Consultant to support the Review of the National Social Protection Policy 235 views0 applications

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 to support the Review of the National Social Protection Policy

Ref. No.: 200005ZD
Location: Abuja with travel to selected states
Type of Contract: Individual Consultant
Duration: October 2020 – December 2020 (40 working days)
Reporting to: Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist, CDGP
Employee Status: Fixed Term

Background

• Nigeria has a large and growing share of people living in poverty, as many as 89 million people, or about 40.1% of its population, live on less than $1.90 a day. As of 2019, Nigeria became the country with the highest number of extremely poor people in the world. Nigeria is also home to one of the very highest number of malnourished children in the world. One in every three children under the age of five grows up physically too short for their age (i.e. clinically stunted) as a result of chronic malnutrition, while around two million children are too thin for their age (clinically wasted), as a result of severe acute malnutrition.
• Nigeria also has one of the worst levels of human capital development in the world, ranked 152 out of 157 countries in 2018, reflecting very poor indicators in terms of survival, nutrition and education. As a result, it is estimated that “a child born in Nigeria today will be 34 percent as productive when she grows up as she could be if she enjoyed complete education and full health.”
• This situation has been made worse by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to World Bank estimates, Nigeria will be among the three countries that will experience the greatest increase in the number of people experiencing extreme poverty due to COVID-19. An estimated 5million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty in 2020 alone.
• Beyond increasing monetary poverty, COVID-19 has also led to a rise in the number of people at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. According to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the number of people at risk in West Africa alone could increase from 17 million to 50 million between June and August 2020.
• In view of this, the government of Nigeria sees and continues to prioritize social protection as a key strategy of responding to poverty, shocks and vulnerability. In 2017 government through the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning developed and approved the National Social Protection Policy and has continued to increase funding and support to Social Protection Sector.
• The NSPP provides the overall strategic framework and guidance for implementation of social protection in Nigeria across different MDA’s. The Implementation of the policy commenced in 2017 and every three years, the policy should be reviewed.  As such the MFBNP has officially launched the process to review the policy. The main objective of the review will be to accommodate some emerging issues and lessons learnt from the last 3 years of implementation.
• More specifically, the current National Protection policy document (2017-2020) deserves a review for the following reasons:
  • Nigeria needs to see COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen her social protection programmes as well as intervention strategies to accommodate all relevant actors and sectors of the social protection.
  • There is need to further define the roles and responsibilities of key players particularly with the emergence of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
  • There is also need to revisit the method of data capturing of the poor and vulnerable to provide for a comprehensive peculiarities of  Nigeria typology and demography;
  • There are global emerging issues that require social protection interventions.
  • The review also presents an opportunity to strengthen and clarify the implementation arrangements of the policy which will include development of a costed plan, M&E framework and coordination strategy.
• To support the review of the policy, the Ministry Finance of Budget and National Planning have set up a multi-sectoral technical working group. The major role of the TWG is to undertake the review and ensure that all planned activities and relevant stakeholders are engaged. To support the TWG and the review process an external consultant will be recruited. The following ToR describe the key expectations of this consultancy.

Purpose / Objectives
Purpose:

• The purpose of this assignment is to support the national social protection policy review Technical Working Group to undertake the review of the Nigerian Social Protection Policy.

Objectives
The Specific Objectives of this assignment are:

• To support the formative evaluation and technical review of the current national social protection policy.
• To support the work of the various sub-committees of the policy review TWWG
• Support stakeholder engagement and consultation on the review of the policy
• To support drafting and finalisation of the revised Nigerian Social Protection policy

Scope of Work and Key Tasks:
In supporting this process the consultant is expected to support a of key policy review processes including the following:

• Agenda setting
• Policy Evaluation and Situation analysis
• Stakeholder Consultation and  consensus building
• Policy drafting and  revision

Specific Tasks:
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist – CDGP and the Deputy Director Social Development MFBNP, the consultant contracted for this assignment will perform the following tasks:

• Undertake consultative and planning meetings with the TWG and other relevant stakeholders to determine the methodology and approach for the review;
• Develop a set guidance and tools for key processes of the policy review to support activities such as of desk research, consultations, technical meetings and interviews for the review process
• Facilitate consultative multi-stakeholder meetings on the implementation status of current Policy, including progress, challenges and lessons learnt;
• Review the current and emerging policy, legal, and institutional context, including existing policies, laws, strategies and institutional frameworks
• Revise and update the current Policy in line with current realities, including operational framework to enhance implementation, monitoring and reporting;
• Facilitate a validation workshop on the above-mentioned revised Policy and incorporate inputs into a final document.
• Support dissemination and high level engagement on the revised policy

Work Arrangements:

• The review of the national policy will be spearheaded and anchored by the National Social Protection Policy review technical working group (NSPP-TWG). The TWG was recently constituted by the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning (MFBNP).
• The technical working is chaired by the permanent secretary MFBNP and is made up of stakeholders form relevant MDA’s, civil society organizations and development partners. The TWG will be a critical reference point and engagement forum for this assignment.
• At the start of the assignment, the consultant will be expected to define the methodology and agree the content, process and structure of the review with the Technical Working Group. The consultant will also expected to work with the Technical Working Group to identify and agree on the major steps and timelines.
• During the course of the assignment regular follow-up meetings with the Technical Working Group will be held to clear all outputs of the process. Depending on changes in the contexts and requirements the consultant maybe called upon to support additional steps.

Tasks, Deliverables and Timeframe:
Key Tasks / Timing:

• Inception and scoping meetings – 5 days
• Evaluation and Technical Review of the NSPP – 15 days
• Drafting of policy recommendations paper based on the technical evaluation and technical review – 3 days
• Stakeholder Consultation – 15 days
• Drafting of revised policy – 5 days
• High-level dissemination of revised policy – 2 days

Key Deliverables / Timing:

• Inception report (including work plan, methodology, and proposed tools for the review) – 5 days
• Policy evaluation and technical review report – 15 days
• Technical review paper – 3 days
• Stakeholder consultation reports – 15 days
• Draft revised policy – 5 days
• High-level engagements held – 2 days

Description / Timing:

• An inception report that identifies the key considerations and outlines the proposed approach for the review of the policy taking into account the ToR, work plans of the policy review TWG. – 5 days
• An evaluation and technical review report that makes an assessment of the policy based on key evaluation criteria (i.e. relevance, sustainability, effectiveness, efficiency, inclusion and cost effectiveness) – 15 days
• A policy brief that highlights key issues and provides recommendations on key issues to be considered in the revised paper – 3 days
• Reports documenting stakeholder engagement at all levels particularly key outcomes of these consultations – 15 days
• A revised draft national policy informed by the policy evaluation, technical review and stakeholder consultations under the guidance of the policy review TWG – 2 days

Qualifications and Experience
This assignment will be conducted by an individual national lead consultant with the following profile:

• At least 10 years’ experience / Expertise in Social protection, International Law, Development, Social Policy or other related fields
• Good Knowledge of Social Protection in Nigeria and across the African continent
• Experience supporting social protection policy or legal processes
• Excellent communication and report writing skills are required.
• Familiarity with the overall policy and strategic context of Nigeria is an asset.
• Good facilitation skills for internal and external consultations;
• Strong analytical and good inter-personal communication skills; experience in participatory processes;
• Professional command of English, both oral and written, good report writing skills.

Conditions of Service
The following general conditions shall apply:

• The contractor shall provide the work space, office equipment, supplies, etc.
• Expected expenses should be part of the submitted quotation/estimates
• No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both SCI and the consultant or Contractor.

Confidentiality:

• The documents produced during the period of this consultancy will be treated as strictly confidential, and the rights of distribution and/ or publication will reside solely with SCI Nigeria
• The contract signed with the consultant will include other general terms defined by SCI Nigeria.

Application Specifications
Individuals interested in this assignment should submit an expression of interest which should include the following:

• Cover letter summarising relevant experience
• Technical proposal highlighting:
  • Detailed understanding of the ToR, scope of work and proposed approach/methodology
  • Understanding of the subject area and the recent development on the topic in Nigeria
  • Timeline, with specific dates from commencement to final submission of deliverables
  • CV of the lead researcher and other contributing individuals (if planning to work in a team)
  • Names, Organisations, and Contact details of three Referees whom we may contact
  • A financial proposal providing cost estimates Detailed budget breakdown with work plan including daily consultancy fee for the lead consultant and others (if working in a team) and all other likely expenses  such as travel.

Note

• Women  are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.