A national consultant to provide technical assistance to the government of Tanzania at UNICEF | September 2024

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.  

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.   

And we never give up.   

For every child, health   

The Government of Tanzania, through the Ministry of Health (MoH), is committed to improving the quality of healthcare services across the country. MoH has the mandate to oversee the health delivery system, including the development of policies, strategies, and guidelines, and overseeing their implementation throughout the country, as well as resource mobilization and the provision of technical support.  

The existing Tanzania Quality Improvement Framework (TQIF 2011- 2018) and National Health and Social Welfare Quality Improvement Strategic Plan 2013–2018 (NHSWQISP-I, 2013–2018) have been instrumental in guiding health service providers in maintaining and enhancing the quality of care. Efforts to revise TQIF and NHSWQISP to align with ongoing changes in health sector quality both locally and internationally began in 2018 and merged into the Tanzania Quality Improvement Strategic Framework (TQISF).  

Due to the rising need for quality health services and significant investments in healthcare infrastructure at both primary and referral health facilities, there is a need to revive efforts to officiate the TQISF to guide quality improvement interventions in the country. Moreover, with evolving healthcare needs, emerging challenges, increased awareness for quality health care services, and advancements in medical practices, also, towards implementation of universal health insurance act 2023, it is necessary to ensure the quality health services are consistently provided across all levels of service delivery, particularly in primary health services where most people are served. Therefore, it is crucial to revise, update and situate the TQISF in the quality cycle articulating the triggers and links to other processes aiming to improve quality of health care and move away from vertical initiatives that further fragments the health care system.  

The revision of the TQIF aims to: 

• Address gaps and challenges identified in the current framework. 

• Integrate new policies, guidelines, and best practices in quality improvement. 

• Align the framework with national and international health standards. 

• Enhance the capacity of healthcare providers to deliver high-quality services. 

• Ensure the framework is user-friendly and practical for implementation at all levels of the healthcare system. 

• Address increased awareness and outcry for quality health care services on the demand side.  

Scope of Work: 

The consultant will be required to revise and finalize the Tanzania Quality Improvement Framework (TQIF): 

1. In what ways can the TQIF be holistic and address the needs of all directorates and programmes? 

2. How can we situate the TQIF for wholistic quality improvement cycle and system? 

3. How can the TQIF be updated to incorporate advancements and development of quality improvement? 

4. How can we incorporate recent scientific evidence from Tanzania and inform the revision?  

How can you make a difference?  

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the government of Tanzania, Ministry of Health, quality assurance unit in the revision of Tanzania Quality Improvement Framework (TQIF). We are doing this to strengthen the quality assurance system in Tanzania in line with the advancement in the health sector contributing to improved patient care and health outcomes. The deliverables of this consultancy will be used by various directorates within the MoH, PORALG, Development Partners (DPs), Implementing Partners (IPs) and health facilities.  

The consultant shall undertake the following tasks:  

a. Desk review of Current TQIF 

i. Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing TQIF, analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. 

ii. Assess the relevance and effectiveness of the current framework in meeting the diverse needs of improving quality across different levels of the health care system.  

b. Development of Revised TQIF 

i. Revise the current TQIF based on the findings of the desk review and provide the first draft ensuring TQIF is situated in a broader quality cycle/agenda. 

ii. Conduct workshops to revise the draft to come up with the second draft that will also be reviewed to come with the final draft. 

iii. Validate the final draft and come up with the revised TQIF.  

c. Development of a dissemination and implementation plan for the revised TQIF 

i. Establish a dissemination plan. 

ii. Prepare a list of key activities for implementing the revised TQIF. 

iii. Prepare a process manuscript detailing the revision process.  

WORK ASSIGNMENT, DELIVERABLES, DELIVERY DEADLINE AND PAYMENT   

PAYMENT SCHEDULE.  

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/output is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.  

ASSESSMENT / SELECTION PROCESS AND METHODS. 
Evaluations: The applicant should submit both technical and financial proposals which clearly stipulate how the work will be conducted. The Financial Proposal should include all costs of this assignment including fee, travel costs, accommodation as UNICEF will not pay any DSA.   

• Proposals will be both technically and financially evaluated. The technical part will carry a weight of 75%, in which the consultant will put clear his/her technical approach to ensure quality attainment of each deliverable and the consultancy in totality. The financial part will take 25% showing the proposed budget breakdown of consultancy cost for each deliverable (fees, travel and accommodation) and eventual total consultancy cost.  Minimum points required in technical evaluation to be qualified for financial evaluation: 50 points (out of 75 points)  

LOCATION, DURATION & LOGISTIC.  

The consultancy is for t will be required to travel to Dodoma 5 trips, Arusha 3 trips, Morogoro 2 trips.  

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…   

• Advanced degree (master’s or MMed) in public health, health management, human resource management or related field 

• A minimum of 8-10 years’ of relevant professional experience in health care programming. 

• In-depth understanding QoC (Quality of Care) work focusing on QI (Quality Improvement) 

• Strong facilitation and presentation skills. 

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. 

• Proficiency in Swahili is an asset. 

For every Child, you demonstrate…   

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).    

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.    

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. 

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.   

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:    

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.   

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.