Options Consultancy Services Limited was established in 1992 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marie Stopes International. We are a consultancy organisation providing technical and management expertise in the health and social sectors to governments and international development partners to transform the health of women and children. We provide information, expertise and influence to governments, health workers, NGOs and businesses to catalyse change so that health services can be accessed by the people who need them most.

Options seeks a consultant to provide technical advice and guidance on how to strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems at county levels in Kenya. He/she will work alongside a team of health system experts to deliver a Technical Assistance (TA) programme that is focused at sub-national levels of the Kenyan health system.

Options is seeking to establish core team of exceptional health systems experts to deliver a Technical Assistance (TA) programme that is focused at sub-national levels of the Kenyan health system. The programme will provide TA to build county capacities in planning, budgeting, monitoring, reporting, to promote the use of data for decision making and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) skills more generally. The over-arching goal of the project is to improve Reproductive Maternal New-born Adolescent and Child Health (RMNCAH) outcomes and reduce maternal and child mortality specifically.

The consultant will be expected to provide technical advice and guidance on how to strengthen M&E systems at county levels and draw critical links between M&E systems and planning and budgets processes. To achieve this the candidate will be expected to:

• Lead contributions to data components of training packages, including how to identify and analyse data, how to link different data sources, how to improve data collection, review, analysis and how to develop and package data so that it is accessible and usable by different stakeholders.
• Manage and quality assure the evidence-related work of County Consultants and provide guidance and support to the team on data related capacity strengthening activities.
• Lead on data review and analysis of key RMNCAH indicators, including data from MPDSR and EmONC systems and assessments

The consultant should have expertise in the following:

• Extensive experience with the Kenyan Health Information System, RMNCAH indicators and other health data systems and processes. Expertise should include knowledge on how indicators are measured and collated, the limitations to data within the respective systems, analysis techniques and reporting.
• Knowledge and experience of working with MPDSR systems, including MPDSR Committees at national, county and facility level.
• Knowledge and experience of supporting EmONCare assessments, analysis and reporting with a specific emphasis on how this data is used to inform decision-making at different levels.
• Experience strengthening the functionality of M&E systems at county and facility level, including strengthening the capacity for data review and reporting and improving the capacity of stakeholders to develop and use information products.
• Previous experience in supporting health sector decision-making through integration of data and M&E within planning, budgeting, monitoring, and reporting processes.
• Familiarity with the annual budget cycle and corresponding health processes and products including Annual Work Plans and Programme Based Budgets, Annual Performance Reviews, County Fiscal Strategy Paper, County Budget Review and Outlook Paper etc.
• Understanding of the governance structures and policy levers intended to support devolved health systems, including the structures that are tasked with decision-making, accountability, transparency and oversight of the budget cycle.
• Awareness of the contexts and limitations faced in Kenyan county health systems and the financial systems that support them.
• Experience developing modules and supporting capacity strengthening activities within the health sector including through formal trainings and individual and / or group mentorship.