Consultant - CAEMAG at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps is a global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. We help people survive and get back on their feet when natural disaster strikes, economies collapse, or conflict erupts. Where there are chronic threats to peace and progress, we partner with communities to overcome obstacles, and thrive. We live and work in more than 40 countries facing the world’s toughest challenges. Mercy Corps has been in Nigeria since 2012. We started with a peace-building programme and this has since grown to a multi-sectoral country office with more than 130 staff. With offices in Abuja, Gombe, Maiduguri (Borno), Biu (South Borno), Kano, Lagos, and Jos (Plateau), we serve more than 200,000 people. We operate in 13 states namely: Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, FCT, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Sokoto.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Creating Alternatives to Early Marriage for Adolescent Girls - CAEMAG

Locations: Southern Borno & Gombe

About the Program
Mercy Corps is currently operating an adolescents’ program, investing in the Safety and Integrity of Nigerian Girls (I-SING)1. Funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, I-SING addresses the unique needs of adolescent girls and boys in a humanitarian crisis.

I-SING will target a total of 12,000 adolescent girls and 5,000 adolescent boys through the Safe Space model, in which small groups of girls or boys meet weekly to build friendships and learn life-skills, including topics such as positive attitudes, self-esteem, creativity, consensus building, leadership, decision-making, goal-setting, and how to manage peer pressure. Older adolescents (aged 15 to 19), learn basic financial literacy and how to establish and operate Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs)2. Following their training in financial literacy, the older adolescents will receive livelihood grants to help them establish or improve upon an existing safe income generating activity.

In partnership with the Ford Foundation, Mercy Corps will assist the same older adolescent girls selected to receive a livelihood grant with vocational training, greatly improving their likelihood of success when establishing a safe income-generating activity. Mercy Corps has already established Safe Spaces for adolescent girls in both Borno and Gombe States. The training on financial literacy and VSLAs will start in August/September 2017, making this the ideal time for the partnership with Ford Foundation to commence as well. Although the program will focus primarily on out-of-school girls, Mercy Corps will also assist in-school girls in acquiring vocational training when appropriate and on the condition that it does not affect girls’ ability to continue schooling. For example, receiving training a couple of afternoons a week will not be an issue, but a full-time apprenticeship would disrupt schooling significantly.

This program will be implemented in Biu, Hawul, and Kwaya Kusar Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Borno State and in Yalmatu Deba, Gombe, Biliri, Balanga, and Funakaye LGAs in Gombe State.

In partnership with the Ford Foundation, Mercy Corps will work toward the following goal: Adolescent girls are economically empowered and able to engage in safe livelihoods. The theory of change underlying this program is that providing select adolescent girls with access to vocational training, however informal, will help them alleviate their vulnerabilities to early marriage and unsafe income generation, while improving their personal agency. When girls have the opportunity to earn an income and gain economic status in their family, they reduce the risk of early marriage which is often used as an economic coping strategy. Targeting adolescent girls also has a cascading effect, as, given the opportunity, girls and women reinvest 90% of their income in their families.

By achieving this goal, the program will also:

• Reduce the risk of early marriage and pregnancy by providing adolescent girls with the skills needed for safe work.
• Improve the status and decision-making power of adolescent girls in their households as they will be recognized as economic actors and contributors to their family’s income.
• Enhance livelihoods opportunities for adolescent girls by providing them with skills that allow them to join the workforce.
• Mercy Corps will connect adolescent girls (aged 15 to 19) with vocational training in their local communities. All of the adolescent girls will also be taught basic financial literacy, the VSLA methodology, and receive a livelihood grant, allowing them to make the best use of the vocational training they receive.
• Mercy Corps will use a phased approach, with activities starting in the three LGAs in Borno State (Biu, Hawul, and Kwaya Kusar) prior to the activities rolling out in the five LGAs in Gombe State (Yalmatu Deba, Gombe, Biliri, Balanga, and Funakaye).
• This will complement the implementation of the EU-funded I-SING initiative, as it will allow the program team to iterate the approach and apply lessons-learned from one location to the other. Together with Ford Foundation, Mercy Corps will work in 27 communities and assist up to 2,800 adolescent girls.

Objectives of the Baseline Survey

• To conduct market and vocational Skills’ Needs Assessment to Identify and map skilled artisans and trainers in the communities.
• To identify safe vocational and livelihood opportunities for adolescent girls acceptable by parents, gatekeepers and in demand by local artisans
• Identify the resources and vocational skills considered necessary for adolescent girls to engage safely in a livelihood in their local community.
• To identify viable and profitable livelihood options adolescents girls can be linked to
• To collect data relating to the indicators in the project log frame, that will be used to monitor the project

Program Outcome Indicators
The project aims at achieving the following three outcomes:

• OC1: % of Adolescent girls (15-19) that report meaningful participation in decision making at Household level
• OC2: % of adolescent girls (15-19) who report control over their cash earning

Specific Tasks to be done by the Consultant
The baseline survey will include undertaking the following key tasks:

• Develop appropriate survey instruments that include questionnaires, FGD checklists, In-depth Interview questionnaires etc. Prior to survey implementation, Mercy Corps will review tools and methodologies and approve their use. These tools will be field-tested and inputs of the pre-test will be incorporated.
• Train, supervise and manage data collectors.
• Organize and implement the survey.
• Compile and collate the data collected, both qualitative and quantitative.
• Analyze the data and make a comparative analysis of the findings (status of relevant indicators)
• Develop a draft survey report and submit to Mercy Corps for feedback.
• Produce a final report, incorporating feedbacks from Mercy Corps.

Deliverables:

• Survey instruments
• Final Survey Report.

Timing:

• The survey is planned to take place in January 2017. The preparation, fieldwork and report writing will take a maximum of not more than 25 days.

Application Closing Date
5th January, 2018.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Curriculum Vitae and Cover Letter in one document, along with other relevant supporting documentations to: [email protected]

Note

• Submissions after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.
• All applications must include the position title in the subject line
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• We are an equal opportunity organization and we strongly encourage women to apply for this position.