Consultants/Contractors | Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the

PSI's core values are a belief in markets and market mechanisms to contribute to sustained improvements in the lives of the poor; results and a strong focus on measurement; speed and efficiency with a predisposition to action and an aversion to bureaucracy; decentralization and empowering our staff at the local level; and a long term commitment to the people we serve. PSI has programs in 67 countries.  

Background

The United Nations (UN) Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children (the Commission) was set up in response to the call in the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health for increasing access to and appropriate use of medicines, medical devices and health supplies that effectively address leading avoidable causes of death during pregnancy, childbirth and childhood.

The Commission identified 13 essential commodities that could save the lives of millions of women and children and made 10 recommendations for how to get these commodities to those who need them most. Among the 49 Every Woman Every Child initiative countries, eight countries expressed interest in becoming “Pathfinder” countries that would initiate the Commission’s work (DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda).

In October 2013, PSI and its DRC network member ASF (PSI/ASF) were identified as receipients of a RMNCH grant. This funding is meant to support implementation of 3 activities of the DRC National plan for the 13 products that save the lives of women and children, under the umbrella of the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities (UNCoLSC). In this preparatory phase of 9 months (August 2014 to April 2015) PSI/ASF will:

1. DRC.
2. care providers
3. implementation phase)

Scope of Work

We are looking for a consultant to help the DRC team to do a situation analysis through qualitative study and document review to (1) guide the ASF team in developing DRC-specific marketing plans for the 13 commodities (based on the existing 7 global marketing roadmaps created by the Rec 7 working group and filling the gaps for the 6 other commodities) and (2) identify human insights around the 13 commodities to help the ASF team develop communication campaigns promoting them to the target population and health care providers.

1.  At distance support – literature review and gap analysis – 7 days

Remotely, the consultant will review the global marketing roadmaps available and the documents that PSI/W team will pull to begin a situation analysis. The consultant will draft a literature review summarizing the knowledge and usage of the 13 products, due five weeks after the start of the consultancy.

The main point is to identify and document the following aspects of the Situation Analysis:

• Commodities clustering – Before being able to market and promote the 13 commodities, it’s important that ASF has a deep understanding of all 13 commodities. A detailed description of the functional benefits and usage of each commodity should lead to a clustering of these commodities in the perspective of simplifying their promotion to providers and consumers. Criteria for clustering should be clearly explained in the Situation Analysis document (i.e.: based on the target audience or on aspects such as types of delivery channels and/or delivery models).
• Behaviors and behavioral determinants - Based on the literature, the consultant should identify the barriers for using the 13 commodities with a specific focus on female condom, implant and emergency contraceptive. This analysis should be done at 2 levels: general and country-specific. Additionally, based on the roadmaps developed, the consultant should analyze and summarize the common barriers or drivers found in supplying and using the commodities via the public and the private sector as well as the barriers specific to DRC. While the emphasis should be placed on non-regulatory barriers, the consultant should also summarize the regulatory and supply barriers identified by the GDRC in order to provide ASF with an integrated view on the barriers to market/distribute the 13 commodities.
• Segmentation – Segmentation is a key aspect for promoting products and services. The consultant shall identify the various segments involved in supplying, promoting and using the 13 commodities. The following question should guide the segmentation process: Which target present the most challenge and why? How the various targets are linked to each other? What are their common needs?
• Universe of needs and market size – The consultant should provide ballpark figures for the market potential for each of the 13 commodities.

The Situation Analysis shall be presented as visually as possible. The sources of the data collected should be specified throughout the document.

1.  Trip to Kinshasa – situation analysis, visit partners, providers, consumers, and lead workshop with key partners - 10 days + 2 days of travel

The consultant will travel to Kinshasa for a 10 day trip in Quarter 3 to finish the situation analysis by visiting partners, service providers and consumers. With the support of ASF and with guidance from JHUCCP (who will use the consultant’s analysis to develop demand creation activities for the 7 commodities developed by the Rec 7 working group), the Consultant will survey partners, health care providers, targeted population and distributors, and consumers to better understand the gaps to distribution and usage of these products. One key aspect of surveying providers and consumers will be to identify key human insights for developing mobilizing ideas that will be used to promote the clusters of commodities previously identified. Based on the outcomes of this field phase, the consultant will work with the ASF team, the regional researcher, and the regional marketing consultant to form a research plan for filling the gaps identified at the literature review and field phases.

At the end of his/her trip, the consultant will facilitate a workshop with national stakeholders along with JHUCCP to share the info collected in the situation analysis. The final version of the Situation Analysis should incorporate the comments from national stakeholders and JHUCCP.

1.  At distance support – Help DRC team to prepare a strategic plan for demand creation for 13 products – 11 days

After his/her return from Kinshasa, the consultant will start to elaborate a strategic plan for demand creation for the 13 products, based on the global roadmaps and the barriers to use identified during the literature review and the interview with stakeholders. Using PSI tools, such as the Provider BCC toolkit, the consultant will work with the ASF team and regional marketing consultant to develop a Provider Behavior Change Plan.

LOE

The total LOE for this SOW is expected to be no more than 30 working days (including travel time)

Deliverables

1. Literature review of barriers in using and supplying of five reproductive health commodities.
2. Research plan outline to answer the information gaps identified in the literature review.
3. Organization and delivery (in French) of workshop on the situation analysis re: the 13 health saving commodities with partners and stakeholders.
4. Detailed Situation Analysis document to inform the development of marketing and communication plans for the 13 commodities.
5. Create a list of recommendations, for each cluster of products (Maternal Health, Newborn Health, Child Health and Reproductive health) for the ASF team to take into account when transforming the Rec 7 Roadmaps into DRC-specific marketing and communication plans.

Please apply online at www.psi.org.

PSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.