The Health Practice team at Oxford Policy Management (OPM) is seeking a Clinical Due Diligence Consultant (Health Practice) on a part-time, consultancy basis, contingent on the successful outcome of a bid for an upcoming project.

The position would be based remotely, with travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and therefore opened to international consultants.

We are an international development consultancy working to improve lives through sustainable policy change in low- and middle-income countries. Our vision is for fair public policy that benefits both people and the planet.

Through our global network of offices, we work in partnership with national stakeholders and decision makers to research, design, implement, and evaluate impactful public policy. We draw on our local and international sector experts to provide the very best evidence-based support. We deliver projects with expert knowledge and experience and can be relied upon for excellence in all aspects of project delivery. We work collaboratively, with ambition, to help deliver impactful public policy that will bring about lasting change.

The Health Practice works to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes for people in low- and middle-income countries. Our work spans health financing, service delivery, health policy, and systems strengthening. We combine rigorous research and evaluation with practical policy advice to help governments and development partners design, implement, and sustain effective health programmes.

The team has a proven track record in delivering complex multi-country evaluations, monitoring frameworks, and applied research across Africa and Asia, with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), health systems governance, and universal health coverage.

Background  

WISH Dividend is a UK Government Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded project implemented between January 2025 to March 2029. The objective of WISH Dividend is to support women and adolescents, particularly the poor and most marginalised, to have greater voice, choice and control over their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). WISH Dividend also aims to improve the enabling environment for SRHR and gender equality as part of an accelerated, African-led, inclusive demographic transition. WISH Dividend has three components:   

• WISH 2: includes support for service delivery and technical assistance. WISH 2 is implemented by MSI Reproductive Choices (MSI) and partners in six countries in West and Central Africa and by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and partners in seven countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.  
• WISH Policy and Systems (P&S): includes P&S Technical Assistance (P&S TA) implemented by Palladium, which is a demand-led, flexible TA programme on SRHR and the demographic dividend; and P&S Data implemented by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which builds selected sub-Saharan countries’ capability for statistics and population to support data for effective SRHR policy and systems.   
• WISH Learn: includes WISH Global Goods Research led by Guttmacher, which delivers research and advocacy on specific SRHR issues; and WISH Evaluation and Learning (E&L) led by Oxford Policy Management, which provides third-party monitoring and verification, learning and course correction, evidence generation and research, and evaluation support.  

As part of the WISH E&L component’s third-party monitoring and verification work, OPM will conduct routine country assessments to independently verify the quality of WISH Dividend programme implementation at the country level.

Routine Country Assessment 

Routine country assessment will provide FCDO with a contextual understanding of the status of the programme implementation at the country level and flag if it is off track. Each assessment will cover a combination of the following components:  

1. Programme review 
2. Verification of data to assess the accuracy of reported results and assessment of data systems
3. Verification of clinical due diligence self-assessment
4. Assessment of programme management
5. Assessment of risk management

About this role  

The purpose of the consultancy is to lead the verification of clinical due diligence as reported by the WISH 2 country programme to FCDO. The verification will focus on staff competency, clinical governance mechanisms, clinical standards, and informed consent.

The data collection will include a week's visit to the country, with approximately two days at the country programme headquarters in the capital city and three days of facility visits in sampled locations. The clinical due diligence consultant will work closely with a national consultant during data collection. The activities will be carried out over two months.

Specific activities to be undertaken include:

• Review of the clinical due diligence approach and questionnaires
• Preparation meetings with the wider OPM team and the national consultant
• In-person interviews with programme staff at national and sub-national levels; service providers and clients at health facilities; and structured observations of clinical FP procedures at health facilities.
• Most interviews will be conducted in French, and where relevant, interviews will be conducted in the local language with support from the national consultant and local translators.
• Presentation of findings to the implementation team in French
• Analysis and write-up for the country assessment report in English.

Essential:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, Public Health, or a related clinical discipline.

• Clinical background in family planning, with practical experience in SRHR service delivery.

• At least 10 years’ experience in SRHR service delivery, clinical quality assurance, or programme evaluation in low- and middle-income countries, preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Experience implementing or conducting research related to family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Demonstrated experience assessing clinical governance, competency, or service quality in family planning or SRHR programmes.

• Proven ability to conduct interviews across different levels of the programme, including senior and junior staff, national and sub-national government officials, community members, and service providers.

• Expertise in qualitative research and prior experience delivering assessment or evaluation reports for similar clients.

• Strong analytical, interviewing, and report-writing skills.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in both French and English.

• Availability to travel to the DRC for approximately one week during the assignment period.

Desirable:

• Experience working with FCDO-funded programmes or other major donors.

• Prior experience conducting clinical quality verification or due diligence assessments.

• Experience conducting fieldwork or managing teams in fragile or conflict-affected settings.

• Familiarity with WISH or other large-scale SRHR initiatives in Africa.

Whether you join us in a corporate position, as a project delivery colleague, or as an independent contractor driving programme management - at OPM you will find a company that places equal value on excellence and integrity. As a leading international development consulting firm, we strive to enable and empower everyone who works with us to do their best work in an environment that welcomes ambition, creativity and passion for positive change.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

We strongly believe in a fairer distribution of power between all stakeholders, and we commit to reflecting this in our organisational structures and in the design and delivery of our projects. We proactively work to evolve ourselves and our stakeholders to shape inclusive and fair programming, implementation, and policies. Our recruitment and procurement processes reflect our ambition to make the international development sector more diverse and inclusive.

If you share our vision for fair public policy that benefits both people and planet, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your application through our careers’ site by the closing date .  We review and interview applicants on a rolling basis and encourage you to apply by way of CV via our careers site at the earliest.