( CONSULTANCY SERVICE) HelpAge Referral Mechanism
TERMES OF REFERENCE
CONSULTANCY SERVICE
HelpAge Referral Mechanism
1-Background
HelpAge International (HelpAge) is a global network of not-for-profit organisations with a vision of a world where older women and men fulfil their potential to lead active, dignified, healthy and secure lives. With more than 70 affiliates and 300 partners across more than 50 countries the HelpAge International network brings together hundreds of organisations worldwide. HelpAge International has been operational in Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2009, with the aim of working with, and for, vulnerable older persons to help them claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty.
From to 7 July to 26 August 2014 the Gaza strip and Israel engaged in 51 days of severe hostilities that wreaked enormous destruction, devastation and displacement in Gaza. The entire population of Gaza is affected, which includes about 67,000 people aged 60 or older. A humanitarian emergency operation has started, but the havoc caused by the warfare has prevented life to return to normal. Older people face specific challenges during a humanitarian crisis. The lack of age friendly policies means services are not adapted to the vulnerabilities faced by older people and they are marginalized and discriminated against. Older people are often considered passive beneficiaries rather than empowered participants and drawing attention to their rights is a challenge in itself.
2-Objective
Older people are not always sufficiently included in the emergency programs of humanitarian organisations. For a number of different reasons, older people are often unintentionally excluded from the humanitarian services on offer. These reasons range from the design of the programs, to communication strategy of the organisations and from the cognitive regress given their old age to the notion that old people are less deserving of assistance for recovery. HelpAge started the implementation of its emergency interventions on 1st of August; with an important objective that conflict affected older persons demonstrate improved wellbeing and health status as a result of improved access to age-friendly health services. This objective will be achieved through a number of outcomes and outputs. On the one hand, the program will create greater understanding of their rights regarding humanitarian assistance and knowledge of how to go about getting assistance. Another element is the set-up of a referral mechanism. HelpAge is seeking the aid of a consultant to prepare the set-up of a referral mechanism on the level of Gaza Strip and advise HelpAge of the best approach to do so.
3-Scope
Referral systems are the result of close coordination between different development actors and government institutions. Initiatives for referral systems have been started up already. It is acknowledged that official referral systems are in place for severe medical needs, which requires coordination with Government authorities as well as governments of neighboring countries, to facilitate treatment in facilities outside of the Gaza strip.
In addition to that, international humanitarian service providers are present in Gaza and providing various assistance. It is also acknowledged that the international community has attempted to arrive at coordination of services by establishing referral systems. At least three such systems are presently known to Helpage and the lead agencies for these are UNICEF, Handicap International and Medicines du Monde (MdM)
The vision of HelpAge is to connect old people to existing referral mechanisms, without duplication of efforts. The focus is therefore to assure that old people with special needs have easy access to appropriate services, whether medical or otherwise. HelpAge wants to assure that access by creating a mechanism of reaching out and registering old people with unmet needs and managing their cases until either in the hands of professional service providers or delivered in the care of a trustworthy referral system. The assignment for the consultant will be to:
A-Research the existing landscape of humanitarian health service providers that are active in Gaza. This should include the mapping of actors that are members of the referral system; starting with governmental medical health providers. It should include information about thematic of geographical focus of providers; and the nature of the agreement between the participants.
B-Contact established referral mechanisms and investigate policies or criteria relating to older people, their interest of being recipient of referrals of older people detected by the HelpAge network, as well as established mechanisms of the referral system (referral criteria, protocol, policy and procedures, forms, etc.).
C-Investigate how established referral mechanisms focusing on international humanitarian aid are managing the continuously changing supply of services, resulting from the start up and termination of funded programs, and drawing from this exercise lessons on how to manage this aspect for a mechanism that would be operated by HelpAge.
D-Advise HelpAge on the mechanisms and protocols that would be necessary to establish at the intake of older people to assure effective referral and case management.
E-Provide an indication of the minimum requirements to the running of a referral mechanism at both levels (community based at the Age Friendly spaces, and at the level of the Helpline), which may include estimation of human resources, expertise and costs.
4-Outcome / Deliverables
-A list of active referral systems and mechanisms, which includes mentioning the actor that is in the lead; coordinates of the contact person; the focus of the referral system, participating members, any limitations (such as geographical) if applicable.
-Referral Mapping Directory, mapping relevant service providers (address, type of service, contact lists).
-Draft a referral criteria, protocol, procedure and policy, including drafting MOU and referral form template for referral to other agencies (CBOs, CSOs, INGOs, or governmental institutions).
-Set agreements (MOUs) with at least 5 service providers to establish referral cooperation.
-Facilitate a workshop with HelpAge staff to review the outcomes of the assignment with the objective to start the operations of the referral mechanism.
-A report in which at minimum the issues of the scope of the assignment have been addressed.
5-Roles and Responsibilities
It will be the responsibility of HelpAge:
-Provide leads to the referral mechanism it is aware of, which are not exhaustive;
-Provide list of organizations whose participation is of interest to HelpAge and should be consulted.
-Provide introductory letters to facilitate access for the consultant
-Review a draft of the needs assessment report.
The consultant will be responsible for:
-Delivering the outcomes as listed in the section above;
-Proposing an approach to HelpAge for the scope of the work (action plan);
-Making available to HelpAge a draft of the report, and take into account comments and feedback obtained into a final version;
-Informing HelpAge of any situation occurring that may impact the timely delivery of the outcomes as planned and proposing solutions to minimalize the consequences.
-The consultant is responsible for his field transportation and communication.
6-Essential qualifications
1)A degree-level education or equivalent work experience.
2)5 years of experience in coordination/overseeing/monitoring of health fields activities
3)Strong understanding of humanitarian/development policy and principles and challenges
4)Technical and managerial competence in needs assessments, implementation planning, monitoring and evaluation
5)Proven ability in writing reports, concept notes and proposals
6)Professional experience in the field of public health
7)Experience in working with local partner organizations and working in collaboration with Authorities, other INGOs, local NGOs and other stakeholders
8)Flexible in terms of time and activities as required by an emergency response programme
9)Strong and supportive team player.
10)Able to manage and priorities own workload to meet deadlines.
11)Excellent command of written and spoken English.
12)Excellent IT skills (including WP, spreadsheet and database)
7-Timing and Logistical Arrangement
The assignment will be implemented in 2 months starting as soon as possible. The consultant will start by preparing a work plan for delivering the assignment within the time frame. Feedback will be provided within 2 working days. A workstation will be available in the HelpAge office in Gaza City. The consultant will be reporting to the Program Development Officer and liaising closely with the HelpLine officer.
8-How to apply
To apply for this consultancy assignment, please send your CV and cover letter (in English) by email to:
indicating ‘Consultancy Referral Mechanism’ in the subject line. Applications need to be sent no later than Monday 6 April 2015. Only shortlisted candidates will be informed.
Please provide in the cover letter an indication of your monthly fee. HelpAge will balance different criteria and will not be obliged to select the candidate with the lowest rate. Please also provide us with the names of three references.
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