Position: Design Team – Vanuatu Australia Health Partnership Investment Design

Location: Desk-based with travel to Vanuatu

Duration: August 2025 – January 2026

The World at Abt 

Solving the world’s most pressing issues and improving the quality of life for people worldwide is what we do every day at Abt. Creating a more equitable world is no small task, but we are driven by big challenges. 

We are a team of 3,000+ people in over 50 countries working in unison and focused on the bigger picture. Only by sharing our commitment, energy, and innovation do we affect change and push the boundaries of what’s possible. We welcome diverse ideas, backgrounds, and viewpoints – joining Abt means access to exceptional thinkers at the top of their game. 

To thrive at Abt is to embrace flexibility and collaboration. Our open culture allows you to balance your work and personal life as needed to optimize personal well-being. Creating a more equitable world starts from within – we look after people around the world, and we’ll do the same for you. Ready to embrace rewarding and meaningful work? Now’s your chance.

Specialist Health Service (SHS):

Managed by Abt Global, the Specialist Health Service (SHS) provides strategic input on health to the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). SHS is the primary source from which DFAT accesses health and development expertise and advisory services to improve the quality of health programming across DFAT’s global and regional health portfolio, through enabling access to responsive technical advice and support.

The Opportunity

DFAT Post Port Vila, Vanuatu will engage a Design Team to develop a four-year (plus option of 4-year extension) health investment design. The design process will be completed between August 2025 to January 2026 and involve in-country and remote consultations tentatively scheduled for late September/early October. The Design Team will be contracted and managed by SHS. 

The Design Team will work collaboratively as a team and with DFAT and Government of Vanuatu, review key documents, develop a design plan and methodology, conduct consultations, develop a theory of change and program logic. The Design team will:

Review key documents relevant to the design Develop a design plan Conduct consultations with key stakeholders in Vanuatu and Australia Complete any analysis required to inform the design including GEDSI analysis Develop a theory of change and program logic Work with DFAT on the key design questions Draft the Investment Design Document and Statement of Requirements Finalise the Investment Design Document based on DFAT and GoV feedback and peer review feedback

Deliverables:

Key deliverables will include:

Design Plan addressing TOR and outlining proposed design approach and methodology Aide memoire presentation Draft Investment Design Document and Statement of Requirements (SoR) using DFAT templates Final Investment Design Document and Statement of Requirements (SoR) using DFAT templates addressing DFAT feedback and independent peer review feedback. 

SHS/Abt will contract the selected company/organisation and manage design team travel, logistics and quality assurance of all key deliverables. 

Expertise and experience:

The design team will be resourced with the following expertise and experience (maximum of four team members):

Design  Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Health technical expertise Gender equality, Disability Equity and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Knowledge of, and experience working in Pacific Island contexts, preferably in Vanuatu  Understanding of thinking and working politically, and ability to navigate complexity and work effectively in a cross-cultural context Knowledge of Australian government aid and development priorities and DFAT Design and MEL standards

The proposed design team must include a national adviser from Vanuatu with relevant expertise and experience.

How to apply:

The full TOR can be found below. Companies/organisations interested in this opportunity are required to submit the following: 

Brief cover letter (max. 4 pages using template provided below) that includes the following for each proposed design team member:

Position, name and summary of role and responsibilities on the design team Brief summary of relevant experience  Proposed number of input days and daily rate in AUD (inclusive of any overhead/management costs) Confirmation of availability to travel to Vanuatu for a two-week consultation period in late September/early October

CVs for all proposed design team members

Please submit your application (Cover Letter and CVs) as a single PDF document to Jessica.Gillmore@shsglobal.com.au by 10 August 2025. For any enquiries, please email Jessica.Gillmore@shsglobal.com.au.  

Due diligence checks will be completed by SHS/Abt for all selected design team members prior to contracting. 

Disclaimer: Abt will never ask candidates for money in exchange for an offer of employment.

#LI-AUSBRIT

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Title

Vanuatu Australia Health Partnership Investment Design

 

Term

August 2025 – January 2026 with travel to Vanuatu for two-weeks of consultations in late September/early October 

 

Background The current Vanuatu Australia Health Program (VAHP) design is a 15-year investment. The first 5-year implementation phase of AUD5 million annually (2019-2024) plus additional 2-year extension ending September 2026, is implemented by Managing Contractor, DT Global. The current program focuses on strengthening the health system, workforce development, improving public health, and supporting the decentralisation of health services to the provincial level.   The current program uses a mix of approaches including, Managing Contract, budget support to MoH through a Direct Funding Arrangement (DFA), humanitarian funding through DFA, and grants to WHO, Respond Global and Pasifika Medical Association.  Australia invests significantly in regional and global health programs that support the Vanuatu health sector, including regional programs, visiting medical teams, humanitarian response efforts, Australia Awards and Australian volunteers. The design process should consider these investments to ensure that all DFAT’s support to the health sector has common objectives, is measurable and is well coordinated.   DFAT recently developed an Investment Concept Note (ICN) which identifies high-level objectives and establishes draft end of program outcomes for a new Australian investment in health  in Vanuatu.   A design process for the new health investment will also provide an opportunity to explore potential modalities identified in the ICN and identify the preferred modality/modalities for the new investment.  

 

Purpose and objectives

The overall objective of the assignment is to prepare a four-year investment design for Vanuatu Australia Health Partnership (four years with options to extend for another 4 years). The design needs to meet DFAT’s Investment Design Quality standards and will be developed using the DFAT-Led Design - Investment Design Template.  

 

Scope of Work

The Design Team will:

Review key documents for the design  Develop a draft and final Design Plan that outlines the proposed design approach and methodology Develop the Aide Memoire after in-country consultations Draft the Investment Design Document (IDD) using the DFAT-Led Design – Investment Design Template to include: Update and expansion on the contextual analysis in the Investment Concept Note (ICN) to describe key factors likely to influence the achievement of outcomes including gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion (GEDSI) considerations Update and expansion on the rationale for investment in the ICN Identify key lessons learned from current and previous health investments in Vanuatu to inform design decisions and future programming including in relation to GEDSI and other cross-cutting issues Review the relevance of the proposed investment objectives identified in the ICN, to ensure alignment with the MoH Health Sector Strategy and Australian government priorities Develop a program logic and theory of change for the investment through a collaborative process involving DFAT Post Vanuatu and Government of Vanuatu representatives, ensuring that gender equality objectives are included (as per DFAT policy on new investments of $3m and above) and cross-cutting issues such as disability equity and rights and climate change are integrated Identify target provinces and/or criteria for provincial selection for the investment (such as provincial performance, budgeting and planning and key health indicators) Identify specific interventions aimed at improving equitable health services and health outcomes in targeted provincial areas and communities especially for women, children and people with disability   Determine whether the current mechanism to channel additional funds through DFA to respond to disasters and health emergencies is appropriate, and if not, recommend an alternative Explore the feasibility and viability of delivery options that will ensure a value for money approach to implementation of the investment Develop a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework (based on the program logic/theory of change) that meets DFAT Design and MEL Standards, outlining the overarching approach to MEL, key qualitative and quantitative indicators (measurable and feasible) including GEDSI indicators, MEL resourcing, key evaluation questions and reporting requirements  Develop the implementation arrangements including governance and management mechanisms that improve program management efficiencies for the DFAT Post Health Team and work with DFAT to develop the proposed approach to DFAT policy dialogue and donor coordination required to support the achievement of outcomes under the new investment.  Develop the proposed approach to GEDSI, climate change and other relevant cross-cutting issues  Outline budget and resourcing requirements including cost assumptions, value for money considerations, opportunities for alignment with global and regional health programs and DFAT resourcing requirements Conduct a full risk assessment using the DFAT risk tool and template and assumptions underpinning the program logic/theory of change, and develop a Risk Register outlining key identified risks that may impact the achievement of outcomes, risk mitigation and management strategies Draft all required annexes as outlined in the DFAT-Led Design – Investment Design Template

5. Develop the Draft Statement of Requirements and Pricing Schedule for procurement of a managing contractor (if this is the proposed modality).  

Design Consultations

DFAT at Post will work with the team to draft the in-country consultation program and support the scheduling of meetings with in-country stakeholders. Design stakeholders will include Vanuatu Government Officials, MoH, the MFEM, PMO (Aid Coordination, Public Service Commission), DFAT (Post and Canberra), VAHP, WHO, Respond Global, Unicef and other donor and implementing partners working in the health sector in Vanuatu. 

 

Performance Outcomes and Deliverables, with dates

The Design Team will deliver the following deliverables: 

Draft and final Design Plan outlining the design approach and methodology for DFAT approval prior to in- country design consultations.     Aide Memoire for presentation at the end of the in-country consultations highlighting initial findings from consultations.    Draft Investment Design Document (25 pages plus annexes)   Final Investment Design Document and Draft Statement of Requirements (SoR). The final design document will be published on DFAT’s website.