOR-individual 18 June.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks :
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.