Consultant for the Development of National Norms and Standards for Maternal Care, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Remotely, Approx. 4 months. (Open For Nationals of Sri Lanka Only) Req#594263

Organizational Context

UNICEF operates in over 190 countries and territories, dedicated to saving children's lives, defending their rights, and helping them fulfill their potential from early childhood through adolescence. We are committed, passionate, and proud of our work, viewing the promotion of every child's rights not just as a job, but as a calling. We foster a diverse and passionate culture with opportunities for professional and personal development.

Job Purpose

The consultancy aims to develop and update National Norms and Standards for Maternal Care, including Nutrition, to ensure the highest quality of care across all levels of provision, thereby improving maternal health and nutrition outcomes in Sri Lanka. This initiative will build upon existing national guidelines from 2014 and 2015, adapting them to current evidence and specific national needs. The consultant will be responsible for a comprehensive review, analysis, and redrafting of these critical documents, ensuring they are evidence-based, contextually relevant, and actionable for healthcare providers at all levels. The ultimate goal is to enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of maternal healthcare services throughout the country.

Responsibilities

The consultant will conduct a thorough benchmarking and gap analysis of existing maternal care norms and standards, comparing them against international best practices and reviewing all relevant local guidelines. This will involve identifying specific areas for improvement in both field and institutional settings. Subsequently, the consultant will draft detailed national maternal care norms for field settings and tiered norms for various levels of health institutions. This includes drafting distinct standards for antenatal, intranatal, and postnatal care, clearly defining the scope of care at each facility level and ensuring seamless linkages across them. A comprehensive implementation plan will be developed, outlining activities, timelines, responsible parties, resource requirements, and communication strategies. Additionally, the consultant will design a clinical algorithm compendium for frontline staff, serving as a quick reference for preventive and clinical care pathways, aligned with the Sri Lankan context. Finally, a monitoring and quality assurance framework will be established, including updated key performance indicators, a results framework, streamlined data collection and reporting systems, and a feedback mechanism to ensure continuous improvement and compliance with the new norms and standards.

Work Experience

A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in maternal healthcare, including a strong understanding of the Sri Lankan healthcare system and the continuum of care concept. Experience in developing national guidelines, norms, or standards is essential.

Skills

Developing guidelines, norms, or standards, Situational analysis and data interpretation, Synthesizing clinical inputs into policy documents, Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, Strong understanding of maternal healthcare systems, Knowledge of continuum of care, Project planning and implementation, Monitoring and evaluation framework development, Clinical algorithm design, Report writing

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