Consultant - Impact Story Documentation for Comitas Program at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we collaborate to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within, now and for the future. In Nigeria, Mercy Corps works in 13 states within the key thematic areas of humanitarian response, conflict mitigation and adolescent girls’ empowerment.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Impact Story Documentation for Comitas Program

Locations: Adamawa & Taraba
Employment Type: Contract
Timeline of assignment: 5th - 16th August, 2024 (Date may change)

Program / Department Summary

• While clashes are often understood in ethno-religious terms due to the spread of unreliable information, competing claims to land, water and other natural resources are at the root of growing tensions between farmer and herder communities in Nigeria. Indeed, pressure on natural resources has increased due to demographic growth, expanding human settlements, privatization of land, year-round farming practices, environmental degradation, and climate change.
• In the absence of mutually agreed upon solutions, disputes over crop damage, livestock theft, and water pollution have increasingly turned violent. Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms have been pushed beyond their breaking point and trust in authorities is at an all-time low due to widespread inaction, impunity and a perceived bias.
• In order to contribute to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Search for Common Ground (Search), and Mercy Corps have designed a comprehensive and integrated approach entitled “Contributing to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa state, Nigeria (COMITAS)”.
• The European Union (EU) Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (ICSP) that responds quickly and flexibly to conflicts and crises funds the 18-month COMITAS project. The COMITAS project is empowering communities to prevent and respond to violence by strengthening collaboration on Natural Resource Management, foster trust through community dialogue, and promote positive perceptions through reliable information and peace messaging.
• The COMITAS program is currently being implemented in Adamawa and Taraba State in 5 LGAs across 10 wards. Specifically:

Scope of Work

• The Consultant is required to capture at least 10 impact stories from the program intervention, highlighting the key areas of SEE-ACT-IMPACT-Action framework of the program impact. Stories will highlight the following key components of the program.
• Conflict mitigation and dispute resolution: In particular, COMITAS intends to capture personal accounts from the trained community participants on how they have applied their recently acquired conflict management skills within and around their communities to mitigate violence. These stories can include the effectiveness of the approach applied, the challenges encountered within the approach, and resolutions reached as a result of the improved capacity of the participant (s) to resolve conflict issues through support from the program. Stories or instances that can also capture collaboration between the groups in conflict should also be highlighted.
• Community resource-sharing arrangements/agreements: One of the project’s objectives is to demonstrate improved collaboration between farmers and herders around community resources like land and water. To achieve this objective, the COMITAS program has supported the communities to establish natural resource management committees (NRMCs). The NRMCs are now saddled with the responsibility of working with their people to develop sustainable practices to ensure equitable access and use of the resources, for all parties and groups. Some critical examples COMITAS will like to highlight includes demarcation of alternative routes for the movement and migration of livestock, identification of alternative water points for livestock and humans, renewed community patterns and practices for maintaining land and water resources. 
• Trust and collaboration between communities and local authorities: Historically, communities yearn for their governments to be empathetic to the plight of the communities and fulfill their political promises. While many communities lack the orientation and commitment to hold their leaders accountable to these promises. Recently, COMITAS has been supporting the demand and supply side of governance to improve the trust deficit between the two, through joint collaboration on shared interests around addressing the farmer and herder conflict. COMITAS wants to capture the progress around building a mutual and sustainable relationship based on trust and respect between trained local authorities and community members. Examples will include experiences while both attending study visits, development of natural resource action plans, working on project technical committees etc.
• Implementation of concrete natural resource solutions to promote peace: The introduction of joint concrete projects like constructing water points, placing markers along designated cattle routes etc. to address conflict triggers, falls within the COMITAS approach. Most importantly is the process adopted to reach these concrete solutions. COMITAS will like to capture the personal encounters and experiences in reaching mutual agreements amid sometimes many perceived divergent interests between farmers and herders. Focus of the stories can highlight experiences around identifying a specific mutually shared project, process of identification of the location to implement the project, legitimization of the process/agreement etc.
• Gender, inclusion and peacebuilding: Often at times, peacebuilding conversations tend to neglect the voices of women. More often their needs, wants, and interests are given less priority in the final outcomes of decisions made. The COMITAS project works to promote substantive participation of women, and also youth, within the governance of community natural resources. COMITAS will like to capture women and youth experiences while participating in a largely patriarchal society on the issues of natural resource management. Examples would include their experiences within the NRMCs and decision making within these community structures, collaboration efforts between farmer and herder women towards a specific outcome, dispute resolution efforts/contributions towards land and water issues.
• Climate Adaptive initiatives: Climate changes due to global warming add considerable complexity to dealing with flooding, since increases in average temperature alter the patterns and intensity of precipitation. Climate variability and climate change related shocks and stresses that has directly and indirectly raise the risk of conflict, caused fluctuations in key social , economic and ecological dynamics like population growth and environmental degradation which also complicates conflict. In current reality, these shocks and macro trends have compounded to rise in food prices forced immigration, livelihood insecurity, loss of yield and forced displacement to mention few. COMITAS work has really exposed the community members on the dangers of unhealthy environmental Practices and alternatives to indulging in such. The communities has began to take up key responsibilities in ensuring the protection of their environment.

Section below capture story leads and what specific information should come from it

Specific Responsibilities

• Interview at least 2 participants from each of the 5 strategic components and document stories. Supported with good photographs.
• Review of the impact stories with program and communications specialist.
• Interview COMITAS team members to get an initial background and details of each story.

Key Deliverables / Expectations:

• Submit an impact report of containing at least 10 stories
• Detailed transcript of interviews conducted
• High resolution images of participants taken their signed consent forms

Reporting:

• The storyteller will work closely with the Program Manager and Mercy Corps communications and Learning Specialist.

Payment Terms:

• 50% payment upon signing of contract and the remaining 50% payment after completion of service/confirmation of service completion notes with the submission of final impact report.
• Please note: Mercy Corps Ltd/Gte will deduct With Holding Tax in line with Nigeria tax laws. The second tranche payment of 50% will be made once all works have been certified as satisfactory by both Mercy Corps’ Communications Specialist and the COMITAS Program Manager (or designate)

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Abilities

• A university degree in journalism or related field is preferred but not required.
• Provide a portfolio of professional work that demonstrates consistent, high-quality impact documentation or documentary.
• Excellent communication skills – English and Hausa languages
• Experience in conducting participant interviews and developing in-depth editorials on humanitarian issues.
• Experience doing similar jobs for International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs)
• At least five years’ experience in doing related works
• Applicant must be resident in Adamawa state and/or willing to travel to COMITAS program location to cover stories.

Application Closing Date
1st August, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified consultant or consulting firm should send their Application to: [email protected] using “RFQ 073_Consultant to Document 10 impact Stories for COMITAS Program” as the subject of the mail.

Note

• Information to be submitted:
  • Detailed Work-plan and CV
  • Evidence of similar work conducted
  • Company profile (if applicable)
  • Timeline for final impact report
  • Budget Proposal