Consultant - Domestication of Immunization Policy at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Domestication of Immunization Policy

Location: Kano
Employment-type: Part-time

Scope of the Work
The consultant shall undertake the following tasks:

• Development of the Kano State Immunization Policy based on the State specification, context, and cultural realities.

Responsibilities
Conduct a Comprehensive Desk Review:
The consultant will review relevant documents to understand existing frameworks, gaps, and alignment issues. This includes:

• National Immunization Policy, and other related policies and guidelines in the State.
• Academic literature, grey literature, and government reports.
• Any existing immunization plans or operational documents.

Undertake a Gap Analysis & Legal Risk Assessment:
The consultant will conduct detailed technical and legal analysis to:

• Identify statutory and policy gaps.
• Clarify ambiguities in mandates, roles, and responsibilities.
• Highlight compliance, enforcement, and operational risks.
• Assess alignment with national and international health obligations.

This ensures that the policy is both feasible and aligned with broader immunization standards.

Conduct Stakeholder Consultations:
Engage key stakeholders through interviews, focus group discussions, and review meetings. Stakeholders may include:

• Ministry of Health
• State Primary Health Care Board
• LGA health teams
• Civil society organizations
• Traditional and Religious Institutions
• Development partners 

This ensures the policy reflects local realities, cultural contexts, and operational challenges.

Facilitate Multi-Stakeholder Review Workshops:
The consultant will organize inclusive review sessions where stakeholders:

• Review and validate initial findings.
• Provide inputs on gaps, priorities, and policy direction.
• Discuss governance, financing, and accountability frameworks.

These workshops will help in creating consensus and buy-in from stakeholders

Interim Reports:
The consultant will document insights and emerging recommendations, including:

• Desk review summary.
• Stakeholder consultation findings.
• Notes and transcripts of key meetings.

This intermediate reporting helps refine policy directions before drafting.

Draft the Immunization Policy:
Using validated findings, the consultant will prepare a comprehensive draft policy that includes:

• Vision, goals, and guiding principles.
• Clear roles, mandates, and responsibilities across government levels.
• Policy directions on service delivery, coverage, supply chain, demand creation, financing, monitoring, and accountability.
• Provisions for coordination, data systems, and zero‑dose reach strategies.

This forms the core output of the consultancy.

Develop Accompanying Policy Tools:
To support implementation, the consultant will also develop:

• Explanatory notes or commentary for policymakers.
• A policy brief summarizing recommendations and implications.
• Recommendations for operational guidelines or technical directives.

This ensures the policy can be easily understood and acted upon.

Validation and Legislative Engagement Sessions:
The consultant will support the State in convening:

• Validation workshops to finalize the policy.

Finalize the Immunization Policy and Consultancy Report:
The consultant:

• Revises the policy based on validation inputs.
• Prepare the final consolidated consultancy report.
• Submits all deliveries (policy, briefs, presentation, reports).

Methodology:
Consultants can suggest an appropriate methodology subject to confirmation from SCI; however, we recommend the following methodology structure:

• Conduct a comprehensive document review, including the current National Immunization Policy, national health policies and guidelines, literature and academic papers, grey literature and government reports (etc.), to identify what needs to be domesticated in the policy.
• Conduct Key Informant interviews as well as focus group discussions with the relevant stakeholders (as identified in the scope of work section), on their views and opinions on how Immunization policy will be and understand the gaps.
• Lead a review meeting where several stakeholders are invited to share their views and inputs on immunization.
• Develop an intermediary report summarizing key findings from the literature and other data collected during the consultancy.
• Validate the findings of the report in a validation meeting. 
• Use the validated findings to inform the final immunization Policy draft, a short PowerPoint presentation, and a policy brief.
• Write a consultancy report summarizing the work done by the consultant.
• VII. Deliverables.

Inception Phase (3 days):
Inception Report:

• Detailed work plan
• Methodological framework
• Stakeholder engagement strategy.

Interim Phase (20 days):

• Initial report summarizing the findings from the desk review and key informant interviews, along with the notes taken and transcripts. 
• Organize a preliminary review meeting with stakeholders.
• Develop a final report on the findings from the stakeholders' consultations.
• Develop a policy brief explaining technical/policy recommendations to implement immunization Policy in Kano. 
• Develop a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation for finalization and engagement of stakeholders. 
• Develop a final consolidated report of the consultancy.

Final Phase (7 days)

Location and Official Travel Involved:

• The development of the Kano State Immunization Policy will be done within Kano State.
• All stakeholders are based in Kano state, and there will be no travel required for the participants.

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced Degree: A First Degree in a health-related field. A Master’s Degree in public health will be an added advantage.
• Experience: Minimum 5 - 7 years of experience in health policy development/review with a focus on immunization or public health.
• Familiarity with Nigerian health system: Experience working in Nigeria's health sector, particularly in Kano State, would be beneficial.
• Good understanding of Hausa Language is strongly recommended.
• Minimum of 7 years experience in legislative drafting, health law, or regulatory policy reform.
• Proven experience working with government institutions, particularly ministries of justice and legislative bodies.
• Demonstrated experience in public health law, immunization policy, or health systems strengthening.

Skills:

• Advanced legal drafting and analytical skills
• Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation capacity
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

Reporting:

• The consultant will report directly to the Advocacy Coordinator at Save the Children.
• All deliverables will be submitted through this office and are subject to review and validation by the SCI office in Lagos.

Ownership / Copyright:

• All outputs and materials from the consultancy are the property of Save the Children Nigeria.
• Save the Children retains the exclusive rights to publish, disseminate, or promote any part of the vaccination law review output.

Management and Technical Guidance:

• The consultant will work under the supervision of the Advocacy Coordinator, Kano state Program Manager, and the BOOST project Chief of Party.
• Close collaboration will be maintained with the Chief of Party and Program Manager.
• All logistics, including transport, will be funded by Save the Children.

Guiding Principles and Values:

• Adherence to Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Safe Programming Standards is mandatory.
• All review processes must ensure the safety, dignity, and voluntary participation of all participants.
• The consultant must uphold humanitarian principles and human rights norms in all project phases.

Application Closing Date
9th March, 2026 03:14 PM.

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