Consultant - Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) at Save the Children

Save the Children is a leading international organization helping children in need around the world. First established in the UK in 1919, separate national organizations have been set up in more than twenty-eight countries, sharing the aim of improving the lives of children through education, health care and economic opportunities, as well as emergency aid in cases of natural disasters, war and conflict.

In Nigeria, Save the Children has been working since 2001. The early focus was on getting children actively involved in shaping the decisions that affect their lives. Today, Save the Children is working in seven federal states - Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi and Kaduna - focusing on providing basic healthcare and protecting children.

We are recruiting suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Economic Benefit Analysis of the Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP)

Location: Abuja

Project Summary
The Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) is a DFID funded programme that provides an unconditional cash transfer of 4,000 NGN per month to pregnant women and women with children under the age of two in Zamfara and Jigawa states. It is delivered in partnership with Action Against Hunger (AAH).

The programme is being implemented in close collaboration with state governments. The programme is aimed at reducing the prevalence of stunting and improving food security. The overall anticipated outcome is: A scalable programme showing how cash transfers can bring cost-effective immediate and long-term food security and nutrition benefits to eligible households with young children in poor communities in northern Nigeria:

• Output 1: Secure payments mechanism providing regular, timely cash transfers to pregnant women and women with under-2s
• Output 2: Effective system for mobilisation, targeting and delivering complementary interventions established.
• Output 3: Enhanced government capacities for and engagement in managing social protection and cash transfers in focus states.
• Output 4: Evidence of cash transfer modalities and impacts provided to policymakers and practitioners at State and Federal levels.

DFID, SCI and AAH, through the CDGP, aim to secure increased political and institutional commitment by the Zamfara and Jigawa state governments, as well as Federal government, to make provisions for and implement effective state-wide social protection to deliver improved nutrition, food security and poverty reduction for women and children at scale.

The CDGP is accompanied by an independent evaluation that will provide rigorous evidence on impact that will be used at a variety of stages through the life of the programme to influence Zamfara and Jigawa state governments to adopt and scale up state-wide the approaches used in CDGP.  The programme also aims to inform the design and roll out of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and specifically their flagship programme, National Social Safety Net programme (NSSNP).

Objective and Overview of the Consultancy

• Beyond their human development impacts, recent evidence shows that cash transfers can foster important productive impacts and support broader economic development in the communities where they are implemented.
• These impacts originate through increases in household ownership of capital, along with changes in household behaviour (e.g. increased investment in productive activities and changes in the allocation of labour).
• In addition to economic impacts among beneficiary households, cash transfers also stimulate demand within local economies, which can also benefit non-beneficiary households and local enterprises, generating a ‘multiplier effect’.

This study will look at whether (and to what extent) the CDGP has led to:

• Increased agricultural activities within beneficiary households (e.g. ownership of livestock and agricultural tools) as well as any greater tendency to participate in non-farm enterprises and to what extent this has translated into changes in income (for both on and off farm). 
• Any reallocation of labour (e.g. away from casual agricultural wage labour to household on or off-farm economic activities).
• A decrease in households engaging in negative coping strategies, such as borrowing or selling off assets to access food and other basic needs.
• An increase in economic activity at the community level, whether this has led to changes in income and  if possible, whether this has been associated with any price inflation.
• While some elements of this information have been captured by the programme (e.g. through the evaluation), there is a need for much further analysis to really understand the overall economic benefits being achieved through CDGP.
• This assessment will therefore address these information gaps, with a specific focus on providing evidence for policy advocacy by the programme. 
• The findings from the analysis will therefore need to be not only robust and of a rigorous methodological standard to be highly credible, but also articulated in a manner that is clear, concise, and relevant for the target audience, primarily the Federal Government of Nigeria, but also the State Governments and other stakeholders.

Consultant Duties and Responsibilities/ Expected Deliverables

• The consultant will be expected to provide technical leadership (including the overall direction and approach of the research questions to be addressed, in consultation with CDGP staff) and development of the methodological approach and tools. These should be submitted in a brief Inception Report.
• The consultant will also then be responsible for data collection & data analysis, and authoring the draft and final Reports as well as presenting summary findings for non-technical stakeholders.

Proposed Methodology

• The consultant will first of all be expected to review the existing data available through the programme and determine its adequacy for delivering on the objectives of the consultancy. Gaps in data will then need to be identified along with a plan of how to gather any missing data that will be needed.
• For estimating community level economic impacts, the consultant will be expected to review appropriate methodologies, including the Local Economy-Wide Impact Evaluation (LEWIE) methodology, which has been used extensively by the Transfer Project to estimate local multiplier effects in a range of cash transfer programmes across sub-Saharan Africa.
• A proposal should then be made as to what the most appropriate methodology would be, considering the strengths and limitations of the different options.

Key Competencies

• At least seven years’ experience in impact evaluations, ideally of cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa (evaluations of other interventions will also be considered), with demonstrated experience of estimating household income-multiplier effects (again, ideally of cash transfers).
• Poverty analysis and econometric modelling across a range of countries internationally, with a demonstrated track record of analytical work to support policy engagement with government stakeholders.
• Post-graduate degree in Economics, Statistics, or other social science.
• Strong analytical (including data analysis) and writing skills.
• Good computer skills (Microsoft Office and other statistical software)
• Fluent in English
• Evidence of similar work done.

Tasks & Timeline for Proposed Work:

• The work should commence by January 22, 2018 and is expected to be completed by March 19, 2018 (40 days).

Application Closing Date
12th January, 2018.

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