Consultants - Market Assessment in Lagos and Cross River States at Save the Children Nigeria

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 to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Market Assessment

Locations: Lagos and Cross River

Background

• Save the Children (SC) and its partners - the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), American International Health Alliance (AIHA), Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and Mercy Corps are expanding Systems Transformed for Empowered Action and Enabling Responses for Vulnerable Children and Families (STEER) aim to improve the well-being of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) in Lagos and Cross Rivers States.
• The importance of improving the wellbeing of OVC and families through economic strengthening, food and nutrition, security initiatives cannot be over emphasized. In order to support the socioeconomic sustainability of Vulnerable House Holds (VHHs) and ensure smooth food consumption, increased resources and protect household assets over time.
• This combination should increase opportunities for households to graduate from the STEER. The results of this assessment is expected to guide the implementation of Households Economic Strengthening (HES) interventions and activities in improving the socioeconomic status of the targeted families.

Purpose

• STEER project is preparing to undertake an in-depth regional and local market assessments with new CSOs and appropriate private sector and government entities to determine pro-poor, high growth economic activities and real opportunities for vulnerable households’ inclusion into the market for income generation, and provide technical assistant to analyze market assessment findings focusing on market dynamics that influence the livelihood options available to households in Lagos and Cross - River project communities.
• This assessment will focus on determining the viability of the proposed projects Income Generating Activities (IGAs) in the communities for agricultural produce, processing and value additions, craft and petty trading market.
• STEER project seeks for a consultant with experience in conducting market assessments in rural communities to implement a rapid market assessment to find out the opportunities of VHHs for inclusion into markets for income generation activities and economic growth initiatives in these communities.

Objectives

• The purpose of this assessment is to discover opportunities of Vulnerable Households (VHHs) for inclusion into markets for income generation, as well as building pro poor financial inclusion in project communities of Lagos State (Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Agege, Apapa and Surulere LGA) and Cross River State (Calabar Municipal and Calabar Central LGA)

Approaches and Tasks
The various approaches that will be utilized for tasks to be completed during the Market analysis are as follows:

• Conduct a comprehensive literature review of pertinent documents, analysis, assessments, studies and reports including those conducted by the Government of Nigeria, PEPFAR (USAID, CDC) non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs)
• Key Informant (KII) interview with relevant stakeholders in the community, agencies and partners etc.
• A formative meeting of STEER team will be held to:
  • Share background, experience, and expectations for the assignment
  • Formulate a common understanding of the assignment, clarifying team members’ roles and responsibilities
  • Agree on the objectives and desired outcomes of the assignment
  • Establish a team atmosphere, share individual work styles, and agree on procedures for resolving differences of opinion
  • Discuss initial findings from literature review
  • Review and finalize data collection tools and methodology
  • Finalize work plan and schedule, and strategy for achieving deliverables
  • Review and finalize draft report outline
• Hold in-brief meetings with STEER State team and CSOs to review the objectives of the market analysis, scope of work, work plan and calendar, and finalize logistics.
• Visit STEER project sites and community-based organizations in order to gain insight into project activities.
• Collate and analyse data collected during key informant interviews, program site visits, and literature review.
• Debrief STEER team on key findings and recommendations of the market analysis.
• Prepare draft and final reports.

Deliverables
The following deliverables are expected from this SOW:

• Written methodology, work plan, schedule and draft report outline.
• List of documents consulted for the literature review.
• A list of sites/organizations/institutions visited and individuals and groups interviewed.
• A debrief meeting for the STEER team and prior to the submission of the draft report. A PowerPoint presentation will be prepared for the meeting.
• A draft report addressing key findings, conclusions, recommendations shall be submitted within one week of the completion of the analysis.
• A final report shall be submitted by the consultant 5 (five) days from the date of receipt of STEER team feedback on the draft report.

Period of performance:

• The rapid market assessment will be maximum of (30) days for the two states (Lagos and Cross River)

Qualifications

• The ideal consultants will have extensive experience in conducting Market Assessment in very rural communities.
• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences or related field.( Master’s degree an added advantage)
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting market assessments.
• Lagos and Cross River experiences strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of agricultural and rural marketing, and agricultural produce, craft and petty trading market.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing.

Application Closing Date
6th May, 2016.

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