| TERMS OF REFERENCE | |
| Hiring office: | UNFPA Turkmenistan CO |
| Title: | Individual consultancy services (national) on mobile application development for repository of internal documents on obstetrics for health providers. |
| The background and purpose of consultancy: |
UNFPA Turkmenistan, within the implementation of the Action Plan of the National Strategy for RMNCAH in Turkmenistan with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (MOHMI), aims to develop a mobile application (app) to serve as a centralized digital repository of up-to-date updated clinical protocols, internal documents, legislations, UNFPA and WHO recommendations, medical atlas and medical articles for national obstetrician-gynecologists for their easy access and timely provision of health services. The app will provide secure, instant access to clinical guidelines, medical protocols, case studies, and essential reference materials in offline mode to provide uninterrupted availability, which will enable the healthcare professionals’ (users) access in remote areas only having at least the smart device. This functionality will empower users to operatively retrieve critical information anytime, anywhere, enhancing decision-making in clinical practice, emergency situations, and low-resource settings. The quality and timely maternal health services are crucial for further reducing maternal mortality especially in the further regions. UNFPA has published the clinical protocols and the Ministry of Health’s orders in the area of RH and distributed them to about 75% of the staff who need them in their work. Within the modern and digitalized era, almost all people, including medical specialists have smart mobile devices operating on Android or IOS operating systems. Taking this into account, it is reasonable to have the digital versions of work related documentation in ready to read format with easy to find options for obstetricians to make them available 24/7. A key feature will be its functionality in an offline mode, ensuring accessibility for doctors in distant areas with limited internet connectivity. Access to the Ministry’s up-to-date internal documentation, such as orders and clinical protocols will be limited to only medical professionals and will serve as a learning and reference tool. Having digital versions of the publications would be a green solution for making protocols available everywhere with doctors, further strengthening the capacity and knowledge base of obstetrician-gynecologists, as well as support and accelerate the decision making and adequate intervention in emergency obstetric situations, which eventually will contribute to saving lives and having better health outcomes for mothers and women and girls. By enabling quick and easy access to critical information, the app aims to increase the productivity of these medical professionals and reduce the time spent searching for necessary resources. The mobile application development initiative, while previously initiated and the software has been developed, has not yet been distributed, and necessitates focused effort for properly reaching to end user’s. This requires guided dissemination of the app to ensure the application's optimal performance, user’s sufficient capability to utilize it, as well as distribution within MoHMI internally (not through app stores) . Meeting technical requirements and user acceptance testing are essential steps that need to be rigorously conducted. In this regard, a national expert for mobile application development (IT specialist) is required. The incumbent will support the process of the app finalization, which includes but is not limited to communication with national stakeholders, such as MoHMI, development of app design and/or interface, end-to-end technical development of app, testing, and deployment, and ensure integration with MoHMI's existing systems. National IT specialist will also provide capacity building training to MoHMI administrators and users on app utilization and management, troubleshooting, including conducting workshops to promote user adoption and digital literacy among end users (obstetrician-gynecologists). |
| Scope of work: |
The IT specialist will be working with UNFPA RH NPO and national MoHMI specialists on developing the mobile app for obstetrician-gynecologists including the following stages: Stage 1: Planning and Design - 6 days - Conduct requirement analysis to ensure PDF documents are in searchable text format with clickable chapter and title links and perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) conversion for scanned/imaged/handwritten documents (PDF, JPG, etc.) to enable detailed text search functionality (4 days). - UI/UX Design: Develop an intuitive and user-friendly interface ensuring accessibility features for easy navigation and submit the design concept for UNFPA approval (2 days). Stage 2: Development and Testing - 12 days - Restructure or Upgrade/develop the application based on the approved UI/UX design (5 days) - Identify and resolve any errors or issues in the application code, including optimization of app speed, storage efficiency, and battery consumption. Implement offline data synchronization and secure access controls (5 days) - Conduct thorough (functional, usability, and security) testing of the application to ensure functionality and stability (2 days) Stage 3: Deployment and Documentation - 4 days - Develop comprehensive user manuals and technical documentation (2 days) - Conduct training to enhance digital literacy and smooth adoption and assist in internal distribution (USB drives/CDs or Google Drive (not public app stores) (2 days).
The national specialist will also advise on the UNFPA role and contribution in communication with national authorities in the National Communications Agency, if necessary.
Note: The IC shall provide technical maintenance and troubleshooting support for the mobile application for a period of three (3) months (till the end of the contact) following the delivery of the application to end users. This may involve, but not limited to, addressing any critical bugs, malfunctions, or performance issues arising from the initial deployment; resolution of system errors or crashes affecting core functionality; minor adjustments to ensure compatibility with latest/older mobile OS versions; guidance to MoHMI administrators on resolving technical issues. |
| Duration and working schedule: | The duration of this consultancy is 22 working days from July 25, 2025 till December 3rd, 2025. |
| Outcomes and deliverables: |
Deliverable 1. Mobile app structure and design presented and agreed with MoHMI by July 30, 2025 Deliverable 2. Mobile app upgraded/developed based on the MoHMI feedback and ready for deployment by August 17, 2025 Deliverable 3. Tested and deployed app handed over to MoHMI by August 24, 2025. Deliverable 4. Training for MoHMI Administrators & OB-GYNs, by August 29, 2025 Deliverable 5. Final consultancy report by September 3, 2025. |
| Place where services are to be delivered: | The consultancy services will need to be delivered on the duty station of the National Consultant and in a distant mode. |
| Delivery dates and how work will be delivered: | Dates for deliverables as indicated in the outcomes and deliverables section. All deliverables should be submitted in an electronic format. |
| Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline: |
The UNFPA Programme Analyst on Reproductive Health will monitor the National Consultant’s work through reviewing submitted materials. The consultant will weekly provide an update on progress by email or ad-hoc, on challenges encountered and support needed. Ethical Considerations UNFPA requires its consultants to adhere to ethical principles and standards when doing research. The selected consultant should clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches, as well as the processes for ethical review in the inception report. National Ownership The involvement of appropriate national partners will be a critical condition for the development of all the mission outcome materials in ensuring stakeholder ownership and its subsequent utilisation. |
| Supervisory arrangements: | The National Consultants will directly work under the supervision of and report to the UNFPA Programme Analyst on reproductive health, along with the overall guidance from the UNFPA Head of Office. |
| Expected travel: | No travel is expected under this consultancy. |
| Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies including language requirements: |
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| Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner, if applicable: | UNFPA will provide the consultant with all the necessary materials, data, information, and available reports. The UNFPA Country Office will put together a list of core sources and readings before the start of the consultancy. |
| Other relevant information or special conditions, if any: |
The consultancy fee will be calculated based on the NO-B level of the UN Salary Scale for National Officer categories effective 1 November 2020 and will be paid in a lump sum upon successful completion of deliverables.
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| UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Persons with disabilities, and individuals of other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. |
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