Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Scope of Work
Consultancy Services for Conducting a Nation-Wide Health Workforce Audit for FY 2020/21and Generating Policy and Technical Briefs from the HRH Audit Report for FY 2020/21

Introduction
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Uganda Health Systems Strengthening (UHSS) Activity is a five-year USAID-funded contract designed to support the improvement in the performance of Uganda’s health systems through technical assistance that improves leadership and accountability for results in public and private health sectors at the national, sub-national, and community levels; implement innovative interventions that increase efficient use, governance, and management of key health system resources including human resources for health, finance, equipment/infrastructure; and strengthen state and non-state community health systems that are critical for improved and quality health services.

UHSS Activity and its predecessor HRH projects have been supporting the MoH in conducting annual health workforce audits in the Health Sector and producing annual HRH audit since 2009 when the first HRH country-wide-skills audit exercise was carried out. The health workforce audits update the health workforce data and provide the information needed for planning and managing the health workforce at all levels of the health system. The last health workforce audit was done in 2020 with support from UHSS Activity.

It is against this background that Uganda Health Systems Strengthening Activity is seeking consultancy services for conducting the HRH Audit for FY 2020/2021 and support the development of HRH technical, programme and policy briefs from the HRH Audit for FY 2019/2020 for evidence based HRH planning and management.

Background
The ability of a country to meet its health goals depends largely on the knowledge, skills, motivation, and deployment of the people responsible for organizing and delivering health services. Several studies show evidence of a direct and positive link between numbers of health workers and population health outcomes (WHO). The formulation of national policies and plans in pursuit of human resources for health development objectives requires sound information and evidence. Evolving health needs, continuous attrition of the health workforce from various causes, and recruitment to maintain adequate staffing levels, constantly change the number and composition of the health workforce. A system that monitors the HRH needs and status and provides reliable data for HRH planning, budgeting, and management at all levels is therefore critical.

Ongoing HRH analysis and evidence synthesis will also be critical for tracking the implementation of the recently approved HRH Strategic Plan 2020-2030 and the attainment of its objectives and goals to achieve effective health workforce coverage for Universal Health Coverage by 2030. The annual HRH audit serves as an integral part of reflective monitoring, supports accountability for the health workforce, and advocacy for increased HRH investment. The HRH analysis and evidence synthesis is therefore a high priority activity for UHSS.

Purpose and goal
The purpose of the consultancy is to:
• Establish HRH status in the country by taking stock of current staffing levels, shortages, and skills gaps in Public, PNFP, and PFP Health Sectors for HRH evidence-based planning, management, and resource allocation.
• Support the development of HRH technical, programme and policy briefs to influence HRH policies and decisions through synthesis and dissemination of available evidence from the various HRH databases, research, studies, and audits for the delivery of FP/RH, HIV/AIDS, malaria, MCH, nutrition, and other health services.

2 Specific objectives of the consultancy
The specific objectives of the consultancy are to:
• Collect, collate, and analyze health workforce data to establish the current HRH status at national, regional, district and health facility levels.
• Establish the proportion of the approved staff positions filled by appropriately trained health workers and determine the staff and skills shortages and excesses.
• Compare the current health workforce status with the HRH targets in the Health Sector Strategic Plan and the HRH Strategic Plan 2020-2030 and assess progress
• Compare the HRH status in the Public and PNFP sector at the national, regional, and district level, including the rural and urban disparities
• Conduct a cadre analysis trend to identify critical cadres in short supply vs. deployment
• Identify any data gaps in the HRIS (Manage) databases and their causes and assess readiness to generate PNFPs, district and national health staff audits from HRIS.
• Work with UHSS to harmonize the HRH reports in HRIS vs. the actual numbers from the collected data.
• Make appropriate recommendations to address the identified staffing challenges
• Analyze the previous Audit Reports and prepare a set of policy and technical briefs to provide a concise explanation of HRH issues, present evidence, and insights, and ask questions that would assist policy makers in determining future approaches to address key HRH issues.

3. Key Tasks of the Consultancy
The following are illustrative tasks to be carried out by the consultant to accomplish the assignment:
• Hold planning meetings with UHSS Activity and MOH staff to review the SOW, expectations and study methods, and work plan.
• Develop and submit an inception report
• Develop data collection and analysis tools
• Collect HRH data from public, PNFP, and PFP sectors.
• Carry out participatory analysis of HRH data.
• Compare the current health workforce status with the HRH targets in the Health Sector Strategic Plan and the HRH Strategic Plan 2020-2030 and assess progress
• Prepare and present 2021HRH audit report.
• Analyze the 2020 HRH Audit report and other study reports and synthesize evidence for influencing HRH policy and decision making.
• Develop and submit drafts and final policy and technical briefs, fact sheets, one-pagers, bulletins, and flyers based on inputs from the Client
• Analyze and collate health workforce data with of FP/RH, HIV/AIDS, malaria, MCH, nutrition, and other health service delivery indicators.
• Analyze and collate health workforce attendance to duty data and its impact on service delivery at the various levels of care.
• Conduct a cadre analysis trend to identify critical cadres in short supply and its impact on service delivery at the various levels of care.
• Analyze staffing levels and how they impact on service delivery, including the urban rural disparity.

5. Expected Deliverables
The expected deliverables of the consultancy will include:
• Inception Report, including data collection and analysis tools
• Data analysis report
• Draft 2021 HRH audit report presented to HRH TWG
• Final 2021 HRH Audit Report
• Draft technical and policy briefs; fact sheets, one-pagers, bulletins, and flyers
• Final technical and policy briefs; fact sheets, one-pagers, bulletins, and flyers

Reporting
The Consultant will be answerable to the Commissioner for HRM of MOH and the Chief of Party, Uganda Health Systems Strengthening (UHSS) Activity for this assignment. The consultant will work closely with the Deputy Chief of Party, HRH Team Lead, HRH Advisor, Senior Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Manager, iHRIS/DHIS2 Database Support Manager and guidance from the HRH TWG. The consultant will submit all the hard and soft copies of the final assignment reports and materials to the Team Lead HRH.

Required Skills, Qualifications, and Experience
• Advanced University degree in either Public Health, Human Resources for Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Health Economics, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Biostatistics, or other relevant qualifications
• At least 10 years’ demonstrable experience in health workforce policy development, analysis, review, and planning
• Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in communication, writing for an external
• audience or writing programmatic and advocacy briefs
• Familiarity with current debates and approaches to health systems strengthening work within the local regional and global context.
• Outstanding writing skills in the English language with demonstrated ability for logical and analytical writing
• Strong drive for results, taking pride in delivering as per expectation in terms of quality and timeliness
• Ability to synthesize complex documents into key messages and clear summary documents
• Knowledge of Uganda’s health system

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 120

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

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Job application procedure
All interested parties are required to submit their applications including both technical and financial proposals plus a copy of the Curriculum vitae highlighting their qualifications, names/ contacts of three referees, experience in conducting similar analysis. Palladium plans to issue a fixed price consultant agreement for this assignment. The applications should be emailed to uhss.procurement@uhss.co.ug  not later than 17:00 hours EST on Tuesday August 30, 2021.

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