Consultant - Development of a National and State Plan of Action on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria at UNICEF

Purpose of the Consultancy

• UNICEF Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA), in support of the National Technical Working Group on Ending Violence Against Children, require the expertise of an international consultant to provide technical assistance to develop a National Plan of Action on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria, both at federal level and in 6 states (Lagos, Kaduna, Adamawa, Cross River, Plateau and Gombe).
• Nigeria was among the first countries to join the Global Partnership to End Violence against children in February 2017. Prior to that, it had already taken significant steps to address this issue as it was the first country in West Africa to undertake a Violence Against Children Survey in 2014, which indicated a high prevalence of violence with 6 out of 10 children had experienced some form of violence. Following the survey, President Mohammadu Buhari launched the Presidential Year of Action to End Violence Against Children in 2015. Later that year, Priority Actions were identified by a high-level technical working group (TWG) comprised of government agencies, civil society and faith-based organizations chaired by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. In 2016, a Presidential Campaign to End Violence Against Children by 2030 was launched, alongside a Road Map for Ending Violence Against Children, which included a commitment to develop a comprehensive national action plan. Nigeria also completed several rounds of the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, most recently MICS5 in 201 and NDHS in 2018, which provide additional data on VAC in Nigeria.
• End of 2018, a study on the drivers of violence was finalized to inform the development of a national action plan. It highlighted that many interventions are being implemented in piecemeal and institutionally siloed ways and that a more comprehensive approach on prevention was needed. It also identified gaps in relation to INSPIRE strategies, including parents and caregiver support, social norms (other than gender norms) and life skills programming. In the meantime, Nigeria continued to experience a humanitarian crisis, particularly in the North-East of the country, contributing to high level of displacements, vulnerabilities and violence experienced by children and their caregivers. As such, it became evident that a plan to address VAC also needs to take into account those specific risk factors and vulnerabilities while ensuring enhanced linkages between humanitarian and development actors and interventions.
• In June 2019, with the support of UNICEF and the FMWA, members of the TWG and partners were trained by the Global Partnership on ending violence against children through the INSPIRE framework. Key interventions were identified and prioritized along the seven INSPIRE strategies including the need to ensure that violence against children takes into account the specific needs of children in humanitarian contexts and to develop a National Action Plan which includes humanitarian contexts and gender-based violence. Further to this workshop, the Global Partnership to EVAC decided to provide seed funding to support this activity in Nigeria.
• Given the complexity, size and federal nature of Nigeria, the multiplicity of stakeholders represented in the TWG and beyond, the need to work across various sectors (including child protection, health, education, social protection and planning), humanitarian and development context and both at national and State level, it is imperative to develop an action plan on ending violence against children that is practical and implementable. It is therefore necessary to dedicate resources to facilitate the development of a comprehensive multi-sectoral National and State Plans of Action with specific targets, milestones and associated budget. As such, it is contemplated to have a team of consultants (one Nigerian and one international) to ensure that the state peculiarities and contexts are taken into account.

Main Tasks of the Consultant

• Inception report highlighting detailed and methodology and work plan and proposed consultations.
• Organize and facilitate stakeholder’s consultation and workshops including with the TWG at National level and in four states on priority interventions to integrate in the national/State action plan and ensure participation of relevant stakeholders and ministries and document the process in a report.
• In close collaboration with the TWG, the FMWA, UNICEF and relevant government ministries, draft a comprehensive multi-sectoral national/state action plan (6 States: Adamawa, Lagos, Cross River, Plateau, Kaduna and Gombe) on ending violence against children which takes into account the specific vulnerabilities of children in humanitarian contexts and link violence against children with women interventions.
• Support the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to organize a stakeholder’s consultation to review and validate the draft national/state action plans.
• Develop a Monitoring & Evaluation framework for the national/state action plans.
• Support UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to launch the national/State action plans on ending violence against children in Nigeria.

Expected Deliverables:

• Inception report submitted.
• Workshops at federal level and in focus states conducted.
• Draft plans of action shared with stakeholders for review.
• Review meeting conducted.
• M&E tool disseminated and stakeholders trained.
• Launch event conducted.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills Required
Education:

• Master's degree in a relevant field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in development of programme implementation documents, such as plan of actions, work plans, response plans etc.
• Experience in research, studies, survey in social sciences, including in child protection, gender and human rights related interventions.
• Experience in consultative processes and multi-stakeholder initiatives, especially processes involving different government ministries and civil society.
• Knowledge of child protection and current thinking on child protection and ending violence against children in Nigeria, the region and at global level.

Others:

• Experience in development of Child Protection strategies and plans of action.
• Experience in facilitating multi stake holder’s processes.
• Experience in costing of public plans of action will be an added value.
• Experience in working with the UN will be an advantage
• Fluency in English, knowledge of Nigerian local an asset

Language:

• Fluency in English, knowledge of Nigerian local an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate:

• UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.