Call for expression of interest to conduct online coaching/needs assessment visit to Georgia (Грузія)

The TB Europe Coalition (“TBEC”), non-profit foundation registered in the Netherlands, is pleased to announce a call for expression of interest to conduct online coaching/needs assessment visit to Georgia in the framework of the implementation of the current tasks of the Global Fund Multi-Country Program “Advancing People-Centered Quality TB Care – From the New Model of Care Towards Improving DR-TB Early Detection and Treatment Outcomes” (TB-REP 2.0). 

About TB Europe Coalition (TBEC)

Established in 2009, TBEC is a regional advocacy network of civil society organizations and individuals from across the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe region, comprising Western and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The network aims to strengthen the role of civil society within the regional response to TB, and ensure political and financial commitments to end TB.  Currently TBEC has more than 200 members from more than 30 countries in the region. In 2017, TBEC was registered as a legal entity in the Netherlands to step up its regional and national advocacy, capacity building and support to country-led TB advocacy initiatives. The TBEC Secretariat is located in Kyiv and responsible for the coordination, communication, administration, programmatic and policy management of the network.  

Background information on the project:

The overall goal of the TB-REP 2.0 project is to foster timely TB case detection and improved treatment outcomes in patients with special emphasis on drug-resistant TB, through meaningful involvement of communities and civil society and integrated people-centered TB care delivery systems able to address the needs of key and vulnerable populations. The Project is implemented with the financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the 11 countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Partners involved in this project’s implementation are: Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS Center) – Principal Recipient, WHO Regional Office for Europe, TBEC, TB People, Global TB Caucus (GTBC).

Within the program implementation TBEC is responsible for strengthening advocacy and the operational role of civil society. Continuous technical assistance is providing to countries to catalyze advocacy efforts, assess partnerships and advocacy strategies for civil society organizations (CSOs) and regional stakeholders, as well as forge partnerships with the national TB caucuses.

Within the realization of the project the conduction of the need assessment visit to each country is planned as the project activities. Due to the situation with COVID-19 the need assessment visits shifted to the online format. 

Objective of the assignment:

The purpose of the needs assessment is to

• assess the interaction of representatives of civil society and communities affected by tuberculosis, including TB REP 2.0 CSO partner, with national and international partners in the framework of advocacy for the provision of people-centered TB services;
• assess the operational capacity of the TB REP 2.0 CSO partner to deliver TB services;
• identify the TB REP 2.0 CSO partner capacity building needs and strengths / weaknesses in the context of achieving the goals and objectives specified in the TB-REP 2.0 project implementation plan.

During online coaching visit, objectives and targets of the TB-REP 2.0 small grant in Georgia will be considered; strengths and weaknesses in the context of achieving the goals that have been specified in TB-REP 2.0. small grant’s implementation plan will be identified. Specific requests for technical assistance will be informed by the project goal of national partner. Online meetings with national stakeholders such as NTP, Ministries, national partners, CSOs, international organization working in countries and parliamentarians are envisaged as a part of the needs assessment plan to assess potential for advocacy and reform. 

Scope of work:

Individual Consultant in cooperation with the TBEC secretariat will be expected to: 

1. Develop a needs assessment/coaching visit plan with a list of online meetings and agenda with issues to address during each meeting;
2. Present to the local CSO an online needs assessment/coaching visit plan and suggested list of online meetings with agenda, and adjust it in according to their feedback and recommendations;
3. Conduct online needs assessment/coaching visits to Georgia and facilitate all meetings within it. The number of meetings will depend on needs of the civil society partner in the country, but not less than 5 meeting. The online meetings will be organized by TBEC and conducted by a Consultant and two staff members of TBEC (including occasional participation of other relevant experts from TB-REP 2.0 regional partners).
4. Prepare in 2 weeks after the visit draft narrative report on the results of the online needs assessment/coaching visit, with an account of any coaching interventions provided and according to the agreed report structure provided by TBEC.
5. Finalize needs assessment/coaching visit report after comments received from TBEC secretariat and TB-REP 2.0 regional partners (no more than 3 round of comments). The inputs of the regional partners to be collated by TBEC. 

Online needs assessment/coaching visits to Georgia will be held in mid-March-mid-May, 2021. 

Expected outcomes:

Individual Consultant will be expected to submit the following deliverables, in English or Russian, to the TBEC:

1. Needs assessment/coaching visits plan;
2. Needs assessment/coaching visits final report.

Reporting requirements

The expected outcomes should be delivered in 2 weeks after the visit. It should be submitted in Microsoft Word format, in electronic copies to TBEC Secretariat, specifically to TBEC Program Manager Khrystyna Vilyura, [email protected]. 

Duration of the assignment and remuneration provisions:

• The work is expected to start after signature of the specific agreement with individual consultant.
• The duration of agreement is March, 2021 – May, 2021.
• Payment will be made based on the results of the visit, provision of all deliverables to TBEC team and revision of report according to comment received from all TB-REP 2.0 regional partners. 

Consultant should meet the following qualifications:

Experience/Knowledge

• Educational background in social work or social science, public health, health policy epidemiology, public administration and in other relevant fields (or commensurable working experience).
• Knowledge and understanding of the national and regional responses to TB, particularly on WHO recommended strategies for people-centred TB care in the EECA region;
• Understanding of TB epidemiology, TB policies and interventions, and health systems in the country;
• Understanding of the policy context of the EECA region, particularly on transition to people-centered models of TB care; communities, rights and gender; and multisectoral accountability processes;
• Familiarity with the civil society and TB affected communities’ actors in the country and the country-specific social context they operate in;
• Proven experience in developing recommendations for people-centred TB approach. 

Skills

• Confident facilitation skills in small/large groups with diverse constituencies
• Ability to formulate conclusions, and recommendations for strengthening TB prevention, care and control activities and intersectoral cooperation between TB stakeholders;
• Good writing and reporting skills (in English and Russian);
• Cultural-sensitive communication skills;
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner;
• Proven ability to meet deadlines. 

Languages

• Knowledge of Russian is required.
• Knowledge of English is desired.

Conditions:

1. Individual consultants are invited to submit expression of interest for the consultancy services mentioned above.
2. Your expression of interest should contain the following documents:

• CV with proven experience and qualifications (in Eng/Rus, not more than 3 pages);
• Motivation letter (in Eng/Rus, not more than 3 pages), clearly describing existing experience in the area of the proposed assignment.

Failure to meet these requirements will lead to automatic disqualification of application.

3. All documents for expression of your interest should be submitted electronically to Kira Grozava, Administrative Officer, TBEC, at the following address: [email protected]
4. The deadline for receipt of your expression of interest: March 1, 2021, 6 PM, Kyiv time. Late proposals will be rejected.
5. Selected candidate will be contacted by March 5, 2021.
6. The evaluation and selection will be conducted through procurement procedures set out in the TB-REP2.0 sub-grant agreement between TBEC and PAS Center, as a TB-REP2.0 Principle Recipient of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and are aligned to the World Bank Guidelines. Questions regarding procurement procedures as well as other related to the topic of the current request can be addressed to Kira Grozava, Administrative Officer, TBEC, at the following address [email protected].
7. TBEC offers the following type of cooperation:

• Consultancy Agreement with an Individual Consultant/Expert. The Consultant will be responsible for the payment of taxes according to the laws of his(her) country of residence. Remuneration will be paid in US Dollars, so consultant shall have a USD bank account.

8. The contract will be awarded on the competitive basis to Consultant/Expert with the highest qualifications and that meet all requirements described on Terms of References (ToR[1]). Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications, consultancy fee will be negotiated based on the consultant’s expertize evaluation results.
9. Consultancy fee for a given assignment will be based on the cost of the final product and will be negotiated with a Consultant/Expert with the highest evaluation results.

[1] All the short-listed Consultants/Experts will be included in the TBEC Consultancy pool for potential future cooperation according to the Consultants’ expertize.