Job Opportunities at Save the Children

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Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

 

 

Job Title: IYCF Barrier Analysis Consultant

Location: Borno

Child Safeguarding

• The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in-country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Background Information/Context:

• Save the Children has had a permanent presence in Nigeria since 2001 and is today a strong, recognized voice for children’s rights. We directly reach newborn and older children in nine states - from Lagos in the south of Katsina in the north. Our work focuses on health, nutrition, education, and child protection. We work closely with the government to develop sustainable, replicable solutions and ensure that children stay healthy, safe, and can reach their potential.
• The conflict in Northeast Nigeria has resulted in widespread displacement, abuse, and violation of human rights, destruction of livelihoods, and disruption of basic services. The recent update of Cadre Harmonize analysis conducted in March 2020 and the FEWSNET Nigeria Food Security Outlook (June 2020 – January 2021) indicated deterioration of the nutrition and food security situation with more people facing crisis mainly attributed to sustained conflict associated with the insurgents coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions.
• The conflict has also resulted in high levels of malnutrition specifically Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM), moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). The Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance round 1-9 surveys were conducted at the domain level, where findings of various LGAs were aggregated into domains. The recent (NFSS) round 9 surveys conducted in October 2020 by the National Bureau of Statistics found the GAM (WHZ<-2SD) prevalence for Central Borndomain (under which Mafa and Konduga LGAs are located) was at 10.7% (8.4-13.6 95% C.I.) While for the (Jere and MMC) domain the GAM (WHZ<-2SD) prevalence was 9.9% (7.5-12.9 95% C.I.). The trend in GAM (WHZ<-2SD) prevalence in Mafa and Konduga LGAs has been on increasing trend based on comparison with October 2020 and November 2019 where GAM (WHZ<-2SD) was at 9.8%. A similar increase in GAM prevalence (WHZ<-2SD) was observed in MMC and Jere LGAs wherein in 2019 the GAM was at 6.9%5.
• The preliminary NFSS survey conducted in October 2020 unveiled Crude Death Rate (CDR) for Central Borndomain in which Mafa and Konduga LGA were classified at 0.20 (0.1-0.38) while for MMC and Jere the CDR was at 0.34 (0.17-0.7) respectively. The trends in CDR in the mentioned LGAs remained stable when compared to survey findings conducted in a similar period in 2019.
• Save the Children has been implementing IYCF programs in Nigeria since 2012 and since Bornsince 2014 including community-based one-on-one counseling, IYCF support groups, and radio programs, sensitization sessions, micronutrient powder (MNP) supplementation, and targeted supplementary feeding programs. In addition, the promotion of optimal IYCF practices was integrated into health facility-based PHC services. Primary beneficiaries include caregivers of children under 2 years of age, Pregnant and Lactating Women, and adolescent girls.
• Different approaches and strategies have been tested and lessons have been learned and continue to be learned. Although progress on IYCF indicators has been observed and monitored, further progress is needed and challenges remain. It is therefore essential to properly analyze barriers to the adoption of identified good practices (such as early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for children 0-5months, and adequate complementary foods for children 6-24 months).
• Save the Children is thus seeking a consultant to conduct an IYCF barrier analysis in Borno state, North-Eastern Nigeria.

Objective:

• The objective of this assignment is to carry out a barrier analysis for the above-outlined behaviors related to IYCF in Borno state, North-East Nigeria (MMC, Jere, Konduga, and Mafa LGAs).
• The following are the major tasks consultant is expected to undertake:
• Develop questionnaires for doers and non-doers surveys (for both quantitative and qualitative data collection) in consultation with SCI technical team
• A standard barrier analysis method should be used in the selection of participants. Design and implement sampling methodologies for the selection of 45 doers and 45 non-doers for each behavior. Each behavior will have different respondents to ensure that the same people do not respond to different behaviors.
• Facilitate 3-days practical training of interviewers on the data collection tools – the questionnaires.
• Translate and Pre-test the questionnaires.
• Collect and Analyse data from barrier analysis in the purview of doers and non-doers surveys
• Present a barrier analysis report with recommendation Outputs.
• Location and official travel involved
• The Supplier will work full time in the SCI Bornfield office location. Regular office hours are 9:00 am t0 5:00 pm, Monday to Sunday. Office space will be provided but the consultant is responsible for bringing his/her own IT equipment. The Supplier may be required to travel to other locations. Any required travel will need pre-approval by SCI in accordance with SCI’s Travel Policy and applicable RO/CExpense Policy.

Services the Supplier Will Provide:

• Draft and final questionnaires and methods for both quantitative and qualitative data collections from doers and non-doers surveys. This will include the sampling framework, analysis procedures, and tool
• Raw data collected from doers and non-doers according to a statistically representative sample as outlined in the BA guidebook (45 doers and 45 non-doers).
• Data analysis as per the Design Behaviour Communication (DBC) framework
• Draft report submission addressing the study design and assessment findings, including a very brief summary report for each Barrier Analysis undertaken
• Final report with clear recommendations; including a set of field-tested and tailored messages related to the studied behaviors.

Ethical Considerations:

• It is expected that this assessment will be:
• Child participatory. Where appropriate and safe, children should be supported to participate in the evaluation process beyond simply being respondents. Opportunities for collaborative participation could include involving children in determining success criteria against which the project could be evaluated, supporting children to collect some of the data required for the evaluation themselves, or involving children in the validation of findings. Any child participation, whether consultative, collaborative, or child-led, must abide by the 9 basic requirements for meaningful and ethical child participation. Refer to the Practice Standards in Children’s Participation (International Save the Children Alliance 2005).
• Inclusive. Ensure that children and adults from different ethnic, social, and religious backgrounds have the chance to participate, as well as children with disabilities and children, who may be excluded or discriminated against in their community.

Ethical:

• The evaluation/research must be guided by the following ethical considerations:
• Safeguarding - demonstrating the highest standards of behavior towards children and adults.
• Sensitive - to child rights, gender, inclusion, and cultural contexts.
• Openness - of information given, to the highest possible degree tall involved parties.
• Confidentiality and data protection - measures will be put in place to protect the identity of all participants and any other information that may put them or others at risk. 
• Public access - to the results when there are no special considerations against this
• Broad participation - the relevant parties should be involved where possible.
• Reliability and independence - the evaluation/research should be conducted so that findings and conclusions are correct and trustworthy.

It is expected that:

• Data collection methods will be age and gender-appropriate.
• Assessment activities will provide a safe, creative space where children feel that their thoughts and ideas are important. 
• A risk assessment will be conducted that includes any risks related to children, young people’s, or adult’s participation. 
• A referral mechanism will be in place in case any child safeguarding or protection issues arise.
• Informed consent will be used where possible.
• The consultant will not be required to obtain approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee. Save the Children will work with the relevant agency and provide assistance with this process.

Experience and Skill Set Required

• University degree in nutrition, social sciences, anthropology, or other related fields.
• 5-7 years experience of conducting Barrier Analysis Studies and other Doer/Non-Doer studies inclusive of use of Designing for Behaviour Change (DBC) Framework
• Strong background in quantitative and qualitative data analysis
• Experience conducting qualitative research studies using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions and analyzing qualitative data. Will be required to share at least 2 recent reports
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office including MS Excel Barrier Analysis Tabulation Sheet
• Excellent reporting and presentation skills and proven ability to work independently
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to effectively work in a multi-cultural environment
• Experience working in/knowledge of the Northern Nigeria context and local language skills will be a plus

Application Requirements:

• A technical proposal detailing the response to the TOR (scope of work and the methodology to be used)
• Initial work plan based on the methodology
• A financial proposal detailing the daily rate
• CV and most recent and relevant references to the task
• Sample of 2 previous works undertaken in the same area.

Technical Competencies:
Evaluation criteria:

• Only consultants that score ALL Yes under the essential criteria evaluation will progress to the capability evaluation stage.
• The pass mark for the capability criteria is 75 points out of 100 points.
• Experience and skill set required

Individual consultants who respond to the tender must meet the following criteria:

Essential Criteria:
Yes/No:

• Agrees to comply with Save the Children standard policies and procedures as stated in the RFQ or Invitation to Tender (ITT) document
• A 'no' in either of these boxes will result in immediate disqualification.
• Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a relevant area, such as social sciences, development studies, or in specific technical areas such as education, public health, nutrition, food security, etc.
• Provides a CV and cover letter, explaining relevant experience and relevant reports of previous work
• Provides brief description and evidence (attached copies) of up t4 relevant services provided tother actors (either INGOs, International Organisations or donors), including the year of service and an official email address to contact as a reference

Capability Criteria (Technical)

Max. 100:

• Evidence of a minimum of three years experience designing and carrying out high-quality assessments, baseline, mid-terms and end-line studies, and mid-term and final evaluations, for one or more of the following thematic are as:
  • Child protection,
  • Education,
  • Health and Nutrition,

15 Points:

• Evidence of experience working in development and/or humanitarian settings

5 Points:

• Evidence shows strong training and experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analysis

10 Points:

• Evidence of knowledge and experience with a range of statistical and qualitative data managing software and approaches (such as SPSS, EPI Info, Stata, NVivo, Atlasti, KOBToolbox, ODK or other similar software)

10 Points:

• Evidence proves strong command of the English language, both written and verbal with strong report writing and documentation skills

10 Points:

• Evidence of working experience in Nigeria or similar contexts

5 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) of steps the consultant will take tensure the quality of the services you would provide is of consistently high standards
• [10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response]

10 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) on experience in inclusive and ethical child participatory methods of data collection
• [10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response]

10 Points:

• During the interview, the consultant demonstrates in-depth knowledge of assessments, studies, and evaluations, in terms of their design and implementation, which will be assessed and scored by a panel of experts

15 Points:

Expected Deliverables
SCI expects the following deliverables to be provided:

• Inception report - The report is to define the project’s exact work plan and scope for the rest of the duration. The report should be supported by quantitative/qualitative evidence from internal and external analysis
• Presentation/Report delivered to Project Board
• Draft business case - Comprehensive draft business case for recommended operating model
• Completed SCI business case template
• Final survey Methodology (agreed following consultant selection). - Detailed methodology document describing selection criteria, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and report writing.
• Presentation/Report delivered to Project Board
• Powerpoint presentation of preliminary findings. - Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey.
• Presentation/Report delivered to Project Board
• A preliminary and final survey report. - Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey. The report should also include recommendations based on findings from the report.
• Report delivered to Project Board

Timeline:

• The duration of the survey will be 30 days.
• Desk review of project documents and reports, Develop a questionnaire for doers and non doers’ surveys (for both quantitative and qualitative data collection) in consultation with SCI technical team, Revision/editing of data tools by SC technical leads, Design methodologies for data collection from representative sample sizes for doer and non-doers: 5 days
• Facilitate 3-day practical training of interviewers on data collection using the BA questionnaire: 3 days
• Translation of questionnaires and pretesting of translated questionnaires – done with the interviewers: 2 days
• Data collection and coding – 3 days for each behavior: 12 days
• Data analysis and write up of draft BA report and submission: 5 days
• Revisions based on SC inputs and Final report submission: 3 days
• Total: 30 days Maximum
• Estimated Commencement Date: 1st June 2021
• Estimated End Date: 30th June, 2021.
• Desk review of project documents and reports, Develop a questionnaire for doers and non doers’ surveys (for both quantitative and qualitative data collection) in consultation with SCI technical team, Revision/editing of data tools by SC technical leads, Design methodologies for data collection from representative sample sizes for doer and non-doers
• 1st – 5th June, 2021
• Facilitate 3-day practical training of interviewers on data collection using the BA questionnaire

SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead:

• 6th – 8th June, 2021
• Translation of questionnaires and pretesting of translated questionnaires – done with the interviewers

SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead:

• 9th – 10th June, 2021
• Data collection and coding – 3 days for each behaviour

SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead:

• 11th – 22nd June, 2021
• Data analysis and write up of draft BA report and submission

SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead:

• 23rd – 27th June, 2021
• Revisions based on SC inputs and Final report submission

SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead:

• 28th – 30th June, 2021

Scope of Work:

• The specific purpose of this consultancy is to analyze key barriers to behavioral change among target groups’ practices associated with infant and young child feeding so that behavior change communication messages and strategies can be tailored to optimize effectiveness, which will strengthen current and future IYCF community support activities.
• The analysis should establish detailed information, identifying target groups’ current behaviours as well as barriers and enablers to behaviour change related to the key determinants on IYCF practices and inform evidence-based behaviour change programming. As per the standard barrier analysis methodology, a minimum sample size of 45 doers and 45 non-doers should be selected for each behaviour.
• The analysis will focus on assessing barriers and enablers to the following key IYCF behaviours as well as identify proposed solutions and feeding practices to address the identified barriers:
• New-born put to the breast within one hour of delivery (early initiation of breastfeeding <1 hour).
• Exclusive breastfeeding <6 months (only breastmilk from birth until 6 months of age).
• Dietary Diversity for caregivers of children 6 – 23 months (mother, father, grandmothers).
• The activity is going to take place in the accessible communities of the project, whare majorly Kanuri, Shuwa, and Hausa speaking. The majority of the communities are within the Maiduguri metropolis, with only six (6) communities outside the city.

Acceptance:

• Detail how success/satisfactory completion of the deliverables will be measured/verified. Make sure this does not contradict any terms in your contract/FWAe.g.
• Deliverable 1 - to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of the delivery date
• Deliverable 2 – to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of the delivery date
• General assumptions and dependencies
• Include assumptions around SCI roles during the project, SCI resource availability, and project management responsibilities. Detail any dependencies that exist. e.g.
• SCI will identify the key stakeholders to be engaged as part of the project

Payment Information

• SCI will provide accommodation for the consultant in the team guest house
• Meals and other incidentals will be the responsibility of the consultant
• The consultant will conduct his/her work using his/her own computer equipment.
• Other miscellaneous costs directly related to the task that can include photocopying of questionnaires etc. shall be covered by SCI. Any cost needs thave prior approval from SCI.
• The movement of the consultant and team to and from the field will be facilitated by SCI.
• SCI will provide survey enumerators; translators as may be required.
• The cost related to travel from/ to the Field of the survey teams will be covered by SCI.
• Depending on the agreement reach with the consultant; below is the proposed payment terms:
• 30% upon signing of contract and submission of the inception report
• 70% upon completion of fieldwork, submission of the draft, and standard final report that meets quality criteria.

The Organization

• 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 health care, education, and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize 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 quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated
• We know that great people make a great organization and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
• Save the Children is committed to ensuring that all our personnel and programs are absolutely safe for children.
• We undertake rigorous procedures to ensure that only people suitable to work with children are allowed to join our organization and all candidates will, therefore, be subject to this scrutiny.
• We need to keep children safe sour selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

 

 

Job Title: Consultant - Strengthening Humanitarian Delivery-Multi Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA)

Location: Borno
Career Category: Monitoring and Evaluation

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; ore because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Background Information / Context:

• Save the Children (SC) has been working in Nigeria since 2001. Today, SC is working in 20 states focusing on child survival, education and protecting children in both development and humanitarian contexts. The conflict in Northeast Nigeria has left 8.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance (HRP 2021), in particular more than 1.7 million IDPs. Over half of the displaced persons are children (58%), half of whom are under five years of age. Borno state has been the most affected and is host to nearly 1.4 M IDPs (IOM- DTM REPORT ROUND 27 - MAY 2019). This is partly due to insecurity and the limited presence of civilian authority in the LGAs. The state is struggling to provide education, health and protection services.
• Guided by Save the Children’s three breakthroughs (Survive, Learn, Be Protected), Save the Children’s Northeast Nigeria Humanitarian Response Strategy for 2020 and 2021 plans to reach 1.5 million individuals by 2021 with cross-sectoral support.
• SCI aims to respond safely and effectively to emerging needs, through contingency stocks of WASH kits, learning materials, strengthening referral mechanisms, continued awareness raising, ensuring that operations continue to deliver safely through gender sensitive adaptive programming for children with strong processes and guidelines and strengthening capacity for the current humanitarian crisis in Borno state.
• In order to respond to persisting information/data gaps on humanitarian needs and to inform further the 2020 SCI’s response planning, SCI will be conducting a Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) in Borno state. The aim of the assessment is to create a clearer picture of the situation in location(s) SCI is currently implementing, to strengthen the quality of SC’s implementation and investigate the possibility of adaptive programming to ensure the appropriateness and relevance of interventions to the Covid-19 context. This assessment will cover all accessible LGAs.

Objective
The Consultant should assess, identify, and report on the following aspects:

• Literature review of pre-existing needs of population, along with available information on current context and needs of the affected population– this will identify information gaps and the necessary focus on the multi-sectoral assessment

Primary Data Collection to:

• Identify affected populations’ socio-economic situation, needs and capacities in our thematic areas like education, protection, FSL, WASH, Health and Nutrition.
• Identify compounding gender inequality issues especially around SGBV and consequences on the lives of potential beneficiaries.
• Identify strategies adopted by households in response to the current humanitarian crisis and current COVID19 pandemic.
• Capture voices of children across the various locations on their needs and existing / possible interventions of SCI:
  • Secondary and primary data to outline existing response and plans by partners
  • Produce a report identifying primary needs and challenges of the affected population as well as potential recommendations for how SC or other actors can respond. This should be done alongside SC sectoral TAs (who will provide interpretation and analysis of how best SC can respond to the needs/gaps highlighted in the assessment).

Services the Supplier will Provide:

• Secondary review and data gaps
• Methodology and tools for data collection (tailored to target participants)
• Report on activities carried out
• Inception report
• Inter-sectoral workshop to discuss findings with technical advisers and PDQ. Aim is to get their interpretation of the relevance for SC and what the recommendations should be
• Draft report
• Final report of the findings of the assessment including recommendations

Ethical Considerations
It is expected that this assessment will be:

Child Participatory:

• Where appropriate and safe, children should be supported to participate in the evaluation process beyond simply being respondents. Opportunities for collaborative participation could include supporting children to collect some of the data required for the evaluation themselves, or involving children in the validation of findings. Any child participation, whether consultative, collaborative or child-led, must abide by the 9 basic requirements for meaningful and ethical child participation. Refer to the Practice Standards in Children’s Participation (International Save the Children Alliance 2005).

Inclusive:

• Ensure that children from different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds have the chance to participate, as well as children with disabilities and children who may be excluded or discriminated against in their community.**

Ethical:

• The evaluation/research must be guided by the following ethical considerations:
  • Safeguarding - demonstrating the highest standards of behaviour towards children and adults.
  • Sensitive - to child rights, gender, inclusion and cultural contexts.
  • Openness - of information given, to the highest possible degree to all involved parties.
  • Confidentiality and data protection - measures will be put in place to protect the identity of all participants and any other information that may put them or others at risk.
  • Public access - to the results when there are not special considerations against this
  • Broad participation - the relevant parties should be involved where possible.
  • Reliability and independence - the evaluation/research should be conducted so that findings and conclusions are correct and trustworthy.

It's Expected that:

• Data collection methods will be age and gender appropriate.
• Assessment activities will provide a safe, creative space where children feel that their thoughts and ideas are important.
• A risk assessment will be conducted that includes any risks related to children, young people’s, or adult’s participation.
• A referral mechanism will be in place in case any child safeguarding, or protection issues arise.
• Informed consent will be used where possible.
• The consultant will not be required to obtain approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee. Save the Children will work with the relevant agency and provide assistance with this process.

Experience and Skill set Required
The consultant must have experience and significant knowledge of humanitarian response mechanisms, specifically regarding the Northeast humanitarian response, and have previous experience in conducting external Assessments for conflict responses. In addition, the following requirements are highly essential desirable:

• Significant experience (5-7 years) in coordination, implementation, monitoring and assessment of emergency response programs
• Relevant expertise in at least 3 relevant sectors (Food Security & Livelihoods, Education, Nutrition, WASH, GBV, Health and Protection).
• Demonstrated experience of needs assessments in humanitarian response projects is essential
• Knowledge and experience in child participatory approaches and child safeguarding
• Skills is both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• Fluency in English and ability to write clear and concise reports (examples of previous work will be requested)
• Understanding of humanitarian donor requirements and specific requirements for this assessment.
• Ability to manage the available time and resources and work to tight deadlines.
• Desirable requirements include-
• Speaking and understanding local language
• Prior work experience in conflict affected regions

Location and Official Travel Involved:

• The Supplier will work full time in the SCI Borno field office location. Regular office hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Sunday. Office space will be provided but the consultant is responsible for bringing his/her own IT equipment. The Supplier may be required to travel to other locations. Any required travel will need pre-approval by SCI in accordance with SCI’s Travel Policy and applicable RO/CO Expense Policy.

Technical Competencies
Evaluation criteria:

• Only consultants that score ALL Yes under the essential criteria evaluation will progress to the capability evaluation stage.
• The pass mark for the capability criteria is 75 points out of 100 points.
• Experience and skill set required
• Individual consultants who respond to the tender must meet the following criteria:

Essential Criteria
Yes / No:

• Agrees to comply with Save the Children standard policies and procedures as stated in the RFQ or Invitation to Tender (ITT) document
• A 'no' in either of these boxes will result in immediate disqualification.
• Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a relevant area, such as social sciences, development studies, or in specific technical areas such as education, public health, nutrition, food security, etc.
• Provides a CV and cover letter, explaining relevant experience and relevant reports of previous work
• Provides brief description and evidence (attached copies) of up to 4 relevant services provided to other actors (either INGOs, International Organisations or donors), including the year of service and an official email address to contact as a reference

Capability Criteria (Technical):

Max. 100:

• Evidence of minimum of three years’ experience designing and carrying out high-quality assessments, baseline, mid-terms and endline studies, and mid-term and final evaluations, for one or more of the following thematic areas:
  • Child protection,
  • Education,
  • Health and Nutrition,

15 Points:

• Evidence of experience working in development and / or humanitarian settings

5 Points:

• Evidence shows strong training and experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analysis

10 Points:

• Evidence of knowledge and experience with a range of statistical and qualitative data managing software and approaches (such as SPSS, EPI Info, Stata, NVivo, Atlasti, KOBO Toolbox, ODK or other similar software)

10 Points:

• Evidence proves strong command of the English language, both written and verbal with strong report writing and documentation skills

10 Points:

• Evidence of working experience in Nigeria or similar contexts

5 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) of steps the consultant will take to ensure the quality of the services you would provide is of consistently high standards
• [10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response]

10 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) on experience in inclusive and ethical child participatory methods of data collection
• [10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response]

10 Points:

• During the interview, the consultant demonstrates in-depth knowledge of assessments, studies and evaluations, in terms of their design and implementation, which will be assessed and scored by a panel of experts

15 Points

Expected Deliverables
SCI expects the following deliverables to be provided;

Inception Report:

• The report is to define the project’s exact work plan and scope for the rest of the duration. The report should be supported by quantitative/qualitative evidence from internal and external analysis
• Presentation / Report delivered to Project Board

Draft Business Case:

• Comprehensive draft business case for recommended operating model
• Completed SCI business case template

Final Survey Methodology (agreed following consultant selection):

• Detailed methodology document describing selection criteria, sampling, data collection, data analysis and report writing.
• Presentation / Report delivered to Project Board

Power point presentation of preliminary findings:

• Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey.
• Presentation / Report delivered to Project Board

A Preliminary and Final Survey Report:

• Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey. The report should also include recommendations based on findings from the report.
• Report delivered to Project Board

Timeline:

• The duration of the survey will be 30 days.
• Desk review: 2 days
• Submission of inception report: 3 days
• Development and deployment of data collection tools - Household surveys questionnaires, FGD and KII guide.: 3 days
• Training of enumerators (this includes 3 days for training of field enumerators and pretesting of tools): 4 days
• Data collection: 10 days
• Data analysis and submission of first draft report.: 5 days
• Presentation and submission of the final report: 3 days
• Total: 30 days Maximum
• Estimated Commencement Date: 1st June, 2021
• Estimated End Date: 30th June, 2021.

Desk Review:

• SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead
• 1st – 2nd June, 2021

Submission of Inception Report:

• SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead
• 3rd – 5th June, 2021

Development and deployment of data collection tools - Household surveys questionnaires, FGD and KII guide:

• SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead
• 6th – 8th June, 2021

Training of enumerators (this includes 3 days for training of field enumerators and pretesting of tools):

• SCI MEAL Manager / Project lead
• 9th – 12th June, 2021

Data Collection:

• SCI MEAL Manager/ Project lead
• 13th – 22nd June, 2021

Data analysis and submission of first draft report:

• SCI MEAL Manager / Project lead
• 23rd – 27th June, 2021

Presentation and submission of the final report:

• SCI MEAL Manager / Project lead
• 28th - 30th June, 2021

Scope of Work:

• The Local Government areas to be assessed include - All accessible LGAs.
• Target participants to be included in assessment
• Internally displaced population (IDPs)
• Host community
• Returnees
• Boys, girls aged 6-18 (children and adolescent in and out of school children)**
• Women and Men
• Other groups identified by sector (e.g. pregnant lactation women, out-of-school children)

Acceptance
Detail how success / satisfactory completion of the deliverables will be measured/verified. Make sure this does not contradict any terms in your contract / FWA e.g:

• Deliverable 1 - to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of delivery date
• Deliverable 2 - to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of delivery date

General Assumptions and Dependencies
Include assumptions around SCI roles during the project, SCI resource availability and project management responsibilities. Detail any dependencies that exist. e.g:

• SCI will identify the key stakeholders to be engaged as part of the project

Payment Information
Costs Related to The Assignment:

• All costs related to the analysis which are to be covered by SCI would be detailed in the contract, which will be signed by the consultant and the designated person from SCI Nigeria Humanitarian Response Program.
• The primary point of contact within the Humanitarian response will be the MEAL Team. However, the consultant will be operating independently, field movements will always be in coordination with SCI Borno safety and security team for access to implementation areas in scheduling of KII and FGDs with the community. SCI will make additional staff available to support the assessment where required.

Budget

• Consultant should be able to take into account of their budget: all human resources costs and transportation. Interested applicants must bid competitively for the work and include a detailed budget of all costs associated with the deliverable.
• SCI will provide logistical arrangement during field visits. All other costs associated with the consultancy must be included in the bid.

Consultant’s Fee and Proposed Mode of Payment:

• Consultant’s fees shall be paid as per the contract. The break-down of payment shall be based thus:
• 30% upon signature of contract and submission and acceptance of inception report
• 70% upon submission of final report.
• In Addition to the Fees Stated above, the followings are Reimbursable Costs:
• Transportation Cost: Flight cost shall be paid based on submission of flight ticket / receipts. Transportation to and from airport shall be paid based on submission of invoice. Other than flight, inter-state travel to Maiduguri shall be based on SCI mileage.
• Enumerator Fee: The fee for the enumerator shall be paid based on the number of days they are engaged- N4,500 per day to survey supervisor and N4,500 per day to enumerator. A transportation allowance and refreshment shall be provided to the enumerators only for the day(s) of training. The enumerator shall be paid directly into the enumerators’ bank account (or as specified by the SCI Finance team).
• Accommodation: This shall be provided to the Lead Consultant and co-consultant or re-imbursement will be made to the consultant for accommodation (subject to submission of hotel receipt / invoice). The reimbursement for accommodation shall be in line with SCI rate.
• · Per Diem: This shall be provided as per SCI rate for the number of days the consultant spends in the field
• Car Hire: This shall be provided only for the number of days of field work

SCI reserves the right to withhold payment if deliverables do not meet the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference and surveys/ evaluations standards.

 

 

Job Title: Consultant - End Line Survey

Location: Borno
Career Category: Monitoring and Evaluation

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; ore because they are responsible for implementing the police checking /vetting process staff.

Background Information / Context:

• The conflict in Northeast Nigeria has resulted in widespread displacement, abuse and violation of human rights, destruction of livelihoods and disruption of basic services. UN OCHA reports that 14.8 million people have been directly affected and 7 million are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. The conflict has resulted in alarming malnutrition with global acute malnutrition (GAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) rates, some of which exceed WHO emergency threshold levels of 15% and 2% respectively. Of the nearly 400,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in northeast Nigeria, only 18% are receiving treatment. A lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure, food insecurity and poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and hygiene practices contributed for high malnutrition rate.
• Over the past three years, Save the Children has dramatically expanded its ability to meet the humanitarian needs in northeast Nigeria. Since launching the response in 2014, Save the Children has reached many beneficiaries including children. Through the establishment of a Borno Field Office in Maiduguri, Save the Children now operates programs in Maiduguri, Mafa, Kaga, Jere, Magumeri and Konduga LGAs.
• The OFDA funding aimed to provide integrated protection, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and economic restoration services for children and their families affected by conflict in Borno state, Nigeria.

Objective
The Consultant should assess, identify, and report on the following aspects:

• % of children aged (6-17 years) reporting an improvement in their sense of safety and wellbeing at the close of the project
• Proportion of infants 0 – 5 months of age who are fed exclusively with breastmilk
• Proportion of children 6-23 months of age who received foods from ≥ 5 (out of 8) food groups during the previous day
• Provide current information/data for comparison of impact from the start to the end of the project.
• Examine changes over time in beneficiaries’ knowledge regarding:

Nutrition:

• Assess uptake of knowledge, practices of optimal infant and young child feeding and health seeking behaviors

Child Protection:

• Examine changes over time in beneficiaries’ knowledge and practice regarding child protection.

WASH:

• To identify the opportunities, challenges and lessons learnt in implementing the behavior change communication activities in the targeted WASH communities.
• Assess change in knowledge, attitude, perception and practices as it relates to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Services the Supplier will Provide:

• Inception report according to the standard template, including detailed work for TAs review and sign off for the start of data collection.
• Draft evaluation tools (interview guides and questionnaires) for the evaluation for review and approval by SCI.
• The final report should be written in English and submitted within the time-frame using the project approved reporting template.
• PowerPoint Presentation of key end line findings.
• All documentation including raw data gathered during the survey should be handed to SCI before the consultant’s work is certified complete.

Ethical Considerations
It is expected that this assessment will be:

Child Participatory:

• Where appropriate and safe, children should be supported to participate in the evaluation process beyond simply being respondents. Opportunities for collaborative participation could include supporting children to collect some of the data required for the evaluation themselves, or involving children in the validation of findings. Any child participation, whether consultative, collaborative or child-led, must abide by the 9 basic requirements for meaningful and ethical child participation. Refer to the Practice Standards in Children’s Participation (International Save the Children Alliance 2005).

Inclusive:

• Ensure that children from different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds have the chance to participate, as well as children with disabilities and children who may be excluded or discriminated against in their community.**

Ethical:

• The evaluation/research must be guided by the following ethical considerations:
  • Safeguarding - demonstrating the highest standards of behaviour towards children and adults.
  • Sensitive - to child rights, gender, inclusion and cultural contexts.
  • Openness - of information given, to the highest possible degree to all involved parties.
  • Confidentiality and data protection - measures will be put in place to protect the identity of all participants and any other information that may put them or others at risk.
  • Public access - to the results when there are not special considerations against this
  • Broad participation - the relevant parties should be involved where possible.
  • Reliability and independence - the evaluation/research should be conducted so that findings and conclusions are correct and trustworthy.

It's Expected that:

• Data collection methods will be age and gender appropriate.
• Assessment activities will provide a safe, creative space where children feel that their thoughts and ideas are important.
• A risk assessment will be conducted that includes any risks related to children, young people’s, or adult’s participation.
• A referral mechanism will be in place in case any child safeguarding, or protection issues arise.
• Informed consent will be used where possible.
• The consultant will not be required to obtain approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee. Save the Children will work with the relevant agency and provide assistance with this process.

Experience and Skill Set Required
The external consultant / team must have experience and significant knowledge of humanitarian response mechanisms, and have previous experience in conducting external evaluations for conflict responses as evidenced by past reports. The evaluation team must be external to all stakeholders of the project. In addition, the following characteristics are highly desirable:

• Significant experience (5-6 years) in coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of emergency response programmes AND expertise in at least 1 relevant sector (Food Security & Livelihoods, Nutrition, Child Protection)
• Demonstrated experience of evaluating humanitarian response projects is essential (experience of evaluating USAID-funded projects is desirable).
• Knowledge and experience in child participatory approaches and child safeguarding
• Fluency in English and ability to write clear and concise reports (examples of previous work will be requested)
• Understanding of USAID requirements as a humanitarian donor and specific requirements for this evaluation.
• Ability to manage the available time and resources and work to tight deadlines.

Technical Competencies
Evaluation criteria:

• Only consultants that score ALL Yes under the essential criteria evaluation will progress to the capability evaluation stage.
• The pass mark for the capability criteria is 75 points out of 100 points.
• Experience and skill set required
• Individual consultants who respond to the tender must meet the following criteria:

Essential Criteria
Yes / No:

• Agrees to comply with Save the Children standard policies and procedures as stated in the RFQ or Invitation to Tender (ITT) document
• A 'no' in either of these boxes will result in immediate disqualification.
• Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a relevant area, such as social sciences, development studies, or in specific technical areas such as education, public health, nutrition, food security, etc.
• Provides a CV and cover letter, explaining relevant experience and relevant reports of previous work
• Provides brief description and evidence (attached copies) of up to 4 relevant services provided to other actors (either INGOs, International Organisations or donors), including the year of service and an official email address to contact as a reference

Capability Criteria (technical)

Max. 100:

• Evidence of minimum of three years’ experience designing and carrying out high-quality assessments, baseline, mid-terms and endline studies, and mid-term and final evaluations, for one or more of the following thematic areas:
  • Child protection,
  • Education,
  • Health and Nutrition,

15 Points:

• Evidence of experience working in development and/or humanitarian settings

5 Points:

• Evidence shows strong training and experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analysis

10 Points:

• Evidence of knowledge and experience with a range of statistical and qualitative data managing software and approaches (such as SPSS, EPI Info, Stata, NVivo, Atlasti, KOBO Toolbox, ODK or other similar software)

10 Points:

• Evidence proves strong command of the English language, both written and verbal with strong report writing and documentation skills

10 Points:

• Evidence of working experience in Nigeria or similar contexts

5 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) of steps the consultant will take to ensure the quality of the services you would provide is of consistently high standards
• 10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response

10 Points:

• Provided brief description (200 words or less) on experience in inclusive and ethical child participatory methods of data collection
• 10 marks for providing a highly satisfactory response, 5 marks for a satisfactory response, and zero marks for not providing one or providing an unsatisfactory response

10 Points:

• During the interview, the consultant demonstrates in-depth knowledge of assessments, studies and evaluations, in terms of their design and implementation, which will be assessed and scored by a panel of experts

15 points

Expected Deliverables
SCI expects the following deliverables to be provided:

• Inception report - The report is to define the project’s exact work plan and scope for the rest of the duration. The report should be supported by quantitative / qualitative evidence from internal and external analysis
• Presentation / Report delivered to Project Board

Draft Business Case:

• Comprehensive draft business case for recommended operating model:
• Completed SCI business case template

Final survey Methodology (agreed following consultant selection):

• Detailed methodology document describing selection criteria, sampling, data collection, data analysis and report writing:
• Presentation/Report delivered to Project Board

Power Point Presentation of Preliminary Findings:

• Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey.
• Presentation / Report delivered to Project Board

A Preliminary and Final Survey Report:

• Comprehensive report Communicating findings of the survey. The report should also include recommendations based on findings from the report.
• Report delivered to Project Board

Timeline:

• The duration of the survey will be 40 days.
• Travel days (Including Security Debriefing): 4 days
• Inception of report writing: 2 days
• Review of the survey tool: 2 days
• Validation of methodology by Working groups: 2 days
• Training Enumerators and pretesting tools: 5 days
• Data collection: 10 days
• Debriefing with Borno staff and other relevant stakeholders.: 2 days
• Data analysis and submission of first draft report.:10 days
• Presentation of the first draft report to SCI: 1 day
• Submission and Presentation of the final report: 2 days
• Total: 40 days Maximum

Estimated Commencement Date: 1st August, 2021

Estimated End Date: 9th September, 2021:

• Travel days (Including Security Debriefing) - 1st– 4th August, 2021
• Inception of report writing - 5th - 6th August, 2021
• Review of the survey tool - 7th - 8th August, 2021
• Validation of methodology by Working groups - 9th - 10th August, 2021
• Training Enumerators and pretesting tools - 11th - 15th August, 2021
• Data collection - 16th - 25th August, 2021
• Debriefing with Borno staff and other relevant stakeholders. - 26th - 27th August, 2021
• Data analysis and submission of first draft report. - 28thAugust - 6th Sept., 2021
• Presentation of the first draft report to SCI - 7thSept., 2021
• Submission and Presentation of the final report - 8th - 9th Sept., 2021

Scope of Work
Below are the areas that will be assessed:

• Child Protection: positive discipline and child protection concerns and issues; focus on households with children less than 18 years and interview parents/caregivers and children.
• Nutrition: current practices of infant and young children feeding and health seeking behaviours will be asked to PLWs and caregivers of children under 5 years.
• WASH: access to water and sanitation facilities and hygiene; applies to all the households selected for the study.

Location of Study - LGAs:

• Jere, Kaga, Magumeri, Konduga, Mafa, MMC

Acceptance:

• Detail how success / satisfactory completion of the deliverables will be measured / verified. Make sure this does not contradict any terms in your contract / FW e.g.:
  • Deliverable 1 - to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of delivery date
  • Deliverable 2 - to be accepted by Project Board within 15 days of delivery date
• General assumptions and dependencies
• Include assumptions around SCI roles during the project, SCI resource availability and project management responsibilities. Detail any dependencies that exist. e.g.:
  • SCI will identify the key stakeholders to be engaged as part of the project

Location and Official Travel Involved:

• The Supplier will work full time in the SCI Borno field office location. Regular office hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Sunday. Office space will be provided but the consultant is responsible for bringing his/her own IT equipment. The Supplier may be required to travel to other locations. Any required travel will need pre-approval by SCI in accordance with SCI’s Travel Policy and applicable RO/CO Expense Policy.

Payment Information
Costs Related to The Assignment:

• All costs related to the analysis which are to be covered by SCI would be detailed in the contract, which will be signed by the consultant and the designated person from SCI Nigeria Humanitarian Response Program.
• The primary point of contact within the Humanitarian response will be the MEAL Team. However, the consultant will be operating independently, field movements will always be in coordination with SCI Borno safety and security team for access to implementation areas in scheduling of KII and FGDs with the community. SCI will make additional staff available to support the assessment where required.

Budget:

• Consultant should be able to take into account of their budget: all human resources costs and transportation. Interested applicants must bid competitively for the work and include a detailed budget of all costs associated with the deliverable.
• SCI will provide logistical arrangement during field visits. All other costs associated with the consultancy must be included in the bid.

Consultant’s Fee and Proposed Mode of Payment:

• Consultant’s fees shall be paid as per the contract. The break-down of payment shall be based thus:
• 30% upon signature of contract and submission and acceptance of inception report
• 70% upon submission of final report.

In Addition to the Fees Stated above, the followings are Reimbursable Costs:

• Transportation Cost: Flight cost shall be paid based on submission of flight ticket / receipts. Transportation to and from airport shall be paid based on submission of invoice. Other than flight, inter-state travel to Maiduguri shall be based on SCI mileage.
• Enumerator Fee: The fee for the enumerator shall be paid based on the number of days they are engaged- N4,500 per day to survey supervisor and N4,500 per day to enumerator. A transportation allowance and refreshment shall be provided to the enumerators only for the day(s) of training. The enumerator shall be paid directly into the enumerators’ bank account (or as specified by the SCI Finance team).
• Accommodation: This shall be provided to the Lead Consultant and co-consultant or re-imbursement will be made to the consultant for accommodation (subject to submission of hotel receipt / invoice). The reimbursement for accommodation shall be in line with SCI rate.
• Per Diem: This shall be provided as per SCI rate for the number of days the consultant spends in the field
• Car Hire: This shall be provided only for the number of days of field work

SCI reserves the right to withhold payment if deliverables do not meet the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference and surveys/ evaluations standards.

 

 

How to apply
Interested and qualified candidate(s) should submit an expression of interest (technical proposal describing how the requirements of the Terms of Reference will be met within the given timeframe, budget, CV(s) of lead evaluator / team, 1-3 samples of relevant work) to: [email protected]

 

Application Deadline 28th May, 2021.

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