Nigeria Program Consultant, Deworm the World at Evidence Action

Evidence Action's mission is to fill the gap between what is effective in global health and development and what is implemented at scale. One of our flagship programs is the Deworm the World Initiative, which envisions a world where all at-risk children have improved health, increased access to education and better livelihoods potential as a result of being free of intestinal worms. Worm infections interfere with nutrient uptake; can lead to anemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development; and pose a serious threat to children’s health, education, and productivity later in life. Infected children are often too sick or tired to concentrate at school, or to attend at all. Parasitic worms exact an enormous toll on human capital, hindering schooling and economic development in parts of the world that can least afford it. The Deworm the World Initiative provides technical assistance to governments around the world to develop and implement large-scale school-based deworming programs.

In 2016, Evidence Action will begin supporting the government of Cross River State, Nigeria to launch a school-based deworming program for STH and schistosomiasis as a part of the state’s integrated NTD control program. Concurrently, a partnering INGO with in-country presence will support complementary community-based activities for NTD control (LF, STH, schistosomiasis, and onchocerciasis) as an implementing partner of USAID’s ENVISION program. Evidence Action and the INGO partner will work closely to coordinate efforts, leverage comparative advantages, and achieve maximum impact.

Evidence Action seeks an in-country program consultant to provide focused support to Cross River state in planning, launching, and sustaining Cross River state’s new school-based deworming program. Objectives and key activities of the consultancy are described below.

Objective

The Nigeria Program Consultant will drive high-quality technical support for school-based mass drug administration (MDA) for STH and schistosomiasis in Cross River state. The consultant will provide technical expertise and manage day-to-day collaboration with the INGO partner and Cross River state government entities in Calabar, as well as government entities at the Federal or LGA level as necessary.

Key responsibilities and activities will include:

1. Contributing to and leveraging program management tools (i.e., work plans) to ensure that timelines are adhered to and all milestones such as trainings, meetings, and distribution of materials are completed on time
2. Cultivating and maintaining strong working relationships with INGO partner staff and government personnel, ensuring smooth coordination of all partners’ activities
3. Providing technical input and evidence-based recommendations for program planning (i.e., strategy documents for specific program components, such as monitoring or coverage validation) and for decision-making during implementation (i.e., troubleshooting supply chain delays or responding to public misperceptions about deworming)
4. Engaging in outcome-oriented capacity-building efforts with SMOH in areas such as budgeting, work planning, drug forecasting, and monitoring
5. Representing Evidence Action in meetings and communications at state and national levels, and being accountable for in-country relationship management with all partners
6. Conducting analyses and scoping out additional potential engagements through which Evidence Action could support the scale-up of deworming treatment in Nigeria
7. Proactively updating Evidence Action’s global Deworm the World team on progress, successes, and challenges, and involving other team members in supporting the Nigeria program as necessary
8. Collaborating with Evidence Action’s global Deworm the World staff to incorporate other programs’ learnings and expertise into the delivery of the Cross River program
9. Other technical support as determined by the Director of the Deworm the World Initiative

Knowledge, skills, and attributes

1. Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years’ experience in global health and project management. Advanced degree preferred.
2. Ability to work with minimal supervision and to productively interface with remote team members
3. Knowledge of NTDs preferred
4. Experience in building and managing partnerships, and ideally in supporting government partnerships to implement large-scale programs
5. Experience working in cross-cultural teams
6. Alignment with Evidence Action values
7. High level of computer literacy
8. Strong written and verbal communication skills
9. Detail-oriented, proactive, and organized
10. Eager to be part of a fast-paced, growing program

Terms

The term of this position is approximately 12 months, with the potential for extension based on performance and according to program needs. The consultant will be based in Calabar, Cross River state, and will report to the Director of the Deworm the World Initiative. The consultant will work very closely with staff from the partner INGO, and will collaborate with Deworm the World teams based in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, and the US. Travel within Nigeria will be required in accordance with program needs and all costs for consultancy-related travel will be reimbursed by Evidence Action.