FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF SOMALIA.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES (DAMAL CAAFIMAAD) PROJECT

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI)

Individual Selection of Consultant

Country: Federal Government of Somalia

Name of the Project: Improvement of Health Services (Damal Caafimaad) Project

Consulting Service: FGS Health Financing Specialist

Individual/Firm: Individual

Duty Station: Ministry of Health- FGS

Deadline: 25th January 2022

Ref No.  SO-MOH-FGS-037-CS-INDV 

1.        BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, through the Federal Ministry of Health, is implementing the Improving Healthcare Services in Somalia under the “Damal Caafimaad” Project, with financing from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group. The four-year project will contribute to Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS 2020) implementation aimed at improving the coverage of essential health and nutrition services in project areas and strengthen the stewardship of the Ministries of Health in Somalia. The Damal Caafimaad Project, funded by the World Bank, has three key components: (i) Expanding the coverage of a prioritized EPHS in selected geographic areas; (ii) Strengthening Government’s stewardship to enhance service delivery; and (iii) Project Management, M&E, Knowledge Management, and Learning. The Project will focus on expanding an essential package of high-impact health and nutrition services across the population in project target regions within available resources and service delivery capacity, and also aims to develop the Federal and State Ministries’ of Health capacity to act as stewards of the health sector.

The Ministry of Health and Human Services is seeking to use a portion of the Damal Caafimaad Project to finance the recruitment of an FGS Health Financing Specialist.

2. SCOPE OF WORK AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Director of the Department of Policy and Planning and in close collaboration with the PCIU Coordinator, the Health Financing Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, and monitoring of the MoH’s health financing strategy. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, working across government and partners to develop a health financing strategy and implementation plan; based on an in-depth analysis of the health financing system to identify challenges, gaps and options for improvement; monitoring the implementation of the plan; and using health financing data to improve alignment and inform the budgeting and planning processes. The Health Financing Specialist is expected to perform the following tasks: 

• Establish and oversee the Health Financing Unit (HFU) within the Department of the Policy and Planning of FMoH. The specialist, among other will develop the organogram and  define the staffing of the health financing unit and the TORs. This will also involve coordination across government, partners and key stakeholders to institutionalize routine meetings in which the MOH health financing strategy will be developed, implemented, and monitored.
• Facilitate an in-depth review of the health financing system to identify the challenges related to the various health financing functions and distil options for improvement
• Coordinate the development of the country's health financing strategy across government and partners. The strategy should be informed by the current health financing landscape and the sustainable financing objectives laid out in the Health Sector Strategic Plan.
• Manage the collection, analysis, and use of RMET data. This involves periodic communication with the data collection firm and ensuring continued MoH engagement throughout the process.
• Oversee the development and finalization of the annual RMET report as developed from the RMET data. Ensure data from the report is used to inform budget allocations and improve donor alignment going forward. 
• Support the establishment of Health Financing Technical Working Group that is feeding to wider health sector coordination and ensuring engagement of development partners and government institutions in health financing prioritization, policy and strategic planning
• Facilitate the planning and preparation of progress reports and mid-term review reports for health financing objectives and keep the senior management of the MoH through the Director of Policy and Planning up-to-date on health sector strategic plan (HSSP-III) and Investment Case progress and implementation issues.

S/he will undertake all the other specific tasks detailed in the Terms of Reference (TOR) that can be found at the following https://moh.gov.so/en/or can be provided upon submission of application (in person or by E-mail to the address in paragraph 6.1 below).   

3) SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection shall be based on qualification, experience and skills of the candidate and followed by an interview.

The FGS Health Financing Specialist will possess the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in Health Economics, Health financing, Public Health policy and Management, or related area.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of health financing and/or economics or public health experience, preferably working within government institutions and/or with projects financed by the World Bank and/or other international donors/partners
• Experience collaborating with development partners and NGOs required
• Proven record and knowledge of coordination and alignment of donors, and aid effectiveness. Good analytical capacity in this field.
• Proficiency in data collection, analytics, and use
• Experience building capacity in data analytics and use
• Excellent written and oral communication in Somali and English and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build consensus and good judgment in dealing with sensitive issues
• Knowledge and experience of ICT-based Office applications and tools (word processing, spreadsheets and data processing, PowerPoint)
• Excellent staff management skills with the ability to effectively delegate responsibilities, manage timeliness and quality of tasks, ensure transparency and accountability, and maintain a collegial environment
• Ability to coordinate across a range of stakeholders to co-create complex deliverables
• Proven ability to promote and contribute to a collaborative team environment and build trust among colleagues
• Ability to effectively work with colleagues at different levels (from junior to the most senior levels)
• Excellent diplomacy and negotiation skills with the ability to handle complex situations
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to constructively, tactfully, and positively handle conflict 
• Strong prioritization skills with the ability to balance between competing priorities and to lead teams to effectively balance competing work demands
• Proven ability to deliver results in complex and challenging environments; experience working in Somalia and/ or other fragile and conflict-affected situations an asset
• Proven ability to articulate technical information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences

3. REPORTING

The Health Financing Specialist will report to the Director of Policy and Planning of the FMoH. S/he will provide progress report, through PCIU Senior Programme Coordinator to the Project Steering Committee, which will be formed and organized by the PCIU to help provide overall oversight to the project’s progress towards the PDO. The Project Steering Committee will meet quarterly throughout the project period and be chaired by the Director General, FMoH. 

4.        DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT:

The FGS Health Financing Specialist will be engaged on a full-time basis and is expected to commence the assignment by 1st March 2022 for an initial period of 12 months, with a probation period of 6 months. The contract is renewable annually subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds.

5.        DUTY STATION

The Health Financing Specialist will be based in the Department of Policy and Planning of FMoH, with frequent site visits to the FMS to support project understanding and implementation. The duty station is Ministry of Health in Mogadishu, Somalia

The Ministry of Health and Human Services (FGS) now invites eligible Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-mentioned services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the Services and furnish the Curriculum Vitae (CV).

6.        SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to section III, para 3.14,3.16 & 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers: Procurement in Investment Projects Financing Goods, Works, Non -Consulting and Consulting Services, July 2016, revised November 2017 August 2018 and November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.  

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Individual Consultant method set out in the World Bank Procurement Regulations.  

Interested applicants may obtain further information including a detailed Terms of Reference from the Ministry in person or by e-mail to the address given below during office hours from 9.00 a.m.– 4.00 p.m. Saturday to Thursday.

Deadline: Expressions of interest and CV must be delivered to the address below by hand, mail, courier or email on or before 25th January 2022 at 16:00 hours E.A.T.

6.1: Address

The General Director; Ministry of Health and Human Services 

Federal Government of Somalia

Corso Somalia Street, P.O. Box 22, Shangani, Mogadishu, Somalia

Email Address: [email protected]

with copies to: [email protected]; [email protected]

Submit your application with the following as your subject: FGS Health Financing Specialist- SO-MOH-FGS-037-CS-INDV