Request for Applications

Request for Applications Subject: Location: Consultant - Supply Chain Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Issued on: December 19, 2018 Application Submission Deadline: January 4, 2019 I. BACKGROUND A&T is a global nutrition initiative to save lives, prevent illness, and ensure healthy growth of mothers and children. From 2009 2014, A&T demonstrated that rapid improvements in infant and young child feeding (IYCF) are possible in settings as diverse as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Vietnam. In 2015, A&T began working in Burkina Faso, India, Nigeria, and throughout the Southeast Asia region, expanding its scope to include maternal and adolescent nutrition, and using agriculture and social protection programs as delivery mechanisms for maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN). Now A&T is leveraging its robust network and knowledge base to strengthen systems and build capacity in these and other countries in Africa and Asia. In India, from 2015 2020, A&T is providing technical support to accelerate coverage of effective MIYCN interventions at national and state levels. A&T maximizes impact and sustainability by facilitating and catalyzing change across systems. To achieve such change, A&T provides technical assistance to build capacity in MIYCN policies and program implementation, social behavior change (SBC) and strategic use of data. Maternal nutrition has been a long-standing concern of health authorities globally and in India. A&T is closely collaborating with Maternal Health (MH) Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and key partners to develop standardized maternal nutrition guidelines during antenatal care (ANC) (facility based, and outreach/village Health and Nutrition Day based). A&T was a key driver of the collaborative advocacy efforts by the development partners for constituting an expert committee on Maternal Nutrition by MH Division, (MoHFW) in 2017. A&T has also contributed to the development of Anemia Mukt Bharat Strategy at national level providing content inputs in improving program delivery, including supply chain management and monitoring and review framework. In consultation with MH Division, MoHFW, as part of its learning agenda, A&T is undertaking an implementation research for assessing the feasibility of improving coverage and utilization of core set of evidence-based preventive maternal nutrition interventions through nutrition-focused social behavior change communication and systems strengthening approaches into ANC services under RMNCH program in two districts of UP Unnao and Kanpur Dehat. The core maternal nutrition interventions are: provision and counselling on IFA and Ca supplementation, gestational weight gain monitoring and promotion, diet counselling (including diversity and quantity) and antenatal counselling on early and exclusive breastfeeding. The key strategic interventions components are i) capacity building and performance improvement support to Front Line Workers to effectively reach pregnant women through home visits, at VHNDs and subcenterbased antenatal sessions to deliver quality maternal nutrition services including counselling; ii) strengthening supportive supervision and monitoring mechanisms through capacity enhancement of supervisors and using Request for Applications Alive & Thrive 1

data for program improvements; iii) expanded community mobilization by reaching husbands and male members through interventions such as ratri chaupals, activating Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees/Panchayati Raj Institutions, and engagement of Self Help Groups; iv) supply chain improvement for ensuring adequate and timely IFA & Ca supplies to all pregnant women; and v) advocacy to reach multiple stakeholders and convergence in service provision. IPE Global (IPE G) is A&T s implementation partner to deliver the interventions. As part of its commitment to roll-out of Anemia Mukt Bharat strategy in an effective manner, A&T would also collaborate with key stakeholders and support MoHFW in developing an improved operational framework /guidance note pertaining to procurement and supply chain management of IFA and Ca supplements during pregnancy and lactation. II. PURPOSE Supply chain management of these supplements (IFA and Calcium) is a key component of maternal nutrition package services and it is imperative to streamline this system for ensuring un-interrupted supplies to complement behavior change and adherence to optimal practices pertaining to IFA & Ca consumption among pregnant women. Alive & Thrive (A&T) is seeking a well- qualified and motivated individual with strong analytical and quantitative skills and an exemplary record as a supply chain consultant. The consultant will be responsible for driving actions to address gaps in the government supply chain for iron folic acid (IFA) and calcium (Ca) in the implementation Blocks of A&T s Maternal Nutrition Implementation Research in two districts of Uttar Pradesh (UP). As a secondary objective, the consultant will support A&T s program advocacy efforts on supply chain at the national-level. III. SCOPE OF WORK Though the major focus will be on the state of UP, the districts of Kanpur Dehat and Unnao, and 13 implementation Blocks within those districts, the portfolio includes provision of relevant and crucial technical inputs and program advocacy for improved supply chain pertaining to IFA & Ca supplements during pregnancy at national level in collaboration with key stakeholders. The tasks include: Review and adjust, if appropriate, A&T s proposed approach to estimate demand and supply for IFA and Ca at the District, Block and ANM level Develop, in consultation with A&T, IPE Global and government staff, a consistent approach to 1) forecast demand at the State, District and Block levels, 2) ensure timely renewal of rate contract cards by the State, 3) ensure sufficient budget is secured by state, 4) ensure timely procurement of sufficient volumes by districts, 5) ensure distribution of volumes by District to Blocks and ANM based on need, 6) ensure redistribution of volumes from Blocks and possibly ANMs with excess stocks to other Blocks/Districts. Advocate and provide technical assistance to target Blocks, Districts and States to drive adoption of improved supply chain approaches, including regular tracking of stock positions and generating timely alerts for any stock -outs Review on a monthly basis the IFA/Ca supply chain dashboards completed by IPE Global including promoting use of HMIS data on same Work with A&T and IPE G team to help local block /district level officials to adopt the same and facilitate block level /district reviews under leadership of Block Medical Officer/Chief Medical Officer using data for corrective actions Request for Applications Alive & Thrive 2

Advocate and provide technical assistance at the District, Block and in some cases ANM level to facilitate demand driven IFA and Ca procurement and distribution by Districts, and possibly redistribution of volume across Blocks and possibly ANM over 6 months Train the A&T and IPE G implementation teams to conduct the technical assistance support required to sustain the changes in IFA and Ca supply at the state, district and block levels delivered by the consultant Coordinate and facilitate sharing of learnings from state/district/block level work in UP and advocate to inform national level processes and program guidelines on improved nutrition related supply chain processes, including joint advocacy with key stakeholders (e.g. Program Management Unit at MoHFW for Anemia Mukt Bharat, National center for Excellence and Advanced Research on Anemia at All India Institute of Medical Sciences and technical support organizations like Clinton Health Access Initiative IV. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Successful candidates should have excellent communications skills, be able to function independently, be self-motivated, have the ability to thrive in challenging environments, and have a strong commitment to excellence. Should preferably be an MPH, MBA or similar qualifications Minimum of 8-10 years' work experience in a public or private sector enterprise, with increasing levels of responsibility in the supply chain area Demonstrated knowledge and in-depth understanding of the government health system supply chain mechanisms under National Health Mission, especially for RMNCH+A program (UP experience is desirable) Demonstrated success in coordinating various stakeholders/interests (public sector engagement would be highly relevant) and developing strong relationships to drive an evidence-based program advocacy process successfully Excellent written and oral communications skills in English and Hindi and a high degree of selfconfidence V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS To be considered, interested consultants must complete the application template that is provided. Requested information in the template includes: An updated CV, including educational credentials, with experience related to the technical assistance areas listed above and language skills. A brief summary (no more than one page) that details areas of expertise. Two professional references (including name, job title, company, contact information, and your relationship with the reference). A completed biodata form (in the application template), indicating a proposed daily rate. VI. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by a review committee. The following factors will be considered when evaluating the submissions: 1. Experience related to the relevant technical area(s) as stated in Section II. Purpose 40 points 2. Relevant Qualification - 20 points 3. References 20 points 4. Proposed Daily Rate 20 points Request for Applications Alive & Thrive 3

NOTE: FHI Solutions will not compensate and individual for its preparation of an application in response to this Request for Application nor is the issuing of this Request for Application a guarantee that FHI Solutions will award a contract for work in the future. VII. ANTICIPATED CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP This Request for Application is to select a consultant for a 6 9 month period, for approximately 15 day per month, commencing February 2019. VIII. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RESPONSE INFORMATION Interested parties should submit their application via email to vmathur@fhi360.org, with a copy to dpadamwar@fhi360.org by January 4, 2019. Submissions received after this date and time may not be accepted. A&T will acknowledge receipt of your submission by email. Any questions or requests for clarification need to be submitted via email to vmathur@fhi360.org, with a copy to dpadamwar@fhi360.org by December 27, 2018; answers will be shared with all parties that have submitted questions or expressed interest, as well as posted on the website. No telephone inquiries will be answered. IX. WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION Individuals may withdraw applications by written notice via email received at any time before award. X. OFFER VERIFICATION FHI Solutions may contact applicants to confirm contact person, address, information on the biodata form and to confirm that the application was submitted for this solicitation. XI. FALSE STATEMENT IN OFFER Applicants must provide full, accurate and complete information as required by this Request for Application and its attachments. If at any time FHI Solutions determines that an applicant has provided false statements in the response, FHI Solutions may reject the response without further consideration. XII. DISCLAIMERS AND PROTECTION CLAUSES This solicitation is not intended to result in the issuance of an award. FHI Solutions may cancel the solicitation and not make an award. FHI Solutions may reject any or all responses received. Issuance of a solicitation does not constitute an award commitment by FHI Solutions. FHI Solutions reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on the applicant s failure to follow solicitation instructions. FHI Solutions will not compensate offers for response to solicitation. FHI Solutions reserves the right to issue an award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion. FHI Solutions may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities. FHI Solutions may request from short-listed applicants a second or third round of either oral presentation or written response to a more specific and detailed scope of work that is based on a general scope of work in the original Request for Proposals. FHI Solutions has the right to rescind a Request for Application, or rescind an award prior to the signing of a consultancy agreement or subcontract due to any unforeseen changes in the direction of FHI Solutions client, be it funding or programmatic. FHI Solutions reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition. Request for Applications Alive & Thrive 4

FHI Solutions may be contacting applicants to confirm contact person, address and that the application was submitted for this solicitation. - END OF REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS - Request for Applications Alive & Thrive 5