Consultant - Study on Strengthening the Community Volunteer Approach in the CDGP. at Save The Children

Background

• The Child Development Grant (CDG) Programme is a five-year DFID funded programme, with Save the Children, ACF and the Government of Nigeria being implemented in a total of 5 LGAs in Zamfara and Jigawa States of Northern Nigeria, where high levels of child stunting is a serious problem.
• The CDG Programme (CDGP) aims to remove the food security and financial barriers to improving nutrition practices and preventing stunting.
• These northern states are each characterized as conservative, with a number of cultural dynamics that limit women’s involvement in household and market level decision making and other markers of empowerment.
• The CDGP works to remove the substantial financial barriers to improving nutrition in the first “1000 days of life” (pregnant and lactating women and children up to the age of 24 months) and is delivering a behaviour change strategy to improve nutrition practices and prevent stunting in children.

Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to provide an in-depth analysis on the current CV engagement in the CDGP programme as well as the framework for strengthening the Community Volunteer Approach in CDGP in the following areas of interest:

• Defining role and expectations
• Identification/Recruitment
• Retaining and sustain providers (and how to deal with possible inequalities, such as with targeted CTs)
• Capacity building
• Measuring quality and impact of CV and CHEW efforts and
• Program Design (recommendations for CDGP to put into action plan 2017-2019)

Main Tasks and Deliverables

• The Lead Consultant will be responsible for the Recruitment, orientation, guidance and management of a Nigeria - based Field Coordinator.
• Conduct with team additional analysis and field study composed of qualitative interviews and a time allocation study. The time allocation study will assess the level of effort of CVs in carrying out their cash transfer and the BCC nutrition tasks. Information from the time allocation study and qualitative interviews (key informants and focus groups) will clarify urgent outstanding questions necessary for short term program quality covering the key areas and questions below
• Recommend immediate short-term (by June 2017) and longer- term (until July 2019) modifications to strengthen quality of the CV approach in CDGP and prepare action plan.
• Review the draft SOPs for the CVs and provide suggestions to update generic JD from CV study.
• Highlight recommendations that would be suitable for advocacy

Expected Outputs:

• Final report with specific short and longer team recommendation that address the key areas if interest stated above
• Power point presentation of findings to CDGP and SCUK team in Abuja

Key Competencies

• Experience working with CV programmes in Africa. (Experience working with CV programmes in Nigeria would be an added advantage.
• 10 years working experience in international development
• Good qualitative research methods and analytical skills
• Evidence of similar work done