Consultant - State Social Protection Policies at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries, including the United States. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities. In times of acute crisis, we mobilize rapid assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Each year, we and our partners reach millions of children in communities around the world. Join our dedicated and diverse staff in their work to improve the well-being of children everywhere.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - To support the development of State Social Protection Policies for Kaduna and Kano

Job ID: 190003O3
Location: Abuja
Employee Status: Fixed Term
 
Programme Background
The Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) implemented by Save the Children and Action Against Hunger is a UKAid funded “Cash Plus” programme aimed at tackling the high levels of malnutrition in Nigeria, which undermine the survival and future development of children and fuel the intergenerational transfer of poverty.
 
Since 2014, the CDGP has been providing unconditional cash transfers of 4,000 NGN per month to pregnant women and women with children under the age of two (2) in Zamfara and Jigawa states. The monthly cash transfers have been accompanied by Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) on child health and nutrition. The programme has also been supporting evidence generation and capacity building to enhance the implementation of social protection programmes in the two states and at federal level. The CDGP was officially expected to close out in 31st July 2019, however, building on the momentum and lessons learnt from the previous phase, the programme has been extended to 31st July 2021, but, without any community level direct intervention such as the cash transfers or the SBCC.
 
During its first phase, the programme generated evidence on the feasibility and impact of cash transfer programmes targeted at the critical “First 1,000 Days” of a child’s life. Findings from the end-line evaluation of Phase I indicated a 5.8 percentage point reduction in stunting. The evaluation also shows improvements in overall child health, food security, knowledge and practice of Health and Nutrition behaviours, household economic status and accumulation of livestock in implementing communities. The evidence from the CDGP is the first of its kind from Nigeria.

Overall, the CDGP had demonstrated how to achieve significant impact on the nutritional status and long-term future potential of children. In the second phase, CDGP will use this evidence to influence state and federal social protection policies and programmes, which will result in long term, sustainable change. If taken-up and used, this approach has the potential to impact on the lives and futures of hundreds of thousands of children across Nigeria.

During the second phase, the programme will increase its focus on systems strengthening, evidence generation, advocacy and capacity building with a particular emphasis on child and nutrition-sensitive social protection, to contribute to the increase in coverage of inclusive and accountable social protection at federal and state level.
The programme will continue to be implemented in the existing CDGP states of Jigawa and Zamfara, and will be extended to two additional states including Kano and Kaduna. Through support to federal level institutions and programmes, the CDGP will also contribute to systems and capacity development across the 36 states.

Context

• Kano and Kaduna states have various existing Social Protection programmes that, consists of different measures designed to prevent and reduce poverty as well as vulnerability by promoting efficient labour market, as well as diminishing people’s exposure to risk.
• However, due to the absence of a harmonized and coordinated approach to social protection programmes in each State, different MDAs coordinate these programmes separately. As such, there are no strong and sustainable social protection programmes and systems in place. Like many other States in Nigeria, the previously mentioned states have a number of social protection programmes that are politically driven and ad-hoc in nature.
• To address this and ensure that social protection is effective and sustainable the CDGP will support the Kano and Kaduna state governments to develop multi-sectoral state specific social protection policies.
• These policies are expected to outline the state government’s social protection strategies and interventions to reduce poverty and vulnerability in an integrated, coherent, coordinated, and sustainable manner, prioritizing the reduction of extreme poverty and emphasizing long-term and predictable interventions.
• Building on the momentum and lessons learnt from the previous phase CDGP will also support the increase in coverage of inclusive and accountable social protection in Kano and Kaduna States.
• Building on momentum and lessons from the previous phase CDGP will also support the expansion of inclusive and accountable social protection in Kano and Kaduna states.

Objectives:

• Social protection policies support the development of well-targeted, appropriately financed and well-coordinated responses to poverty and vulnerability, thus contributing to poverty reduction efforts.
• The purpose of this consultancy is to facilitate the adaptation of the National Social Protection policy to develop state specific social protection policies for Kano and Kaduna States.
• These policies will reflect each States priorities and will garner contributions and support from key ministries and stakeholders in those states.

Scope of Work:

• The scope of work of this assignment is to come up with a final draft of State Specific Social Protection Policies for Kano and Kaduna states through a consultative process engaging all relevant stakeholders with the blessings and leadership of Traditional Leaders, Legislatives and Executives.
• In providing support to policy development the consultant is expected to follow the standard policy development guidelines as provided for by Government. As such, understanding and knowledge of these guidelines and processes is critical for the successful completion of this assignment.
• The custodian and the institutional home/host of the policy will be the Ministry of Budget and Planning in Kano State and the Planning and Budget Commission for Kaduna State.
• The Ministry in Kano and the Commission in Kaduna will be expected to set up a policy development Technical Working Group made up of stakeholders form civil society organizations, line ministries and cooperating partners to guide the development process for coming up with the policy.
• Therefore, at the start of the assignment, the Technical Advisor is expected to define the methodology and discuss content and structure with the Technical Working Group.
• The Technical Advisor is also expected to work with the Technical Working Group to identify and agree on the major steps and timelines.
• During the course of the assignment regular follow-up meetings with the Technical Working Group will be held.
• The policy development-consultation workshops with key stakeholders in each state includes government stakeholders from relevant Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Constituents and Media and the validation of the draft policy, are key components of this assignment.
• At the end of the consultancy, the consultant will be expected to submit 2 draft policies, these drafts are expected be comprehensive, complete and ready to be submitted to the Executive Councils of the Each state for the approval and further proceedings.

Expected Outputs

• The outcome of this consultancy are two final draft  state specific Social Protection Policy documents for Kaduna and Kano that will be submitted to the programme within 10 days after the end date of the consultancy period. However, the consultant will provide a first draft of state specific Social Protection Policy Documents immediately at the end of the consultancy period.

Deliverables and Timelines:

• This assignment will be total of 30 working days and the table below provides details of key tasks, deliverables and timelines for this assignment.

Tasks
Expected Output/Deliverable - Days - Timeframe:

Contract signing:

• Signed contract - 11th Nov

Inception Meeting with government leads in Kano and Kaduna:

• Agreement on scope,  timeline and roadmap for development of the policies - 2 days - 11th -15th  Nov

Desk Review National/Jigawa & Zamfara Social Protection Policies and other background documents:

• Identified key areas to be focused in the policy development process - 2 days - 18th -22nd Nov

Policy Development/ Consultation Workshops  with key stakeholders in each state that include government stakeholders and CSOs & Media:

• Consultation workshop report - 10 days - 25th Nov- 13 Dec

Work with key stakeholders to develop the draft State Specific Social Protection policy documents (one each for Kano and Kaduna):

• First draft policy documents - 6 days - 16th Dec-31st Dec

Facilitate policy validation workshops:

• Validation workshop report - 4 days - 6th -10th Jan 2020

Finalize the policy draft for each State to be submitted to the Executive Councils for approval:

• Final draft policy documents - 6 days - 13th -24th Jan 2020

Payment Schedule:

• Payment shall be made based on the schedule captured in the table below. The total amounts to be paid will be based on rates approved and agreed between CDGP and the consultant engaged for this assignment.

Payment - Conditions:

• 20% - On submission of inception report
• 20% - On submission of consultation workshop report
• 20% - On submission of policy draft’s validation workshop report
• 40% - On submission of final drafts of the policy documents

Key relationships (Names and Positions might be different for each states):

• Office of the Deputy Governor
• State House of Assembly
• Commission/Ministry of Budget and Planning
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Women Affairs
• State Operations Coordinating Units (SOCU)
• Development Partners and NGOs
• Civil Society Organizations(CSO)
• Media-Electronic and Press
• State Emergency Relief and Rehabilitations Agency (SERARA)-Kano

Required Skill and Experience

• A Master's Degree or PhD in a field related to Social Protection (Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy and/or International Development Policy),
• Previous research experience on poverty aid/development, experience in quantitative or qualitative data collection and analysis,
• Previous experience in policy development or program implementation would be an advantage
• Knowledge of and experience working in Nigeria with excellent understanding of the federal system
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required,
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner,
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

Application Specifications
Candidates interested in this assignment should attach a detailed proposal (approximately 10) pages along to this application. The proposal should include but not limited to the following:

• Details on understanding of the ToR, scope of work, expected outputs to be used and key selection criteria
• Understanding of the subject area and the recent developments on the topic in Nigeria
• Demonstrating your approach to delivering the piece of work that has national representation and credibility with details on how you propose to effectively execute this at national and state levels.
• Timeline, with specific dates from commencement to final submission of deliverable
• Detailed budget breakdown with work plan based on expected daily rates and all likely expenses with clear distinction on cost of delivery at the national and state level.
• CV of the lead researcher and other contributing individuals (if planning to work in a team)
• Cover letter
• Names, Organisations, and Contact details of three Referees whom we may contact
• Sample of previous work

Application Closing Date
31st October, 2019.

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

Note

• We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
• Applicants are advised that Save the Children International does not require any payment or expense during the entire recruitment process. Any request in this direction should be immediately reported as contrary to the values and practices of our organization.