Consultants - Qualitative and Quantitative Research at Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and enable children to prepare for - and respond to - crises and adversity. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Terms of Reference, Qualitative and Quantitative Research on the Barriers to Accessing Sexual Reproductive Health Services and Male Support

Location: Yobe

Background

• Plan International Nigeria is implementing the BMZ UH Project to Restore the Peaceful Coexistence and Social Cohesion of the Population Affected by the Conflict in the Lake Chad Basin.
• With the aim to promote social cohesion through the rehabilitation of social infrastructure and the integration of IDPs and refugees, the project will ensure that adolescent girls and boys, as well as young women and men in Yobe state of Nigeria have access to appropriate and timely SRHR services and structures and also, that Community mediation structures are in place in the project areas in Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger to prevent and deal with conflicts between members of the community and to promote non-violent and peaceful coexistence of the various different groups living there.
• As of 2019, 7.1 million people (1.4 million women, 2.3 million girls and 1.9 million boys) need humanitarian assistance in northeast Nigeria. While there has been a decline in the number of people who need life-saving humanitarian assistance, there has been an increase in people who require longer-term development support, especially in Yobe where the situation has somewhat stabilized.
• The health system has been majorly affected by the conflict with health workers, especially those not indigenous to Yobe, having fled to other states. Indigenous workers are generally reported to have temporarily abandoned their workplaces during spikes of insecurity with most returning when the situation improves.
• Moreover, according to security updates received by Plan, health facilities have been directly attacked, with insurgents taking away drugs, hospital equipment, ambulances and other vehicles. In addition, some hospitals have had to be closed for some time until the local situation normalized.
• It has been observed that movement for health workers and patients to access health facilities has been a major challenge due to curfews imposed by the security services (the Joint Task Force, JTF), which have contributed to a challenging environment for the functioning of, and access to, health services. Essential, often life-saving, medical services for GBV survivors are not available in many affected areas. Where health facilities do exist, they often lack the necessary equipment, drugs, and trained personnel to provide timely adequate treatment.
• In a Needs Assessment conducted in September 2018 by REACH inaccessible areas of Yobe state, 72% of the non-displaced households, 69% IDPs and 74% returnees need health support. A recent rapid assessment conducted by Plan International Nigeria shows that all 10 Primary Health Cares (PHCs) in the targeted wards are neither adolescent nor disability-friendly.
• There are no ramps and any of the 10 PHC meets the minimum standards for gender responsiveness and adolescent-friendly centres, with no staff currently trained, lack of equipment, adolescent corners and inclusion of adolescents and youth in a health facility and community decision making platforms and processes.
• A recent 2019 rapid gender analysis conducted by FAO in three North-East states of Nigeria (including Yobe state) shows that the conflict has had a significant impact on women and girls due to a shift in social and gender roles without a change in the patriarchal norms resulting in an increased level of burden and vulnerability for women and young girls.
• There is an increasingly large number of female-headed households, with women taking part in new types of economic activities, decision making and provider roles while still limited by social norms that restrict their status, access and participation.
• The assessment showed the trend that only 7% of women from Yobe states participate in decisions around their health care and 5.9% participate in household decisions.

Overall Objective

• To conduct qualitative and quantitative research in selected locations with key groups and individuals on the barriers to accessing SRH services and male support as part of the monitoring qualitative Performance Measurement Framework (PMF) indicators.

Scope of Work

• Consultant to develop a research protocol (including methodology and data collection tools) to be validated and finalized in session with relevant Plan International staff.
• Consultant to obtain ethical clearance for the research.
• Consultant will facilitate a 2-day training of enumerators on research methodology and data collection using tools earlier developed and a 2-day research validation meeting. The training is to include sessions on Gender Sensitivity and Children and Youth Safeguarding.
• Consultant will coordinate the facilitation of a 5-day data collection exercise by deployment of the pre-tested tool earlier developed in the 10 project communities with particular categorization of communities with low performance in terms of SRH service utilization and communities with high performance in terms of SRH service utilization.
• Consultant will conduct data analysis and data cleaning towards the production and submission of a final research report.

Deliverables - Expected Time Frame - Consultancy Days

• Preparatory Meeting with Project team - 20 December, 2021  - 1 Day
• Development of Research Methodology and Data Collection Tool - 22 December, 2021 - 2 Days
• Tool testing - 30 December, 2021 - 1 Day
• Enumerators Training - 4 January, 2022 - 2 Days
• Field Work and Data Collection - 10 January, 2022 - 5 Days
• Data Analysis and Cleaning - 14 January, 2022 - 3 Days
• Validation Meeting - 17 January, 2022 - 2 Days
• Report Writing and Submission - 24 January, 2022 - 3 Days

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Sexual and Reproductive Health study, with an in-depth knowledge of Gender transformative programming.
• Additional experience in social & behavioural change communications/marketing will be an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting content specific, effective and gender-responsive research in sexual and reproductive health rights and, social and behavioural change or related field
• Demonstrated experience and understanding of community participatory development processes
• Experience in working with low literacy communities especially in low resource settings
• Fluency in English and the local language (Hausa) spoken and written
• Ability to produce high-quality work under tight timeframes
• Ability to establish a good working relationship with State and LGA level stakeholders and integrate feedback as required
• Excellent skills in documentation and reporting.

Application Closing Date
16th December, 2021 by 5:00 pm.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Application Package and Procedures
A completed application should contain the following:

• Detailed CV demonstrating technical expertise and previous experience in coordinating and facilitating activities of a similar nature
• Availability to commence consultancy
• Where applicable, CV of supporting staff indicating proposed contribution to work and level of effort
• A financial statement of consultancy fee per day and support staff if applicable
• Names and contact information of three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience
• A copy, or link to online copy, of a previous report of a similar nature undertaken on any social behavioural change, focused desk review

Note: The proposal will be scored on both technical and financial aspects weighted at 70% and 30% respectively.