Senior National Consultant – Team Lead at Malaria Consortium

Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable populations. Our mission is to save lives and improve health in Africa and Asia, through evidence-based programmes that combat targeted diseases and promote universal health coverage.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior National Consultant – Team Lead

Location: Abuja (FCT)

Background

• Malaria Consortium is one of the world's leading non-profit organizations dedicated to improving health and saving lives in communities affected by malaria and related inequities in Africa and Southeast Asia. The Organization works with communities, government and non-government agencies, academic institutions, and local and international organizations, to deliver scalable, locally led solutions grounded in research and evidence to strengthen health systems, inform policy, and drive sustainable impact through strategic partnerships and organizational excellence.
• Despite modest gains, child mortality in Nigeria remains high. The 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) report an under-five mortality rate of 110 per 1,000 live births (down from 132 in 2018) and a neonatal mortality rate of 41 per 1,000 live births, indicating that a substantial proportion of child deaths occur early in life².
• However, Malaria remains a leading contributor to outpatient visits, childhood illness, and mortality, with significant socio-economic consequences for families and public services. Currently, Nigeria bears a disproportionate share of the global malaria burden, accounting for approximately one quarter to one third of global malaria cases and deaths, with largely perennial transmission and marked subnational heterogeneity¹.
• The national malaria strategy prioritizes preventive interventions, including LLINs, SMC, and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp). However, infants and young children in perennial transmission settings remain insufficiently protected, particularly between 2 and 18 months of age.
• Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention (PMC), endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), extends chemoprevention to infants and young children in moderate-to-high and perennial transmission settings; and the updated consolidated guidelines allow countries to tailor chemoprevention strategies to local epidemiology, including perennial delivery through routine health platforms³. In Nigeria, Malaria Consortium (MC) piloted PMC program through the administration of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) integrated on the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) platform in Osun State between 2023 to 2025. Early evidence indicates high acceptability and operational feasibility.
• However, Nigeria’s decentralized governance structure, health financing constraints, and donor-dependent malaria response create complex incentives for adopting and sustaining new health program interventions. While past scale-up of malaria interventions such as long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) demonstrates that political commitment and donor alignment can rapidly expand coverage, these experiences also highlight policy adoption and sustainability risks where domestic financing and institutional ownership are weak¹. These political and institutional dynamics strongly influence how epidemiological, operational, and economic evidence informs policy decisions at federal, state, and local government levels.
• The above highlighted evidence suggests that national scale-up of PMC requires more than technical effectiveness. It demands careful navigation of political economy realities, including fiscal space, intergovernmental coordination, institutional incentives, and community perceptions. A structured Political Economy Analysis (PEA) is therefore critical to identify power relations, financing dynamics, governance bottlenecks, and social drivers that will ultimately determine PMC policy adoption, scale-up, and sustainability within Nigeria’s malaria control and child survival agenda¹,³.

Objective of the Study

• The primary objective of the study is to examine how political, economic, institutional dynamics and perception influence PMC operational feasibility, policy adoption and integration as one of the malaria control strategies in Nigeria. The secondary objectives of the study are to generate contextual, robust political economy evidence on the enablers and constraints shaping the adoption, scale-up, and sustainability of Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention (PMC) as a national malaria control strategy in Nigeria.

Specifically, the study will:

• Identify the key incentives, constraints, and power relations among stakeholders (e.g. NPHCDA, FMoH and state actors) that shape decision-making around PMC sustainability and scale-up.
• Generate insights on how current political will, governance structure and existing legislations influence PMC adoption as malaria control strategy
• Explore the role of financial, donor support, and domestic budget priorities in influencing PMC sustainability.
• Generate information on how the stakeholder`s perceived institutional readiness of federal and state health systems to integrate PMC within existing malaria and child health programmes.
• Explore community-level perceptions and the influence of traditional, religious, and civil society leadership on the acceptability and sustainability of PMC delivery.
• Explore the role of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, donor financing architecture, domestic budget priorities and health sector governance arrangements in enabling or constraining policy adoption, scale-up and sustainability of PMC in Nigeria
• Generate actionable recommendations for policymakers, donors, and implementers to strengthen the political, policy adoption and economic feasibility of PMC in Nigeria

Evaluation approach and framework

• This Political Economy Analysis (PEA) study will employ a hybrid methodology that integrates Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis (PD-PEA) and the Health System Structures framework.
• The PD-PEA approach will map actors, incentives, interests, power relations, and decision pathways across federal, state, local government area (LGA), and community levels to identify windows of opportunity and resistance in the policy process, as well as to propose feasible political and financing strategies for the policy adoption and sustainability of PMC in Nigeria.
• Concurrently, the Health System Structures framework will evaluate operational and institutional readiness by assessing key components, including leadership and governance, financing, procurement and supply chain, workforce capacity, service delivery (aligned with the Expanded Programme on Immunization), monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and community engagement.

Conceptual and Analytical Framework
The conceptual framework will combine:

• Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis (PD-PEA) by exploring foundational factors, rules of the game, and here-and-now dynamics that shape PMC adoption.
• Health System Structures Framework by assessing institutional capacity, governance, and service delivery readiness.
• This multi-framework approach ensures the analysis captures both political and institutional realities and their implications for PMC policy adoption, operational feasibility, scale up and sustainability.

Methodology
Methods:

• Multi-method qualitative design guided by political economy and health systems frameworks will be used for this study. This method will combine document review, in-depth interviews, Key Informant interviews and focus group discussions.
• Data triangulation across document reviews and qualitative sources will anchor causal inferences and policy options.

The study will apply a multi-method qualitative approach including:

• Desk review of policy, budget and program documents.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with health administrators and policy makers at the federal, state, LGA, and community actors.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with caregivers
• Facility readiness and budget assessments using structured checklists.
• The analysis will be guided by the Analytical Mapping Framework by linking research questions to study objectives, stakeholders, and data sources across governance levels.
• Levels and sample frame: Multi-level inquiry (Federal; Osun State; LGAs; facility & community) with purposive sampling of policy actors (FMoH, NMEP, NPHCDA, NAFDAC), finance and legislative stakeholders (MoF, National Assembly Committees), state and LGA implementers (SMOH, SMEP, SPHCDA, RBM, PHC departments), frontline staff (EPI focal persons, LIOs), and CSOs, and caregivers/traditional leaders in eight (8) Osun LGAs (Ayedaade, Ede South, Atakunmosa West, Iwo, Irewole, Ife North, Obokun, Egbedore). The study will be iterative as field insights will continue to refine sampling to probe emergent political or institutional dynamics.

Purpose of the assignment
The PEA qualitative evaluation aims to:

• Diagnose the political, institutional, financial barriers, Interests, power relations, decision pathways and enablers to national PMC adoption, state rollout, and sustainable financing in Nigeria.
• Assess operational readiness of health systems (EPI platform, supply chain, HR, M&E) to incorporate monthly/perennial SP delivery.
• Map actor networks, power dynamics and incentive structures that shapes policy choices and resource allocation for PMC.
• Produce actionable recommendations and advocacy products (policy briefs, strategic options matrix, actor-influence map) to inform decision-making by NMEP, FMoH, NPHCDA, State MoH/SMEP, Ministry of Finance and donors.

Scope of Work:

• The scope is national but context-specific, with specific focus on pilot state (Osun) and across stakeholders at national level. The team will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of the study, including protocol and tools refinement, stakeholder mapping, training, data collection, data quality assurance, analysis, reporting, and dissemination. The study will cover four governance levels - federal, state, LGA, and community levels - with a focus on actors, institutions, and processes relevant to malaria policy and child health.
• At the federal level: Ministry of Health, NMEP, NPHCDA, National Assembly health and finance committees, Ministry of Finance/Budget, donors, and development partners.
• At the state level: Commissioners of Health, SMEPs, State PHC Boards, State Ministries of Finance and Planning, and implementing partners.
• At the LGA level: Directors of PHC, Local Immunization Officers (LIOs), Ward Focal Persons, and PHC management committees.
• At the community level: frontline health workers, EPI focal persons, caregivers, community leaders, traditional/religious leaders, and CSOs.

Senior National Consultant - Team Lead:

• The Team Lead will provide overall leadership and coordination of the PEA qualitative evaluation. H/she will also conduct high level key informant interviews with policy makers and health administrators. The role includes methodological oversight, adaptation of the study protocol, and contextualization of the PD-PEA and Health Systems frameworks for the study and review of relevant malaria policy, health budget and program documents for both national and state levels.

Specific Tasks for Senior National Consultant - Team Lead:

• Review the PEA study protocol and adapt it to a feasible multi-level methodology covering federal, state, LGA, and community levels.
• Finalize and contextualize study tools (KII/FGD guides, facility/community checklists, policy, program and budget review templates).
• Draft a comprehensive activity timeline with milestones and deliverables.
• Lead stakeholder mapping and engagement planning, ensuring inclusion of political, institutional, House of representative members and finance and budget committee, and community level actors.
• Develop a training manual based on PEA methodology and analytical frameworks with interview techniques
• Develop a coding template based on the PD-PEA and health system frameworks for data analysis
• Train National Consultants and Research Assistants on PD-PEA and health system constructs.
• Pilot and refine tools, incorporating feedback.
• Conduct Key informant interview at national level with federal policy actors (FMoH, NMEP, NPHCDA, NAFDAC), Ministry of Finance and legislative stakeholders (MoF, National Assembly Committees), House of Rep committee member on health, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Planning & Budget as well as Minister of State for Health or Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health.
• Provide overall supervision of field data collection across sites, including community entry, engagement with officials, and ethical compliance.
• Conduct spot-checks and observes a sample of KIIs/FGDs to ensure protocol adherence.
• Facilitate daily debrief sessions with field teams, ensuring challenges are addressed.
• Lead the development of a data analysis plan, integrating PD-PEA and Health Systems frameworks.
• Validate at 70% submitted transcripts, oversee coding, and conduct thematic analysis.
• Draft and finalize reports, including policy briefs, slide decks, and advocacy products. (2-3 pages infographic policy brief and advocacy briefs)
• Lead dissemination workshops with policymakers, donors, and stakeholders.

Key Deliverables for Senior National Consultant - Team Lead

• Finalized study protocol and tools aligned with PD-PEA and Health System frameworks.
• Inception Report and stakeholder mapping with contacts of representatives across MDAs
• Analysis Plan and thematic coding analysis template
• Training slide deck or guide.
• Validated transcripts and coded datasets.
• Draft 2page PEA advocacy brief
• Policy briefs, infographic factsheet, and presentation slides for dissemination.
• Final PEA Technical Report

Person Specification for Senior National Consultant - Team Lead
Essential:

• A PhD in Public Health, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Demography or a closely related field with at least 10 years of relevant consultancy experience in Nigeria or the West African region, including political economy analyses in health sectors.
• Demonstrated expertise in the design, conduct, and analysis of qualitative political economy studies, including stakeholder mapping, incentive analysis, and application of PD-PEA and Health System Structures frameworks.
• Proven experience in leading research teams at national, state, and LGA levels, including
• Evidence of working relationships with government MDAs (e.g., FMoH, SMOH, NPHCDA, NAFDAC, etc), partners (e.g., CSOs, private sector), and stakeholders across policy, implementation, and community levels.
• Experience in analysing qualitative data aligned with PD-PEA constructs (e.g., actors, incentives, power relations) and health system domains (e.g., governance, financing, service delivery, etc).
• Evidence of similar jobs in the last five years, such as PEA studies for health policy adoption in LMICs.
• Evidence of existing relationships and access to House of Representative health committee members, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Planning and budget and Minister of State for Health
• Extensive experience in writing high-quality technical reports policy briefs and publications for public health or policy projects, preferably in Nigeria or similar contexts.
• Ability to develop stakeholders mapping across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs) with contact of all the representatives for interview
• Ability to establish contacts or having and existing contacts with member of Senate committee on Health, House of representative committee on health, ministers and commissioner for health or their secretary at the national and state level
• Proficiency in Yoruba language for effective engagement during fieldwork and interviews in Osun State.

Desired:

• Deep understanding of the Nigerian public health and political landscape, including malaria control, PMC intervention, and policy actors in sectors like EPI and supply chain management.
• Evidence of existing relationship and ability to establish contacts or having and existing contacts with member of Senate committee on Health, House of representative committee on health, ministers and commissioner for health or their secretary at the national and state level
• Ability to develop stakeholders mapping across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs) with contact of all the representatives for interview
• Experience in analysing qualitative data aligned with PD-PEA constructs (e.g., actors, incentives, power relations) and health system domains (e.g., governance, financing, service delivery, etc).
• Evidence of working relationships with government MDAs (e.g., FMoH, SMOH, NPHCDA, NAFDAC, etc), partners (e.g., CSOs, private sector), and stakeholders across policy, implementation, and community levels
• Proven academic record, including authored of peer-reviewed publications in PEA or technical reports, policy briefs on political economy of health systems.

Application Closing Date
27th February, 2026 (5:00pm).

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

Note

• Interested and qualified candidates who are passionate and willing to contribute towards the achievement of our goals should kindly fill in the application form below before 5:00pm Friday, 27th February 2026.
• Applicants who do not follow this specification will be disqualified.
• Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and as a result, the process may conclude before the advertised deadline. Therefore, early applications are highly encouraged.
• Malaria Consortium does not accept or ask for payment during recruitment. We also would not accept hardcopy CVs; all applications should be sent through the above link
• Malaria Consortium is committed to protecting children and vulnerable adults and ensuring that all staff, partners, and representatives uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct.
• Our Safeguarding Policy outlines our responsibility to prevent abuse, harassment, and exploitation in all areas of our work.
• We expect everyone working with us staff, consultants, volunteers, and partners to adhere to this policy and our Code of Conduct. By following these standards, we help create safe environments and reduce any risk of harm in the communities we serve.