National Consultant (NOD) - Political Economy Analysis (PEA) at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential - to the benefit of a better world.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Consultant (NOD) - Political Economy Analysis (PEA)

Job Number: 511449
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Work Type: Consultancy

Purpose of Assignment

• The focus of this study is on developing a better understanding of the prevailing political and economic processes in Borno and Yobe as implementation in the two states transitions to early recovery recognizing this process is happening at different rates in different parts of the respective states.
• The study outcomes will inform UNICEF in developing state specific transition and early recovery scale up strategies and how to more effectively engage in advocacy to ensure the scale up objectives are met.
• The political economy analysis/study will provide evidence for effective engagement with government on programming scale up and recovery.

Background

• UNICEF Nigeria is implementing the DFID-funded North East Nigeria Transition to Development project (NENTAD) which aims to to improve the access to quality education for 60,000 vulnerable children and young people (6-18 years) with a focus on girls and children with disabilities in IDP camps and host communities especially in less accessible areas in Borno and Yobe so that children have the knowledge and skills to cope with the current challenges they face and contribute to the social and economic development of their communities, and addressing some of the root causes of the crisis disenfranchisement and lack of access to economic opportunities.
• UNICEF has played a lead role in the education in emergencies response in northeast working in all accessible LGAs in the three states.
• The systematic destruction of the so-called western education by Boko Haram in northeast has further deteriorated a sector that was already operating in an emergency, widely dysfunctional mode before the crisis.  It is widely recognised that the current status of the Education sector in the three northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe is the result of the current conflict that is deliberately targeting teachers, learners and schools but also the legacy of decades of underdevelopment.
• An unequitable, poorly performing education system in the three states prior to the insurgency, with large cohorts of children and youth out of school, mostly from extremely poor homes, offered a fertile ground for recruitment into armed groups. The effective provision of equitable, inclusive and quality education can be a game changer turning years of underdevelopment, poverty, violence and radicalisation into self-empowerment and a brighter socio-economic future. Unlike countries where schools are collateral victims, the so called Western education was the prime target of the insurgents in Nigeria.
• The emergency in northeast Nigeria is a sad and perhaps unique case where the systematic destruction of the education system was a key objective and tragic result of the conflict. 
• According to the UN Secretary General report on Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria, all schools in north-eastern States were closed from December 2013 to June 2015.  More recent information received from the State Universal Basic Education
• Board (SUBEB) in the 3 states indicates the following: 774 schools closed in Borno, 59 in Yobe and 7 in Adamawa (840 in total).
• The Humanitarian Needs Overview reports an estimated 2.9 million children are deprived quality education or have no access to education at all. The Education Sector (EiE Working Group) estimates that the number of OOSC children in the 3 states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe is between 1.0 and 1.2 million. Since 2009, across the northeast, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 have been displaced. Almost 1,400 schools have been destroyed with the majority unable to open because of extensive damage or because they are in areas that remain unsafe.

The Joint Education Needs Assessment (JENA) conducted in November 2017 provided some important findings highlighting a combination of dire humanitarian and development needs:

• The single biggest barrier for most out-of-school children in the northeast is poverty.
• One third of all schools [sampled] are holding classes under trees and a rough average of six classrooms per school are currently non-functional
• Only 34% of schools surveyed have clean drinking water available, 35% do not have any toilets or latrines facilities and only 16% have adequate facilities for handwashing.  One third of schools sampled in the assessment had no sanitation facilities at all.
• 50% of schools reporting no furniture or almost nor furniture for their classrooms
• 45% of schools reporting little or no teaching and learning materials available to children although there was significant evidence that materials were reaching a number of schools
• One in five schools lacking textbooks even for their teachers, let alone children (only 14% of schools surveyed had textbooks for all or almost all children).
• Teacher morale in the northeast is at rock bottom.  Low salaries, poor conditions, a lack of recognition and the impact of the crisis itself have all taken a toll.
• There seems to have been little awareness or training on the risks of UXOs or landmines.  Only 1% of schools sampled had provided lessons on this topic.
• Life skills, another key area as children navigate through life in an emergency were only being provided by 5% of schools
• Of those schools surveyed 26 (8%) are running two shifts to cope with increased student numbers due to displacement [How could we further expand double shift to improve access and decongest classrooms?]
• Encouragingly 86% of schools reported functional school based management committees or parent teacher associations.  A further 65% have received some form of support from international organisations, with 40% having been given government assistance either this year or last.
• In the coming years, the situation in Yobe and Borno are likely to evolve differently. The situation in Yobe is already stabilising and will transition much faster into early recovery and development than most of Borno. In eastern local government areas (LGAs) of Borno, education interventions will remain in emergency mode for longer whereas in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere LGAs there will be a mixed approach, with a combination of education in emergencies interventions in IDP camps and more early recovery education support to host communities.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Detailed study work plan including schedule of visits to five states, key stakeholders to be consulted and methodology, list of documents to be reviewed and a proposed report outline
• Deliverable 2: Draft report and presentation to UNICEF and DFID
• The report should follow the below structure:
  • Executive Summary
  • Overview and Background
  • Methodology
  • Comparative Analysis of Findings in Two States
  • Overall Conclusions with Strategic Recommendations
  • State Specific Reports including: Overview and Background, Analysis and Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations for Each State (Borno and Yobe). The analysis for each state should cover:
    • Education context analysis
    • Stakeholder analysis
    • Strategy analysis
    • Process tracking
  • Power Point presentation highlighting key findings and recommendations for comments, discussions and inputs
  • Deliverable 3: Final report and presentation submitted electronically including all data files

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required

• Advanced university Degree in Education, Economics, Social Sciences, or a field(s) relevant to international development assistance.
• Eight years of professional experience in Education, Public Policy or Social/Sustainable Development. Experience working in the UN or other international development organization an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to assess and analyse complex situations in order to succinctly and clearly distil critical issues and draw out forward looking conclusions.
• Excellent conceptualization, analytical and English writing skills; experience in publication of technical reviews/reports in English.
• Fluency in English language.
• Proficiency in Hausa would be an advantage.

Estimated time of consultancy and deadline for submission of end product:

• This consultancy is estimated to be completed in approximately five weeks including about 2 weeks traveling to the two states of Borno and Yobe for data collection. The final report will be due by the end of 5th week.

Application Closing Date
21st March, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online