KP TA Health Policy - Junior Research Associate x 2

Junior National - Research Associate x 2

KP TA - Development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Policy (2025-30)

Programme Overview

Evidence for Health (E4H) is a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded programme aimed at strengthening Pakistan's healthcare system, thereby decreasing the burden of illness and saving lives. E4H provides technical assistance (TA) to the Federal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Punjab governments, and is being implemented by Palladium along with Oxford Policy Management (OPM).

Through its flexible, embedded, and demand-driven model, E4H supports the government to achieve a resilient health system that is prepared for health emergencies, responsive to the latest evidence, and delivers equitable, quality, and efficient healthcare services. Specifically, E4H delivers TA across three outputs:

Output 1: Strengthened integrated health security, with a focus on preparing and responding to health emergencies, including pandemics.

Output 2: Strengthened evidence-based decision-making to drive health sector performance and accountability.

Output 3: Improved implementation of Universal Health Coverage, with a focus on ending preventable deaths.

Position Summary

To support the Health Department, KP in developing an inclusive, and evidence-informed KP Health Policy (2025–30) that is aligned with emerging health system priorities, governance reforms, fiscal realities, and UHC & IHR ambitions.

This will be achieved via three objectives:

Objective 1: Consolidate technical inputs and evidence from thematic sub-groups, development partners and key stakeholders to inform policy priorities and direction.

Objective 2: Facilitate structured, multisectoral consultation processes to validate policy priorities, ensure alignment with provincial reform agendas, and build broad ownership across government and non-government actors.

Objective 3: Draft and finalise a comprehensive Health Policy (2025-30), addressing health system challenges and incorporating equity, resilience and UHC and IHR principles, with a clear implementation framework and alignment with available fiscal space and ongoing reforms.

Strategic Approach

Contributions to health systems strengthening

This technical assistance and its deliverable will strengthen KP’s health system by developing a coherent, evidence-informed policy that addresses structural gaps in governance, financing, human resources, and service delivery. Drawing on the MTR and aligning it with ongoing reforms, the policy will enhance institutional accountability, promote efficient resource use, and guide progress toward UHC, PHC, IHR, and health-related SDGs.

The revised policy will embed equity, resilience, and quality of care, prioritising underserved populations and improved service delivery. It will align with key frameworks including the National Health Vision (2016–25), draft National Health and Population Policy (2025–34), KP’s Good Governance Reform Roadmap, and provincial policies from Punjab and Sindh, ensuring coherence across tiers of government and create and encourage interprovincial learning.

Alignment with other E4H TAs/investments

This TA builds on a portfolio of health system strengthening initiatives previously supported by E4H and other partners in KP. These include the Mid-Term Review of the KP Health Policy and Strategic Plan; the UHC Roadmap for Implementation; the KP Quality of Care Strategic Framework; Multisectoral Health Workforce Strategy; and the review of KP Health Foundation outsourced health facilities amongst others. The policy will serve as an umbrella framework, consolidating these strands into a coherent, actionable agenda for the 2025–30 period. This will ensure continuity across investments and enhance the impact and sustainability of previous and ongoing efforts.

Alignment with other donors & partners

The policy revision process will be led by the Health Department’s HSRU through Health Reform TWG. Key development partners—including UNICEF, WHO, E4H, FCDO, and the World Bank—will contribute to joint planning, consultations, and technical reviews.

• UNICEF will lead governance and policy consultations
• WHO will provide guidance on health financing reforms
• E4H will support M&E, HRH, and systems strengthening
• FCDO and WB will participate through harmonised partner sessions to ensure alignment with broader health sector reform investments

These coordination mechanisms will ensure that the revised policy is both technically robust and donor-aligned, while reflecting national and provincial ownership.

Scope of Work and Methodology

The technical assistance will support the Health Department KP, through the HSRU, in producing the KP Health Policy (2025–30). The scope of work will focus on consolidating evidence, engaging stakeholders, and drafting a coherent, inclusive, and feasible policy that aligns with provincial reform priorities, fiscal realities, and the draft National Health and Population Policy.

Phase I – Inception and Desk Review

• Conduct a desk review of relevant global, regional, national, and provincial health sector documents. These will include but not be limited to the National Health Vision 2016–25, draft National Health and Population Policy (2025-34), KP Health Policy 2018–25 and its mid-term review, UHC Roadmap, National Action Plan of Health Security (NAPHS 2024-28), Quality of Care Strategy, Health Workforce Strategy, KP EPHS, newborn and reproductive health strategies, as well as other published and unpublished documents, programme reports, and partner assessments.
• Develop an inception report with a detailed work plan and agenda for provincial stakeholder consultations.

Phase 2 – Evidence Synthesis and Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with thematic sub-groups to gather input on governance, health financing, HR, M&E, etc., as well as system bottlenecks, and develop vision, mission, and goals for the policy.
• Conduct a quick gap analysis using secondary data and gathered inputs to assess political economy, institutional capacity, implementation bottlenecks, and emerging health priorities.
• Consolidate existing analyses (UHC, PHC, Joint External Evaluation/ IHR, QOC, HRH, outsourcing evaluations etc.) to avoid duplication and derive policy priorities to produce a first draft of the Health Policy.

Facilitate structured, multisectoral consultations through the TWG ensuring inclusion of development partners, provincial departments, and relevant stakeholders to validate findings, present draft policy priorities, and capture multisectoral feedback.

Phase 3 – Drafting and Refinement

• Refine the draft through iterative feedback from the DOH, TWG, and development partners ensuring it is feasible, reform-aligned, and aligned with the draft National Health and Population Policy (2025-34).
• Prepare a consultation report summarizing key outputs, recommendations, and next steps.
• Develop a results-based monitoring framework for the revised policy, including SMART indicators, baselines, targets, data sources, and reporting timelines, aligned with UHC, PHC, IHR and SDG priorities.

Phase 4 – Finalization and Dissemination

• Finalise the draft in close consultation with stakeholders and submit it to the Health Department, KP, for review and endorsement.
• Support the official provincial dissemination event, including preparing a policy presentation and documenting the event.
• Deliver final outputs including the approved Health Policy (hard and soft copies), reports, and dissemination materials.

Sustainability: Capacity Building, Institutionalisation, and/or Transition Planning

• The policy revision process will be led by the Secretary of Health, and HSRU, ensuring that technical skills, methods, and processes remain institutionalised within government structures, the focal points of coordination for the E4H team will be the HSRU team.
• Involving thematic sub-groups and Health Department-KP’s staff throughout the evidence synthesis, drafting, and consultation process, the technical assistance will strengthen internal capacity in policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and policy development.
• The consultative mechanisms, templates, synthesis approaches, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms developed under this technical assistance will be embedded within HSRU and Health Department-KP for use in evidence-based decision-making, future policy revisions, and sectoral strategy development.
• The policy will provide a clear framework for future donor and partner investments, reducing fragmentation and ensuring smoother transition of reforms into government-led planning & budgeting cycles.

Responsibilities

The Research Associate will work to achieve the following:

Support to Final Policy & Dissemination Materials (preparation of final annexes, PowerPoint slides, and dissemination report inputs).

Timeline and Days

The level of effort (LOE) for the role is 50 days from September 2025 – February 2026.

Requirement

Technical Expertise

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or related discipline (one may have Economics/Statistics background).
• Experience in conducting desk reviews, literature synthesis, and health systems research.
• Skills in data analysis, policy briefs, and technical writing.
• Familiarity with provincial health sector documents, reports, and data sources.

Competencies

• Strong research and drafting skills.
• Ability to synthesize complex evidence into concise outputs.
• Attention to detail and quality assurance.
• Strong teamwork and support skills.