Background

Zimbabwe is one of the countries with the highest proportion of adolescents in the world, and its adolescents account for approximately 26% of the country’s population (UNICEF 2012, p.6). The gender disparities in HIV positivity rates reflect the gendered prevalence of HIV, and the disproportionate impact of socio-cultural and economic factors on girls. In Zimbabwe, HIV prevalence among girls aged 15-19 was 6.2% while 3.1% among boys (ZDHS 2005/6), and slightly declined among girls to 4.2% (ZDHS 2010/11). However, HIV prevalence among boys in the 15-19 age group slightly increased to 3.4% (ZDHS 2010/11). The rise in HIV positivity with age among male adolescents could be linked to sexual behaviors and practices.

National AIDS Council (NAC) is an organisation enacted through the Act of Parliament of 1999 to coordinate and facilitate the national multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS. It is mandated to administer the National AIDS Trust Fund (NATF) collected through the AIDS Levy with the aim of combating the spread of HIV and the management, coordination and implementation of programmes that reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS.

NAC partners with the MOHCC and receives funds from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF). As part of this programme to support the implementation of the programme NAC carries out activities

  • To develop and strengthen the policy environment in Zimbabwe;
  • To strengthen groups working with key populations;
  • To support sustainable financing initiatives.

As part of this programme NAC is wishing to engage a local consultant to conduct the survey on determinants of HIV treatment, care, support and prevention amongst the adolescents.

The consultant firm should demonstrate expertise and experience in conducting comprehensive national research studies and have prior experience performing similar work. Four consultants working under the firm will be engaged as follows

  • Lead consultant;
  • Consultant focusing on Treatment issues;
  • Statistician;
  •  Consultant focusing on Monitoring and Evaluation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of Consultancy

The study will specifically seek to;

1.       Assess the situation of adolescent girls’ and boys’ health and HIV vulnerability including access to HIV, GBV, SRH information and services.

2.       Assess the situation of Adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) in relation to access to basic services (health and nutrition, education, child protection and GBV, psychosocial support, household economic strengthening).

3.       Map out available support/opportunities for support and services to adolescent girls and boys and ALHIV and highlight key partnerships and linkages that can be strengthened/ established in order to improve the quality of service provision to adolescents.

4.       Assess existing reproductive health policies for adolescents and how they affected adolescents’ access and provision of services.

5.       Identify the challenges faced by adolescents in accessing and utilising the services.

The specific objectives of the Assessment are as follows:

  • Determine existing barriers to uptake and utilization of clinical HIV and SRH services for adolescents in Zimbabwe;
  • Identify designed interventions relevant in meeting the needs of ALHIV and adolescent girls and boys;
  • Established effectiveness (if any) community based support systems in providing services to adolescent girls and boys, ALHIV and their families;
  • Identify needs and capabilities of adolescents’ families in relation to meeting the priority needs of adolescent girls and boys;
  • Identify capacity gaps (systems, compliance, technical knowhow, human resources) in implementing partners and service providers.

Description of Responsibilities:

A nationally representative Cross sectional study that will involve stakeholder consultations and administration of questionnaires. The proposed methodology is a guide and the consultancy team will be expected to give clarity on the methodology and work plan on submission of the inception report.

  • Key informants with policy makers and stakeholders;
  • Focus group discussions for adolescents and volunteers working with adolescents;
  • Observations using “Mystery clients” approach;
  • Interviews with adolescents accessing services, service providers, community leaders, community health volunteers, peer educators;
  • General observations;
  • Secondary data analysis.

The consultants will be requested to include all the provinces and then randomly sample the districts to be covered by the study.  Then from each district randomly sample some clinics and schools to be covered by the study.

Work Plan and Time Frame

The activities will be spread over 30 days.

  • Inception Report 15th day;
  • Draft Report 30th day;
  • Final Report 40th day.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrates intergrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
  • Displays cultural gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favouratism;
  • Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations.

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to exercise sound judgment in gathering and interpreting secondary data;
  • An action-oriented approach and strong drive for results;
  • Highly developed self-management, and
  • Excellent analytical and communication skills;
  • Proven ability to scientific software for data analysis.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • The consultant(s) should have Advanced degree in Public Health.

Experience:

  • Proven experience of successfully undertaking project baseline studies;
  • 7years expirience in reproductive health including /HIV and AIDS, with particular reference to adolescents and youth;
  • The consultant(s) should have proven experience of conducting surveys of similar set-up, size and scope;
  • Knowledge and experience of participatory assessment / development approaches will be required;
  • Broad experience in conducting large survey fieldwork (data collection, validation, entry and analysis). Experience in leading teams implementing surveys in the field (training, field logistics, human relations, teamwork).

Language:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English.

Timeline, Reporting and Quality Control for the assignment:

  • The consultancy is for a period of 30 person working days;
  • The contract will be managed the National AIDS Council (NAC), The UNDP will take responsibility for the approval of the final evaluation report in liaison with the National AIDS Council (NAC).

Application procedure:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Technical Proposal:

Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work (1 page)

Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work

Applications without Technical Proposals will not be considered. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF attachment as the system only allows upload of one document. Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Evaluation:

The Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToRs. In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;

Technical Criteria weight: 70%.

Financial Criteria weight: 30%.

The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/ compliant / acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the ToR.

Selection Criteria:

Technical Evaluation: 70% of total evaluation (maximum 70 points):

  • Criteria A: Education (maximum 20 points);
  • Criteria B: Experience (maximum 40 points,
  • Criteria C:Organisation and completeness of the proposal (maximum 10 points).

Final selection: Only the candidate with the highest rank will be selected.

Note: Only the highest ranked candidates who have obtained a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation

Financial proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable deliverables (qualitative and quantitative). The financial proposal must include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).