Concern Worldwide Review of the Implementation of Mother to Mother Support Groups in Marsabit County Consultancy Opportunity

Consultancy Opportunity: Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Expressions of interest are invited from suitably qualified candidates for the following consultancy opportunity:
 

Review of the Implementation of Mother to Mother Support Groups in Marsabit County
 

Background and Objective: Concern has been supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to implement a UNCIEF funded High Impact Nutrition Interventions (HINI) project in Chalbi and Moyale Districts, Marsabit County which includes support for appropriate Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) among other child survival initiatives. 

Between 2012 and 2013, Concern provided technical and financial support to the District Health Management Team (DHMT) to implement Mother to Mother Support Groups (MtMSG) with key focus on improving skills of mentor mothers. 

A total of 23 groups (8 in Chalbi and 15 in Moyale/Sololo) were formed with their mentor mothers receiving reinforcement training. These groups have been meeting on a monthly basis.

A lot of challenges surrounding the functioning of these groups were noted during the implementation touching on frequency of meetings, availability of quorum and sustainability of the groups. 

There were also cases of groups collapsing. This therefore raises questions surrounding their feasibility and effectiveness in improving MIYCN practices. 

It is therefore important to review the applicability and functionality of these groups touching on their structural set up, monitoring modalities and their longevity/ sustainability.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables
 

A report that describes the review methodology, work plan, budget and puts forward the evaluator’s references, findings, conclusions and recommendations for each of the following partners and how best they can support implementation of MtMSG in future:

• Ministry of Health as the one in charge of implementing the model
• Concern Worldwide as the supporting implementing partner
• UNICEF as a donor

Consultant’s Profile or Qualifications

• A MPH or MSc, MA Social Sciences or other related field
• Minimum of five (5) years’ extensive experience conducting program and process evaluations.
• Previous experience conducting program evaluations in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) is an added advantage.
• Knowledge of behaviour change communication models or approaches is an added advantage
• Excellent documentation, communication and analytical skills

A detailed Terms of Reference can be obtained by sending an email to: concern.kenyavacancies@concern.net
 

Interested applicants who meet the above requirements should send their CV and cover letter to the following email address: nairobi.hr@concern.net with the subject of the email as ‘Review of MtMSG - Marsabit County’ by Sunday, 18th May 2014.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for presentations.

Concern has a Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from abuse and exploitation