Technical Specialist – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

Duration: Through July 2026

Level of effort: Up to 55 working days on an intermittent basis.[1]

Reporting to: Technical Advisor, KP

BACKGROUND

Health Systems Insight (HSI) is implementing the Strategic Purchasing for Primary Healthcare (SP4PHC) project to support improved access to primary healthcare in three provinces of Pakistan. HSI is looking for a Technical Specialist (consultant) to provide short-term support to the project team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The Consultant will serve as a subject matter expert in health financing and strategic purchasing, leveraging that expertise to support technical program implementation in KP. The Consultant will bring strong quantitative skills and research capacity as well as a solid understanding of the design, implementation, and evaluation of health policy reform. The consultant will work on an as needed basis throughout the contract period. The level of effort may vary month to month depending on project needs and data availability.

Subject to funding availability, program needs, and satisfactory performance, this consultancy may be eligible to apply for a future staff position

SCOPE OF WORK

The tasks below describe the expected areas of support and anticipated outputs. Work will be assigned and approved by the Technical Advisor based on project priorities. The Consultant will be responsible for conducting a Service Delivery Impact Assessment study on Primary Care Management Committees (PCMCs); support HSI on review and quality assurance of a PHC expenditure analysis study awarded to a third party. The consultant will collaborate with the provincial Department of Health and other stakeholders as needed to support data access, validation of findings, and dissemination of results. The consultant may also provide limited technical input to related health financing workstreams in KP as mutually agreed and within the approved level of effort.

Task 1: Service Delivery Impact Assessment – Data Acquisition & Management (15 days)

This will focus on the preliminary groundwork required for the PCMC assessment, ensuring data is secured and ready for processing. This will include:

• To lead the data cleaning process, organizing raw datasets into a structured format suitable for statistical analysis.

Task 2: Service Delivery Impact Assessment – Quantitative Analysis (15 days)

This will involve the execution of the study using the cleaned data. This will include:

• To perform sensitivity analyses and robustness checks to ensure the validity of the findings.

Task 3: Service Delivery Impact Assessment – Reporting & Dissemination (15 days)

This will focus on synthesizing the analysis into products. This will include:

• To develop a presentation deck summarizing the key findings for government stakeholders and donors.

Task 4: PHC Expenditure Analysis – Quality Assurance & Review (10 days)

This focuses on the technical vetting of the third-party's deliverables. This will include:

• To review the final presentation package (slide deck and final report), ensuring the HSI’s guidelines on research and writing are met.

KEY DELIVERABLES

The deliverables below describe the expected outputs to be developed over the course of the consultancy. These deliverables will be used to guide work planning, monitor progress, and support performance management. Time will be compensated based on hours worked and approved by the Technical Advisor, up to the estimated level of effort defined in this TOR.

Deliverable

Due Date (Tentative)

Notes

Inception Report

March 2026

Includes confirmed data access from DoH and a finalized analysis framework for the PCMC Impact Assessment.

Cleaned PCMC Dataset & Preliminary Analysis

April 2026

End-to-end data cleaning completed; preliminary quantitative tables and charts generated for internal review.

Draft PCMC Impact Assessment Report

May 2026

Comprehensive draft including methodology, findings, and visualizations; ready for Technical Advisor review.

Review of PHC Expenditure Analysis (Draft)

April 2026

Written feedback on the third-party firm's draft report and data validity.

Final PCMC Impact Assessment Report & Slide Deck

June/July 2026

Finalized report and presentation deck approved by Country Director and the global technical backstop; ready for dissemination to government partners.

Note: Performance will be assessed solely on agreed deliverables, which require formal written approval by the designated Technical Advisor prior to milestone payment.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• BA/BS and 6+ years of experience OR a Graduate degree (Master's) and 4+ years of relevant experience.

Experience & Skills:

• Strong quantitative skills with a track record in research design, data collection, and analysis. Experience with statistical software (Stata, R, SPSS) preferred.
• Relevant work experience in health policy, health systems, and health financing. Knowledge of strategic purchasing and PFM in Pakistan is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare high-quality technical reports and visualize data for non-technical audiences.
• An entrepreneurial, results-oriented "doer" capable of working independently and as a collaborative colleague.
• Experience working with government stakeholders or development partners in Pakistan is strongly preferred.

Competencies

• Functional: Data Analysis & Visualization, Research Design & Implementation, Health Financing & Strategic Purchasing Expertise, Stakeholder Engagement.
• Core: Strategic Thinking, Results Orientation, Adaptability, and Integrity.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Periodic travel required for meetings, conferences, and other events.
• Compensation will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
• The consultant must disclose all current and planned engagements, particularly with organizations working on health financing in Pakistan, to ensure no conflict of interest or direct competition with Health Systems Insight’s work.

[1] Level of effort and timelines are indicative and subject to adjustment based on data access and project priorities.