RFP for Hiring of Lead Formative Researcher and Design Expert for Project Vruddhi, Bhavnagar District, Gujarat

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RFP - Hiring of Lead Formative Researcher and Design Expert for Project Vruddhi, Bhavnagar District, Gujarat

About the Organization:

CARE is a not-for-profit organisation working in India for over 68 years, focusing on alleviating poverty and social injustice. They do this through well-planned and comprehensive projects in health, education, livelihoods and disaster preparedness and response. Their overall goal is the empowerment of women and girls from poor and marginalised communities leading to improvement in their lives and livelihoods. CARE India aims to accomplish this goal by working with 50 million people to help them have quality health, education, livelihoods and overcome the effects of disasters.

About CISSD:

CARE India Solutions for Sustainable Development (CISSD) a company registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 ( now section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 ) having its corporate office at A-12, ‘Bhilwara Towers’, Third Floor, Tower II, Sector-1, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301”. CISSD is a not-for-profit organization, focusing on alleviating poverty and social injustice through well planned and comprehensive projects in health, education, livelihoods and disaster preparedness and response.

Background:

Project Vruddhi aims to contribute to reduction in children’s stunting and severe wasting by improving health, nutrition and hygiene among pregnant and lactating women and children under 6 years. CISSD would like to engage (Consultant) Lead Formative Researcher and Design Expert for Project Vruddhi, Bhavnagar District. We kindly request you to submit Technical and Financial Proposal (Two bid/Separately) via email. Financial Proposal should be password protected and financial proposal password will be asked at later stage.

Purpose of the position:

In the inception phase of Project Vruddhi, formative research will be conducted under the leadership of the lead formative researcher. In addition to the formative research, the team will also be responsible for conducting Trials of Improves Practices (TIPs) for designing and testing specific behavioral recommendations to caregivers, the community and government stakeholders.

Project Responsibilities:

The primary duties and responsibilities of the Lead Formative Researcher and Design Expert will include the following but not be restricted to:

Under the guidance and supervision of the Project Vruddhi Technical Lead and Technical Working Group, the Lead formative researcher will be responsible for -

• Designing, piloting and revising the qualitative data collection tools and guidelines for formative research and TIPs
• Conducting In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions, assessment of strengths, limitations and opportunities for improvement in various government programs and initiatives related to nutrition
• Timely documentation of all the qualitative information gathered, transcription, analysis, and report writing
• Conducting TIPs (see https://www.manoffgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Designing-byDialogue.pdf) and identifying strengths and weakness of various behavioral objectives and intervention delivery strategies as part of the recommendations
• Working with the Project Vruddhi Technical Lead and Technical Working Group to revise the guidelines, IEC tools, and key intervention delivery strategies upon completion of formative research and TIPs

The role includes, but is not limited to:

• Supporting the capacity building team for skill building among field coordinators and block coordinators to perform various field activities at system and community levels; this includes developing curriculum for incremental learning for front line workers and Project Vruddhi staff
• Training field staff for TIPs implementation in the negotiation with participants of the adoption of behavioral practice recommendations.
• Providing critical inputs towards the program design and implementation strategy of Project Vruddhi based on the findings and learnings from the formative research and TIPS
• Understanding implementation, challenges faced and opportunities for improvement of different platforms (such as Mangal Diwas, VHSND) and tools (Common Application Software - CAS) used by the government for nutrition related initiatives and programs.

Qualification and Experience:

Essential:

• PhD/ Masters degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Community Health, Social Work, Health Anthropology, Sociology, or other relevant subject. Additional qualifications, achievements and awards a plus.
• Minimum 8 years of full-time experience in qualitative research and data collection and analysis (In-depth interviews, Focus Groups Discussions, etc.) preferably for public health interventions, programmes and studies
• Prior experience with TIPs, communication and intervention design for public health programs and Interventions in India
• Expertise in a range of qualitative research approaches for understanding social norms, structures, cultures, beliefs and practices of the communities, preferably with a focus on health and nutrition
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to take field notes, document field processes, analyze qualitative data for inductive and deductive analysis using qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo, Dedoose, etc.
• Fluent in spoken and written Hindi and English is essential.

Preferred:

• Computer Knowledge: Excel, Word, Power Point, and other relevant tools used for qualitative research
• An educational or experiential background related to maternal and child nutrition, or at least maternal and child health.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with diverse stakeholders: Community, Frontline workers and government officers

Skill and Competencies

• Demonstrated self-starter, with an eagerness to consistently meet and exceed objectives
• Strong collaborative and analytical thinking skills
• Effective communication skills with diverse stakeholders
• Detail-oriented, with high quality standards for work and a proven track record of success
• Ability to work independently with initiative to manage high volume work flow;
• Experienced in handling teams of qualitative researchers/design experts
• Innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities: Essential for TIPs
• Good conflict resolution and decision making abilities
• Ability to work in teams and build capacity
• Ability to manage diversity and change
• Strongly committed to Gender Equality and the Humanitarian Principles
• Sound work ethics

Duration of engagement: 7 months (initially).

Location: Bhavnagar District of Gujarat

Proposal to be sent on procurementhq@careindia.org

Deadline: Friday, 15th January 2021

Detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) is attached here

For more information please check the Link