Consultant - Market Assessment at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the world's leading independent organisation for children. We work in 120 countries. We save children's lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential. We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Market Assessment to Inform the Start Up of IGAs for Vulnerable Parents.

Location: Auno community, Konduga LGA, Borno
Duration: 3 weeks
Line management: M&E Advisor

Background
Save the Children Nigeria is implementing a 12-month project funded by GIZ to address economic barriers faced by vulnerable conflict parents in Borno in accessing basic education for their children. The project is supporting 400 returnees, Internally Displaced People (IDP) and host families in Konduga Local Government Area (LGA) to generate income and meet the cost of education for their children. Through this project, at least 800 children (47% male and 53% female) primary school aged children (6-14 years) will enroll and consistently attend school. The project will also support the selected households to start up viable Income Generating Activities (IGAs), to enable them to continue educating their children beyond the life span of the project. The support package includes both training and equipment to start microenterprises.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

SC intends to recruit a consultant to conduct a Market Assessment to map the market system and identify market opportunities for the potential IGA products. The study will inform the selection of the identification of the income generating opportunities. All beneficiaries will receive technical, financial and business management training and linked to financial services where possible. After the trainings, the beneficiaries will receive start-up equipment/supplies/materials for their enterprise, as well as funds which they can exchange later for raw materials which they may need to replenish.

The objective of the study is to provide information to the IGA beneficiaries and guide their selection of viable business opportunities. The study will further identify barriers to accessing the opportunities and suggest ways of overcoming them. More specifically, the study will:

• Provide analysis of the different types of business available currently and those that could be created in the near future, identifying the maturity duration of each type of business.
• Identify the barriers to accessing IGA opportunities and suggest ways of overcoming them, focusing on key success factors for the different types of businesses and the startup requirements.
• Identify the key skills needed in the market to guide the training guidelines for the micro enterprise management for the IGA beneficiaries
• Identify vendors with capacity to provide the required LGA equipment to the beneficiaries.
• Determine if the existing vendors/retailers/business have the capacity to provide materials/inputs of sufficient quality and quantity to meet the need of the beneficiaries of multi-purpose e-vouchers
• Identify the existing micro finance institutions/informal credit systems and hire purchase opportunities available in the beneficiaries’ area.
• Map the local capacities - government, NGOs and private sectors available to support the training and mentoring of the activities; as well as identifying the available skills development centers for young mothers

Methodology
A detailed methodology should be provided by the consultant showing how the assessment aims and objectives will be met. The consultant should:

• Define the assessment methodology and develop data collection tools
• Review of relevant material held by SC, including baseline and household survey reports
• Collect data on existing business opportunities, taking into account their growth potential
• Identify constraints/challenges to starting up small businesses and provide recommendations on how to overcome them
• Assess capacity of a representative sample of retailers and wholesalers in the target beneficiaries’ locations.
• Meet with key stakeholders in the target area

Deliverables
Deliverables should include the following:

• An inception report, including: planned timeline and work plan, literature review of all relevant secondary sources, detailed methodology / approach, planned stakeholders to be consulted and sampling framework, data collection and analysis tools, qualitative and quantitative protocols for data collection and analysis
• Mapping of local suppliers and retailers
• Definition framework to ensure we have a common understanding of key terms and sectors
• Any suggested improvements to existing study scope, as outlined in this document
• Brief presentation of preliminary findings
• Draft report written in English
• One (1) electronic file of the clean (final) qualitative and quantitative data collected
• Final report

Consultant’s fee and proposed mode of payment

• 30% upon signature of contract and submission of inception report
• 40% upon submission of draft report
• 30 % upon submission of final evaluation report.
• SCI reserves the right to withhold payment if deliverables do not meet the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference.

Submission and evaluation of proposals
This market assessment will be carried out in Konduga LGA of Borno state. Qualified candidates (on a rolling basis) will be required to submit the following documents on or before close of business on 16th November, 2017:

• Technical proposal describing how the requirements of the Terms of Reference will be met within the given timeframe (maximum 4 pages)
• Budget
• CV(s) of lead evaluator/team
• 1-2 samples of relevant work

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• How well the requirements laid out in the ToR are met
• Skills and experience of the evaluator/team
• Cost effectiveness

Minimum Qualifications

• At least a Master's Degree, in a relevant discipline
• Extensive theoretical and practical experience of market assessment methodologies in humanitarian contexts, including rapid market assessment
• Experience with socio-economic surveys.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of the entrepreneurship for households with low levels of education
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles
• We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Application Closing Date
12th January, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online