Consultancy Services for Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment 73 views0 applications

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child, but this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination, and it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and are now active in more than 75 countries.

The protracted crisis in north-east continues to generate acute humanitarian needs, with over 7.8 million people in need across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (HNO, 2025). Children are disproportionately affected, facing grave protection risks including family separation, child marriage, gender-based violence (GBV), and recruitment by armed groups. Simultaneously, the education crisis persists—over 2 million children are displaced, and 60% of internally displaced children in camps lack access to education, while host community schools are overstretched and under-resourced.

This humanitarian emergency is not only a survival crisis but also a protection crisis. Children and adolescents face psychosocial distress, disrupted education, child labour, and exclusion from safe learning environments. Women and girls are at heightened risk of GBV, early and forced marriage, and survival sex. Thousands of schools have been destroyed or closed, and many teachers have been displaced, further disrupting learning continuity.

Plan International Nigeria has been actively responding through Education in Emergencies (EiE), Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE), and Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP) interventions in the BAY states and the North-West. However, significant information gaps remain, particularly regarding the intersecting education and protection needs of the most marginalized groups—girls, children with disabilities, displaced adolescents, and GBV survivors. An integrated CP–EiE needs assessment is essential to generate evidence that will inform Plan International’s response, strengthen multisectoral programming, and contribute to collective humanitarian planning under the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and ECHO’s HIP 2026 priorities.

Objectives:

• To identify and analyze the prevailing child protection risks and education needs of children and adolescents in Borno, and Yobe states, disaggregated by gender, age, disability, and displacement status, while also exploring issues such as school dropout rates after enrolment and the barriers preventing full recovery for children, youth, and families after the crisis recovery process.
• To investigate the barriers to education and the underlying causes of child protection risks for children and adolescents, including factors contributing to school dropout, limited access to continued education, and other impediments that hinder the recovery and well-being of affected children, youth, and families.
• To map existing services, capacities, and gaps in education, child protection, WASH, health, and other essential services at both community and institutional levels, focusing on the support systems that can aid schools and families in overcoming these challenges, ensuring that education and child protection services continue to function effectively for those in need.
• To evaluate the vulnerabilities of affected households and communities, including risks of GBV, psychosocial distress, exclusion from services, and the challenges that prevent children and youth from accessing and benefiting fully from recovery processes. This includes examining factors that hinder their ability to reintegrate into education and social systems, thereby disrupting their long-term development.
• To capture the perspectives and coping strategies of children, adolescents, and caregivers regarding child protection risks and barriers to education, highlighting the need for ongoing support systems that enable continued learning and recovery for children and families affected by displacement and crisis.
• To generate comprehensive, evidence-based recommendations for Plan International’s integrated EiE-CP humanitarian response, aligned with the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and ECHO’s HIP 2026 priorities. These recommendations will focus on sustainable strategies to prevent school dropout, facilitate reintegration into the education system, and provide support systems for the holistic recovery of children, youth, and families.
• To explore the potential for cash-for-education initiatives, which can provide direct financial support to families, enabling them to send their children back to school or ensure their children’s continued participation in education. This approach could help address barriers such as the costs of school materials, transportation, or other education-related expenses.
• To strengthen livelihood support programs that empower families by providing income-generating opportunities, and resources, ensuring economic stability and reducing the likelihood of families having to pull children out of school due to financial constraints. This includes creating a robust referral system to link vulnerable families with relevant services such as education, psychosocial support, and livelihood resources, ensuring comprehensive assistance.

Selected Assessment Topics/Areas:

• Unaccompanied, Separated, and Orphaned Children:

  Understanding the specific needs, vulnerabilities, and protection risks faced by children who are separated from their families or orphaned due to crisis situations.

• Children at Risk of/Experiencing GBV, Early Marriage, Child Labour, and Other Forms of Violence Against Children:

  Assessing the prevalence and underlying causes of gender-based violence (GBV), early marriage, child labour, and other forms of violence that threaten the safety and well-being of children.

• Excluded and Marginalized Groups:

  Focusing on girls, children with disabilities, and displaced adolescents, particularly those who face heightened risks of exclusion from essential services and protection mechanisms.

• Barriers to Education:

  Identifying and analyzing the barriers that prevent children from accessing education, such as safety concerns, cost of education, cultural norms, distance to schools, teacher shortages, and insecurity in affected regions.

• Access to and Quality of Education Services:

  Evaluating both formal and non-formal education services, including alternative education programs (such as ABEP) and vocational pathways, to ensure that education delivery meets the needs of vulnerable children and adolescents.

• Psychosocial Well-being and Mental Health Needs of Children and Adolescents:

  Assessing the psychosocial challenges faced by children and adolescents, including mental health needs arising from trauma, displacement, and other crises, and identifying appropriate interventions to support their well-being.

• Access to Child Protection and Education-Related Services:

  Examining the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of child protection services (such as case management, safe spaces, and psychosocial support) and their integration with education-related services.

• Community Perceptions of Safety and Protection Mechanisms:

  Understanding how communities perceive safety and the effectiveness of protection mechanisms, including community-based child protection systems, and how these perceptions influence children’s access to education and protection

• Availability and Capacity of Community-Based Child Protection Structures/Systems:

  Analyzing the capacity and functionality of community-based child protection structures, their ability to provide services, and identify gaps that hinder effective child protection.

• Food Security, Nutrition, WASH, and DRR as Cross-Cutting Factors Influencing Child Protection and Education Outcomes:

  Exploring how food insecurity, malnutrition, safe water access, sanitation, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) impact children’s overall well-being and their access to education and protection services.

• Health and Disease Outbreaks:

  Assessing the health situation, challenges, and outbreaks within the target areas, with a focus on vulnerable populations such as children and adolescents, and their specific health and protection needs.

• Cash/Livelihoods and Economic Recovery:

  Investigating the role of cash and livelihood support programs in economic empowerment, access to resources, and the recovery process for families, including strong referral systems to connect vulnerable families to educational, protection, and economic recovery services.

• Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Resilience:

  Assessing the community’s capacity to manage natural disasters and risks (such as floods or droughts), focusing on resilience-building strategies and how these impact children’s protection and education outcomes.

Geographical areas

The assessment will be in the Northeast with focus in Borno (Damboa, Kala Balge(Rann) Mafa, Monguno and Mobar-(Damasak)) and Yobe (Gujiba,Geidam and Yunusari)

• Within the selected LGAs, the assessment will target specific communities, camps, and other formal or informal sites where affected populations reside.
• Criteria for selection of target locations, are vulnerability, displacement trends, or service gaps, humanitarian unmet needs etc.

Tools

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs): Interviews will be conducted with key stakeholders including government officials, NGO staff, community leaders, health workers, education officials, teachers, Child Protection officials, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) officials. These interviews will provide insights into the capacity of local systems to address the needs of the affected populations and identify gaps in response.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): Discussions will be held with caregivers, adolescent boys and girls, and teachers.
• Desk review of other relevant assessment reports will be conducted to validate and complement data collected from primary sources. Household surveys: These surveys will be designed to collect data on demographics, basic needs, service access, and vulnerability.
• Other tools for Children and youths shall be used in line with ECHO HIP primary data collection guideline.

Participants

Target group Selection criteria Tool(s)

1. Key informants Female/male community leaders, school directors, KII, FGD

CP officers, SUBEB officials

1. Adolescent girls Out-of-school, married, survivors of violence, FGDs (10–17) young mothers
2. Adolescent boys Out-of-school, engaged in labour, FGDs (10–17) at risk of recruitment
3. Household heads Male/female heads of households, Caregivers FGD, HH survey of OOSC/adolescents, caregivers of school-age children
4. Teachers/volunteers EiE/ABEP facilitators, formal school teachers, KIIs, FGDs

child protection focal points

Outreach and mobilization strategies: community entry via local leaders, schools, Plan’s community volunteers, and existing CP committees; targeted outreach to reach excluded groups (girls, children with disabilities, widows, young mothers).

Safeguarding and PSHEA

In Plan International, one of our priorities is to keep the children and programme participants we work with safe and protected (‘Safeguarding’) from all forms of abuse including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse as described in our Safeguarding Children and Programme Participants and PSHEA Policies.

These policies demonstrate our commitment to holding ourselves accountable for ensuring that no child, young person, programme participant, community member or staff member is subjected to harm or placed at risk as a result of their association with us. These policies govern the behaviours of Plan International staff, associates and visitors who are obliged through Plan International’s staff and non-staff Codes of Conduct to behave appropriately with all people.

Safeguarding and PSHEA is a quality requirement for all of our Programmes, Influencing and Research Work. This assessment will therefore be designed and delivered in a manner which is safe for children and programme participants in all their diversities, which will require in an in-depth Safeguarding and SHEA risk assessment, with the necessary level of resources and the flexibility to implement mitigation measures safely and adhere to safeguarding standards on throughout and after the assessment.

Requirements for the Consultant

Consultant Fees: Including daily rates, number of working days, and expected costs for team members.

• Social and Medical Insurance: Coverage for consultants and enumerators working in remote or high-risk areas.
• Translation and Interpretation Costs: If applicable, for any multilingual data collection or reporting.
• Data Collection Tools: Including mobile data collection tools, tablets, and related costs.
• Enumerator Costs: Costs for enumerator recruitment, training, and fieldwork.
• Field Equipment and Supplies: Including any materials required for conducting surveys, FGDs, and KIIs.
• Miscellaneous Operational Costs: Any other costs related to the successful delivery of the assignment.

The payment will be made in instalments and subject to the delivery of the agreed outputs.

For more details on this consultancy including the referenced Annexes, please follow the link below:

MSNA Consultancy