Subject Matter Expert

Swasti Health Resource Center; Kilcoole; Remote; EUR 33,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Swasti Health Resource Center is engaged by the Government of Odisha to guide change management for the AECC initiative. The assignment focuses on planning and managing organisational and behavioural changes for citizens, healthcare providers, and managers, ensuring adoption, sustainment, and replication at scale.

The Subject Matter Expert will design a Theory of Change, a cross‑stakeholder curriculum, and field‑tested training modules, with Odia‑language materials and practical delivery in

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in a relevant field is required.
• Minimum 15 years of professional experience, including at least 10 years leading change management in large-scale system transformations.
• Experience designing and delivering adult learning programmes and curricula.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working knowledge of Odia or Hindi is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Guide Swasti and District Administration in planning and managing AECC organisational changes.
• Design the Theory of Change and Change Management Framework.
• Develop change modules, curricula, facilitator guides, and job aids.
• Coordinate with district officials, healthcare providers, and governance bodies.
• Ensure materials are accessible in Odia and appropriate for varied literacy levels.

Skills

Change management

Public health

Digital health

Curriculum design

Stakeholder engagement

Training delivery

Education

Postgraduate degree in Organisational Development / Public Health / Management / Behavioural Science / Psychology

Prosci or similar change management certification

Job description

Subject Matter Expert – Change Management

The Government of Odisha, through the Department of Health and Family Welfare, will implement the ABDM-Enabled Care Coordination (AECC) initiative in Keonjhar District. Swasti provides technical assistance to the District Administration and the District Health Society. Keonjhar serves as the demonstration district for a model that the State intends to replicate.

AECC Aims To Build a Connected, Citizen-centred District Health System Using The Infrastructure Of The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). The Initiative Integrates Five Components Into a Unified Architecture

• Health Information System (HIS): Implemented across public health facilities.
• Care Coordination Centre (CCC): Supports navigation, referrals, follow-ups, and grievance redressal.
• Red-Amber-Green (RAG) Governance Dashboard: Supports district-level monitoring and review.
• Population Health and Wellness Score (PHWS): Published at Gram Panchayat and ward levels.
• ABHA-based Citizen Identity: Links health records across facilities.

AECC represents a change in how healthcare is accessed, delivered, and governed, rather than simply a technology rollout. Experience from digital health programmes shows that systems often fail because of low adoption, parallel paper-based workarounds, and loss of trust rather than technical faults alone.

Stakeholder Group Current State Expected Change with AECC
Citizens and Families: Walk-in care, self-referrals, paper records carried by patients, and limited follow-up. ABHA-linked records, CCC helpline for navigation and appointments, guided referrals and follow-ups, and a mechanism for raising grievances.
Providers and Facility Staff: Paper registers, separate programme portals, and referrals without confirmation of arrival. Digital records at the point of care, structured referrals and referral-back processes, teleconsultation, and guideline-linked prescribing.
Frontline Workers: Household visits and reporting through separate tools. Linking families to the CCC, follow-up prompts, and a role in mobilising ABHA usage.
Managers and District Leadership: Reviews based on reports, primarily focused on inputs and coverage. Fortnightly, data-led reviews through the RAG Governance Dashboard, accountability for corrective action, and tracking population outcomes through PHWS.

Objective of the Assignment

The Subject Matter Expert will guide Swasti and the District Administration in planning and managing the organisational and behavioural changes introduced by AECC for citizens, healthcare providers, and managers. The objective is to ensure that the transition is positive for all stakeholders, enabling new ways of working to be adopted, sustained, and replicated at the State level.

Scope of Work

• Diagnose Change Readiness
• Review AECC design documents, implementation phasing plans, and readiness assessments.
• Map stakeholders and assess their interests, influence, and likely concerns, covering citizens, frontline workers, facility in-charges, block and district managers, and the District Administration.
• Assess change readiness at each level, including digital literacy, workload, incentives, leadership support, and previous experience with digital initiatives.
• Identify potential sources of resistance and early adopters who can act as change champions.
• Design the Theory of Change and Change Management Framework
• Develop a Theory of Change for adoption, linking change management activities to improvements in awareness, skills, behaviour, and system performance.
• Develop a change management framework aligned with AECC implementation phases, covering leadership and sponsorship, change champions, communication, capacity building, reinforcement, and feedback mechanisms.
• Define a change journey for each stakeholder group, outlining what changes, when the change occurs, what support is provided, and the benefits expected.
• Develop Change Modules and Curriculum
• Design training modules and curricula for three stakeholder groups:
• Citizens and communities.
• Healthcare providers and frontline workers.
• Managers and governance bodies.
• Develop facilitator guides, job aids, short practice formats, and training-of-trainers materials.
• Ensure that all materials are suitable for delivery in Odia and accessible to audiences with varying literacy levels.
• Ensure that the managers' curriculum covers leading change, using data during review meetings, and taking action on Red and Amber alerts.

Field-Test and Finalise the Modules

• Field-test the modules with each stakeholder group during the Padampur CHC demonstration, in collaboration with the Swasti team and district trainers.
• Gather feedback on clarity, relevance, duration, and effectiveness. Revise the modules based on the findings and finalise the training package.
• Train a pool of district trainers and Swasti staff to deliver the modules.

Develop Short-Term and Long-Term Approaches

Short-term approach: Go-live support

• Develop a go-live support approach for each implementation phase.
• Include on-site support during the initial weeks, identification of quick wins, rapid troubleshooting, recognition of early adopters, and safeguards against reverting to paper-based processes.

Long-term approach: Institutionalisation

• Develop a roadmap for embedding AECC-related changes within Government systems.
• Include induction training, supportive supervision, performance reviews, recognition mechanisms, and a review schedule owned by the District Health Society.
• Prepare a change management playbook that the State can use when scaling AECC to other districts.
• Advise on Governance and Course Correction
• Provide periodic advice to Swasti and the District Administration, including inputs to the District AECC Steering Committee when requested.
• Review adoption data and field feedback quarterly and recommend appropriate course corrections.

Deliverables and Timeline

Timelines will be calculated from the date of contract signing and aligned with the AECC implementation phase plan during inception.

No.

Deliverable Key Contents Timeline

• 1 Inception Report and Change Readiness Diagnostic Work plan, stakeholder map, readiness assessment by level, key risks, and identification of early change champions. Month 1
• 2 Theory of Change and Change Management Framework Theory of Change, framework aligned with AECC phases, stakeholder change journeys, communication plan, and change champion network plan. Months 2–3
• 3 Success Measurement Framework Indicators, baselines, data sources, and review schedule, agreed with the MEAL and data teams. Month 3
• 4 Draft Modules and Curriculum Modules for citizens and communities, providers and frontline workers, and managers and governance bodies, including facilitator guides and job aids. Months 4–5
• 5 Field-Test Report and Final Package Findings from field testing at Padampur CHC, revised and finalised modules, and training of a district trainer pool. Months 6–7
• 6 Short-Term Go-Live Support Approach Phase-wise support plan, quick wins, troubleshooting mechanisms, and reinforcement measures. Month 5, before the first go-live
• 7 Quarterly Adoption Reviews Brief review notes documenting findings and recommended course corrections. Quarterly
• 8 Long-Term Institutionalisation Roadmap and State Playbook Roadmap for embedding change within Government systems and a change management playbook for scale-up. Months 11–12

Measuring Success

Success will be defined by whether stakeholders use the new ways of working, consider them better than previous practices, and continue using them after project support ends. Delivering training or producing modules alone will not constitute success.

Success will be assessed across four levels against baselines established during inception and targets agreed upon with the District Administration.

Level Expected Outcomes

Illustrative Indicators Primary Data Sources

Citizens and Families: People are aware of AECC services, use them, and trust them. Awareness of the CCC helpline and ABHA; proportion of visits using ABHA at the point of care; referral completion; satisfaction scores; and timely grievance resolution. Community surveys, CCC records, HIS data, and grievance cell records.

Providers and Frontline Workers: Digital workflows become routine and are perceived as useful. Proportion of encounters recorded in the HIS in real time; weekly active users; recurrence of paper-based workarounds; confidence and usability scores; and post-training competency. HIS usage logs, pulse surveys, supportive supervision, and pre- and post-training assessments.

Managers and Governance: Review meetings use data and lead to corrective action. Steering Committee and facility reviews conducted on schedule using data; proportion of Red and Amber alerts with corrective actions closed on time; and managers' use of the dashboard. Meeting records, RAG Governance Dashboard, and action trackers.

Institutionalisation: The Government owns the change and can sustain it beyond the project. Modules incorporated into the district training calendar; district trainers independently delivering sessions; change responsibilities incorporated into Government job descriptions and review processes; and State endorsement of the playbook. District orders and circulars, training records, and State communications.

The consultancy will also be assessed on the timely delivery and acceptance of deliverables, participant feedback on the field-tested modules, and the District Administration's assessment of the advice provided.

Swasti's MEAL and data teams will collect the relevant data. The Subject Matter Expert will design the measurement approaches, interpret the results, and ensure that data collection remains proportionate and practical.

Approach and Ways of Working

The Subject Matter Expert is expected to adapt established change management models, such as ADKAR or Kotter's Eight-Step Model, to the public health system rather than apply them without contextual adaptation.

The Approach Should

• Be co-designed with district officials, healthcare providers, and community representatives.
• Be grounded in field observations and practical implementation experience.
• Work through existing Government structures so that the District Administration owns the change from the outset.
• Use practical, concise materials that can be delivered effectively in Odia.
• Pay particular attention to women, tribal communities, and people with low literacy levels or limited access to digital devices.

Qualifications and Experience

Educational Qualifications

A postgraduate degree in Organisational Development, Public Health, Management, Behavioural Science, Psychology, or a related field.

A doctorate or certification in change management, such as Prosci or an equivalent qualification, will be an added advantage.

Professional Experience

A minimum of 15 years of professional experience, including at least 10 years leading change management in large-scale system transformations.

Demonstrated experience managing change during the introduction of digital systems in healthcare, preferably within public health systems in India or other low- and middle-income countries. Relevant examples may include hospital information systems, telemedicine, ABDM-linked programmes, or Health Management Information System (HMIS) reforms.

Experience designing and delivering adult learning programmes and curricula for audiences ranging from community members to senior managers.

Experience advising senior Government officials and district administrations.

Familiarity with social and behaviour change approaches and methods for measuring adoption.

Publications, case studies, or documented results from previous change management programmes will be an added advantage.

Language Requirements

Excellent written and spoken English.

Working knowledge of Odia or Hindi will be an added advantage.

Level of Effort, Duration, and Location

The source specifies an estimated level of effort of 60–80 person-days over 12 months, with greater effort expected during Months 1–7, when design, field testing, and initial go-live support take place.

The assignment will be home-based and will require at least six visits to Keonjhar, each lasting three to five days, aligned with key milestones, along with occasional meetings in Bhubaneswar.

The contract may be extended to provide further advisory support during district-wide expansion and State-level scale-up, subject to requirements and funding availability.

Reporting and Coordination

The Subject Matter Expert will report to the Project Director, Swasti.

The role will work closely with the Project Lead, Health Administrator, Data and Digital Lead, Documentation Specialist and MEAL, and Coordinators in Keonjhar.

The Subject Matter Expert will engage with the District Collector, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), and District Health Society as agreed with the Project Director.

Payment, Intellectual Property, and Confidentiality

Payment and Travel

Payment will be linked to the acceptance of deliverables, according to a schedule specified in the contract.

Travel costs will be covered in accordance with Swasti's applicable policies.

Intellectual Property

All materials produced under this assignment will belong to Swasti and the Government of Odisha and may be freely used and adapted for public health purposes.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

The Subject Matter Expert must maintain the confidentiality of all programme information and personal data.

The role must comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and applicable Government communication protocols.

Informed consent must be obtained for any field interaction that is recorded.