Consultant - Social Protection Knowledge and Attitudes at Save the Children Nigeria - Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara

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 - Assessment of Social Protection Knowledge and Attitudes in CDGP Focal States

Job ref.: 190004N0
Locations: Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara
Title of Consultancy: Assessment to Determine the Knowledge and Attitudes Relating to Social Protection Among Government Stakeholders, Civil Society Groups and the General Public in The Four CDGP Focal States (Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara)
Employee Status: Fixed Term
Oversight Lead: National Programme Manager CDGP
Length of Assignment: 27 Days for Lead Consultant and 13 Days for State Supervisors
Type of Consultancy: National

Programme Context
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 3,500 NGN per month (increased to 4,000 NGN from January 2017) to pregnant women and women with children under the age of two years old in Zamfara and Jigawa states. The monthly cash transfers have been accompanied by behavioural change communication on child health and nutrition (e.g. health talks, cooking demonstrations, posters and radio jingles). The programme also supported evidence generation on social protection and best practices and capacity building of multiple stakeholders including government, civil society and community leaders to enhance the implementation of social protection programmes in the two states and at federal level.

The programme is now in its second phase and has moved from direct deliver towards a focus on supporting the Federal government and selected state governments (Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, and Zamfara) to strengthen social protection systems, in order to contribute to a greater coverage of inclusive and accountable social protection.  As well as helping strengthen systems for social protection deliver, the programme is also working to increase awareness and understanding of social protection, to strengthen demand of services from the public, particularly in the four project states.

The ultimate aim is to ensure the existence of an enabling environment, strong systems and adequate capacity for the scale up of social protection in the country as well as increased public interest and knowledge to stimulate access to services, thus contributing to the country’s poverty reduction efforts and improving the dignity of the poor and vulnerable.
 
Justification:

• The Government of Nigeria has rolled out government-led social protection across the 33 states of the federation, which includes a poverty-targeted conditional cash transfer, school feeding programme, graduate empowerment scheme and job creation project (N-POWER)
• The programme has been running for three years. CDGP has been providing support to the National Programme at federal level through CDGP staff seconded to the National Social Safety Nets Coordination Office (NASSCO).
• However, despite this important increase in the supply of social protection on the part of government, it remains unclear exactly what the levels of understanding and awareness are among politicians, civil society and the general public regarding social protection.
• It is against this backdrop, that it has become imperative to determine the general knowledge of government stakeholders, civil society groups and communities members, who all play a vital role in both the supply of, and demand for, inclusive and accountable social protection in Nigeria.

Objective

• To determine the knowledge and attitudes relating to social protection among government stakeholders, civil society groups and the general public in the four CDGP Focal States (Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara).

Specific Objectives are:

• Assess understanding of the basic definition and key concepts in social protection;
• Assess awareness of specific government social protection programmes as well as the CDGP;
• Assess experiences of accessing benefits of social protection programmes, including cash transfers
• Identify attitudes towards different forms and design features of social protection programmes.

Responsibilities of the Consultant

• The Lead Consultant will engage 4 state Supervisors to lead and work in each state of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara, while the Lead Consultant will work around the 4 states
• To develop and submit inception report (Protocol) which will include an interpretation of the study design & methodologies, sampling procedures, detailed work plan and financial proposal.
• Work with the CDGP Staff to develop and finalize appropriate data collection tools for gathering information by use of CAPI (KOBO data kit)
• Develop and translate data collection tool to the local language (Hausa Languages as identified necessary) for training purposes and for the community interviewers
• Present the Methodology to the CDGP MEAL Coordinator and Head of MEAL at the Save the Children Country office, this includes determination of realistic sample size for the assessment
• Hold preliminary discussions with National Programme Manager, M&E Coordinator and Social Protection Specialist on the CDGP programme overview and the reason for the assessment
• Conduct Knowledge and Attitudes survey: Train data enumerators and supervisors in 2 Batches (1st Batch Kaduna and Zamfara, 2nd Batch Kano and Jigawa), conduct field data collection; Key informant interviews, etc.; and ensure the quality of data
• Undertake consultations with key stakeholders for relevant information
• Process and analyze the data.
• Present preliminary findings to the CDGP technical staff
• Write and submit a draft report of the survey findings (per required format) to SCI for comments and feedback.
• Revise and submit an electronic copy of the raw data and final report including recommendations within the agreed timeframe.

SCI Responsibilities:

• Providing consultant with necessary documentations for desk review
• Provide Logistics for training and field work (This includes Flight travel and Road transport where necessary)
• Linking the consultant to relevant stakeholders while in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa and Zamfara
• Identify and engage interviewer’s/data collectors in each state, with support of the state teams
• Accommodation will be provided by SCI during the period of consultancy for the lead consultant and 4 state supervisors

Methodology

• To gather data that will help determine knowledge and attitudes relating to social protection, the study will involve carrying out a survey to collect responses from politicians, civil servants, employees of civil society groups and members of the general public around the above topics
• The survey will be conducted concurrently in the four CDGP supported states (Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa and Zamfara)
• After consultation with the Save the Children team, a small number of qualitative key informant interviews may also be collected to help explain some of the results from the survey and go into greater depth on certain related questions.

Note: This consultancy involves travelling to the four focal states (Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara, so the Lead consultant is expected to have it in mind that the engagement will require moving around).
 
Skills & Experience (Lead Consultant)
Education:

• The lead Consultant should be educated at least to Master's level in a Social Science, Research Methods or related topic and have five years of work experience.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of five years working experience in research, to include collection (and overseeing collection of) household survey data (ideally in relation to public attitudes and within the context of Northern Nigeria). Experience in Northwest Nigeria context is desirable.
• Strong analytical skills and research experience, with solid knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Proven leadership and coordination skills.
• Computer literacy in MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint, digital data gathering devices. Excellent writing and document presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• A good grounding in the topic of social protection and latest developments in Nigeria is important.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of local language is an added advantage.

Application Closing Date
17th December, 2019.

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

Application Instruction
All expressions of interest should include:

• Cover Letter: A short (maximum one page) letter addressing the survey criteria
• Technical Proposal (maximum 4 pages) highlighting: brief explanation about previous experience in conducting KAP survey; understanding of the TOR, description of the specified Survey methodology and the task to be accomplished as well as draft survey framework and work plan, Budget for Supervisor and travels
• Detailed CV (maximum 4 pages) for Lead Consultant
• Detailed CV for 4 State Supervisors who must be resident of the 4 CDGP States of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Zamfara.
• A financial proposal (in NGN) providing cost estimates for services rendered including daily consultancy fees for Lead Consultant and the State Supervisors
• Copies of relevant previous evaluation reports (to be kept confidential).

Note

• Women  are strongly encouraged to apply.
• We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
• All representatives are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.
• Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.