National consultancy to cost the National Health Sector Development Plan Antananarivo, Madagascar (remote) 3 months Req#594329

Organizational Context

UNICEF operates in over 190 countries, dedicated to saving children's lives, defending their rights, and fostering their potential from early childhood through adolescence. It is a mission-driven organization committed to promoting every child's rights, offering diverse professional and personal development opportunities within a passionate and inclusive culture.

Job Purpose

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive costing of the National Health Sector Development Plan. This involves a preparatory phase to review existing documents, design a costing framework aligned with WHO/UNICEF guidelines, and map key stakeholders. The consultant will engage extensively with stakeholders through workshops to validate assumptions and ensure participatory costing, integrating their feedback into the models. The assignment also requires leveraging evidence-informed practices, including data analysis from MICS and National Health Accounts, benchmarking, and scenario modeling to guide decision-makers. Ultimately, the goal is to produce detailed costed plans, identify financing gaps, develop resource mobilization strategies, and build the capacity of Ministry of Health staff for sustainable monitoring.

Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake a preparatory phase, involving a thorough document review of the PDSS draft, national health policies, budget frameworks, and donor commitments. This includes designing a costing methodology aligned with WHO/UNICEF guidelines and national budget classifications, and mapping key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, and donors. Subsequently, the consultant will facilitate stakeholder engagement through inclusive consultation workshops at national and regional levels, ensuring technical units contribute to cost estimates and integrating all feedback. Responsibilities also encompass evidence-informed practices, utilizing MICS data, National Health Accounts, and budget execution reports for realistic costing, benchmarking against regional standards, and developing low, medium, and high investment scenarios. Furthermore, the consultant will conduct sensitivity and specificity analyses to identify key cost drivers and ensure accurate impact isolation. The role involves drafting detailed costing tables, financing gap analyses, and resource mobilization strategies, culminating in a validation workshop and a comprehensive final report with implementation recommendations. Finally, the consultant will organize capacity-building sessions for Ministry of Health staff on costing tools and methodologies to ensure sustainability and regular financing impact monitoring.

Work Experience

Candidates must have at least 10 years of professional experience in health economics/financing, public health planning, or national development in low/middle-income countries. This includes 3-5 years of direct experience leading costing exercises for national health strategies or major public health documents. Prior working experience with government ministries (Health, Finance), UN agencies, the World Bank, or other development partners is also essential.

Skills

Ability to engage senior government officials and development partners, Knowledge of Malagasy health planning processes, Knowledge of disease-specific programs, Familiarity with One Health Tool, Familiarity with EQUIST, Familiarity with LiST, Familiarity with CHPCT, Proficiency in Excel complex spreadsheets, Proficiency in PowerPoint, Unit cost development, Expert knowledge of economic evaluation principles

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