Writer for SITAN (Consultants) at UNICEF

Background

• UNICEF Nigeria Country Office seeks the services of a lead consultant and three other consultants working under the lead consultant to support the Government of Nigeria in conducting a Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents (SITAN) in Nigeria.
• The SITAN is expected to provide a comprehensive overview, allowing the country to understand the overarching situation of children and adolescents in Nigeria today, pointing out areas where closer collaboration can increase efficiency and effectiveness and highlighting some challenges that exist in prioritizing their actions.
• The SITAN will be anchored on the Convention of on the Rights of the Child, its optional protocols and other related human rights treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Justification:

• As the SITAN describes all aspects of child well-being and child rights, it provides a scorecard on how well the country is doing in meeting the international treaty standards. It will also contribute to the submission of State Party Report to the Committee of on the Rights of the Child.
• The last comprehensive SITAN in Nigeria was conducted in 2001.
• The proposed SITAN will therefore be an important process and document that will clarify opportunities, challenges, and changes affecting child well-being in Nigeria.
• The findings of the SITAN will be a central resource for the Federal and State Governments in the design, assessment and sharpening of their programmes, policies, and plans.
• By focusing on the key knowledge gaps related to inequities and child deprivations and promoting the broad engagement of all stakeholders, the SITAN will assist the country in accelerating actions towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, Nigeria's Vision 20:2020, and make an important contribution to shaping national development strategies to accelerate achievement of the child-related goals with equity.

Purpose of Assignment: (attach background documents, if necessary):

• The purpose of the assignment is to produce an evidence-based situation analysis of children and adolescents that will point out the situation of rights of children and adolescents to survival, development, protection and participation. The consultants are expected to pitch the SITAN in a manner that optimizes its strategic value for policy advocacy, programme development and the strengthening of knowledge bases on children and women. They should bring out the key challenges and policy recommendations that will be used by government, non-government organizations and development partners to support the realization of these rights. They should point out key data and research gaps.
• The consultants will be expected to conduct a literature and research review, use information from surveys, consultations, focused group discussions, children and adolescents. The consultants will ensure that the SITAN contains: a disaggregated assessment of status and trends in the realization of children's and adolescents' rights; an analysis of the immediate, underlying and structural causes of shortfalls and disparities across various groups; and policy and programmatic recommendations to address the shortfalls and disparities and accelerate progress towards development goals and the fulfilment of human rights conventions.
• The SITAN will be conducted in line with UNICEF's 2012 Guidelines. It will adopt a three-step process of: Assessment, Analysis and Validation.
• The Assessment will be done through a combination of two approaches: a literature and research review combined with the voices of children and adolescents and those who support them. The voices will be captured through key informant interviews, focus group discussions with children and adolescent across the country. Together, the success of Nigeria's efforts at social development will be reported and areas where more work is required will be highlighted.

Program ID & Specific Project Involved:

• Social Policy and Gender Equality

Specific Project Objective to which the Consultancy is created:

• Finalize writing the sections and chapters of the SITAN

Develop a rights-based SITAN with the following key components:

Executive Summary

• Key findings and key policy recommendations
• Introduction
• Purpose and objectives
• Analytical framework
• Methodology
• Report structure
• The country context
• Social, economic and demographic factors
• The right to survival
• Introduction and overview
• Progress in achieving children's right to survival in Nigeria
• Progress and challenges in service provision
• Enabling environment
• The right to development
• Introduction and overview
• Progress and challenges in service provision
• Disparities in education
• Enabling environment
• The right to protection
• Introduction and overview
• Progress and challenges in service provision
• Enabling environment
• The right to participation
• Introduction and overview
• What is being done to promote children's participation
• What are the main challenges and barriers to children's participation?
• Entry points for improved participation by children
• Key challenges and policy recommendations

Supervisor:

• Chief of Education and Chief of Social Policy and Gender Equality
• Major Tasks to be accomplished: (estimated time required to complete tasks. Attach additional sheets, if necessary, to describe assignments)

Literature Review Report (2 weeks):

• List of indicators showing trends and disparities – and key data gaps (1 week)
• Chapter papers on the Rights to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation – with causal, disparity, gap and capacity analyses
• Human interest stories, charts and pictures
• See Annex 1 for the details of the assignment. Also see Annex 2 for Key Considerations when developing the SITAN

End Product: (e.g. final report, article, document etc.):

• A high quality Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents with a structure as outlined under the Specific Project Objective.

Qualifications or specialized knowledge/experience required
Education:

• Advanced university Degree in International Development or a related field; a combination of relevant academic qualifications and extensive experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Excellent writing skills.

Experience:

• Proven capacity to deliver writing outputs on time.

Corporate Competencies

• Adheres to the core values of the United Nations;
• Demonstrates commitment to UNICEF's mission, vision and values and ethical standard.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Works collaboratively with to pursue common goals;
• Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from set-backs;
• Accepts responsibility and accountability for the quality of the outcome of his/her decisions.

Technical Competencies/Job knowledge:

• The Consultant should have demonstrated excellent writing skills

Language Requirements

• Only fluency in English is required.