Timor-Leste: Behavior Change Communication (BCC) specialist

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) is supporting the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health in the implementation of the USAID’s Reinforce Basic Health Services Project. JSI is currently seeking the services of an individual consultant to develop: (1) the project’s behavior change communication plan, (2) a short course for service marketing to clients, and (3) a short course for strengthening service providers’ behavior.

Applicants are invited to bid on any individual deliverable or all of the required deliverables.

Please, ensure rate per day or price per deliverable and estimated number of days required to complete the deliverable is clearly stated in your proposal.

Scope of work

Project title: USAID’s Reinforce Basic Health Services (Reinforce) Project

Consultancy title: behavior change communication (BCC) specialist

Period From: September 12, 2016 – December 9, 2016

Duration of contract: 45 days max

Location: Dili, Timor-Leste

Reporting to: Chief of Party

Deadline to apply: 24 August 2016

Background and justification

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded the Timor-Leste Reinforce Basic Health Services (Reinforce) Project, named locally Hakbi’it, beginning on December 23^rd, 2015 as part of the United States Government’s package of assistance to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Hakbi’it builds upon ten years of successful USAID support to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and National Institute of Health (INS – Instituto Nacional de Saúde–) in the areas of basic health services strengthening focusing on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) and family planning (FP) programming. The USAID Timor-Leste Mission anticipates that Hakbi’it will be funded for a period of five years.

The Project’s goal is to “help build stronger health service capacity, both nationally and in one municipality, resulting in increased quality and use of services and improved outcomes in selected areas of FP and MNCH”. The objectives are: 1) to improve the quality of FP and MNCH service delivery, and 2) to increase the adoption of healthy behaviors and community participation.

Hakbi’it’s approaches and strategies

Approaches

Strategies

Details

Build service capacity and systems

1. Strengthen in-service provider training

Support MoH and INS in the review of training standards; development, revision and/or update of training curricula; and conduct of training and clinical supervision

1. Develop institutional capabilities

Provide organizational assistance to INS; support MoH and INS in the set-up of clinical training centers; and support MoH in improving health services in Covalima Municipality

1. Introduce certification systems

Support MoH in the introduction of health facility and personnel certifications

Improve healthy behaviors

1. Plan behavior change interventions

Support INS in the conduct of a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) study, in selecting key behaviors and developing a BCC plan for Hakbi’it

1. Improve home, community and health-seeking behaviors

Support MoH in creating demand for FP, promote adolescent health, increase male involvement, promote birth preparedness/complication readiness, increase uptake of child immunization services, and develop service marketing to clients

1. Strengthen service provider behaviors

Support MoH in raising standards of customer service at facilities and improving municipal-level marketing skills

JSI believes that with Timor-Leste’s major topographical and transport challenges, making a real difference in healthy behaviors at the community-level is a key to success. Hakbi’it hopes that by 2020, it will have helped the MoH to have engendered real, measurable behavior change in the home, in communities, and amongst service providers; in particular, the Hakbi’it intends to promote active and appropriate health-seeking behaviors at community facilities like health posts (HPs), community health centers (CHCs) and outreach settings.

Purpose and objectives of the consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is to support Hakbi’it team and the MoH in developing the project’s BCC plan, in support to the MoH overall MNCH and FP strategies. Hakbi’it BCC plan will be implemented during the next 4 years of the project (2017-2020), at the national level by providing technical assistance to the Health Promotion Department and the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Department of MoH, and at municipality level focusing on Covalima.

Activity plan

In consultation with designated JSI staff, the selected consultant will undertake the following activities:

1. Support Hakbi’it in developing its BCC plan for the next 4 years (17 days max)

During the months of July and August 2016, the Project will be conducting its baseline assessment, including a KAP study. Using its preliminary results and additional available information from various researches in Timor-Leste and other countries, the consultant will:

· Assess communications technology options and document findings as input to the BCC plan – including analysis of data on internet-based and mobile communication penetration, literature review of innovative communication tools now used in other countries for health-related messaging, analysis of data on the feasibility of conventional communications media in Covalima Municipality.

· Facilitate the process of selecting priority behaviors for change and document results.

· Prepare a comprehensive BCC plan – including target behaviors, target audiences (appeals to action by individuals, both clients and service providers, and groups), channels, proposed products, etc. In addition, the BCC plan should: (1) address demand creation for FP, adolescent reproductive health, male involvement interventions, birth preparedness/complication readiness planning, and immunization; (2) include a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan; and (3) include gender- specific messages.

1. Develop service marketing to clients (8 days max)

Considerable effort will be made under Hakbi’it’s first strategic approach to improve the quality of services offered to clients at both outreach and fixed sites. Improved quality can be an enormous magnet in increasing client utilization of municipal services and facilities, and so it is essential that the services be appropriately marketed. The consultant will:

· Select a health facility as a pilot site to analyze the components of the primary health care package to shortlist those which can be safely marketed to clients without significant risk of disappointment.

· For the shortlisted interventions, help MoH and Hakbi’it staff to identify who and where the primary target audiences are and what the messages should be.

· Using these messages, plan health promotion events for each shortlisted intervention.

· Align these health promotion events with Hakbi’it’s BCC plan.

1. Strengthen service providers behavior (20 days max)

Being treated with a respectful and friendly attitude is one aspect of quality from the client’s perspective. There is informal evidence that this is not always practiced by health service providers, whether at the reception/triage or the medical service provision stage of the client experience. The consultant will:

· Develop and test a draft curriculum for a short orientation course on customer service, tailored to the reception/triage and the actual medical service provision aspects of the providers’ job. The consultant is expected to travel to Covalima and: (1) conduct a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) with existing/past clients to understand better the areas in which attitudes need most improvement and with selected providers to understand better the barriers to better service attitudes, and (2) conduct a customer service workshop with Municipal Health Services and facility staff to agree on those elements of customer service attitude which most need improving.

· Design and test a draft marketing/market analysis training curriculum for service providers. The essential features of marketing (i.e., understanding who the client is and what she or he needs) have to be clearly defined to help build health providers confidence in using their own data and making their own decisions, especially in a decentralized environment.

Methodology

The methodology for this consultancy will be set forth in a proposal from the consultant, to be approved by JSI before work begins. It is anticipated that this consultancy will include:

· Literature review

· One-on-one and group meetings with MoH and Hakbi’it

· FGDs

· Workshop(s)

Deliverables and Timing

The duration of the assignment will be for a total of 45 working days during the period September-November 2016. The final timeline will be mutually agreed upon by JSI and the consultant. The following deliverables will be submitted according to the following illustrative timeline:

· Report on communications options (September 16)

· List of priority behaviors (September 23)

· First draft of BCC plan (October 7)

· Second draft of BCC plan (October 14)

· Design of two health promotion events for marketing purpose, specifying the list of interventions to be marketed and the targeted audience and messages (October 28)

· Short orientation course on customer service (November 11)

· Short orientation course on marketing/market analysis for service providers (December 2)

· Trip report (December 9)

Qualifications

· Master’s degree required with a focus on public health and/or community development.

· Experience in Timor-Leste required.

· Demonstrated experience in designing BCC interventions for MNCH and reproductive health.

· Demonstrated experience in developing teaching materials and facilitating training.

· Demonstrated experience in marketing.

· Experience in using new technologies for promoting behavior change.

· Excellent writing skills in English.

· Knowledge of Tetum preferred.

Application

Expression of interest (including CV and a maximum 2-page proposal) should be submitted to hr-timor@jsi.com. Deadline: August 24, 2016.

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) is a non-profit public health management consulting and research organization dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities in the US and around the Globe. For further information, please seewww.jsi.com*.*

Application

Expression of interest (including CV and a maximum 2-page proposal) should be submitted to hr-timor@jsi.com. Deadline: August 24, 2016.