Consultant - Midterm Evaluation on Orphans & Vulnerable Children (OVC) at HIFASS

Background

• Local OVC Partners in Nigeria - Region 3 (LOPIN-3) is a five-year, PEPFAR/USAID-funded project implemented in Cross River and Ebonyi States. The project works with all Loan, communities, households and families where children who are orphaned or made vulnerable due to HIV/AIOS and other disabilities.
• LOPIN-3 works within the context of overall goal of mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and families: LOPIN-3 is premised on the application of fri-focus approach of community engagement, delivery of coordinated care and support services and capacity development for local organizations for better OVC management systems in the two States.
• LOPIN-3 Is implemented by a consortium of Nigerian organizations with Health Initiatives for Safety and Stability in Africa (HIFASSI as the lead partner and others including People-to-People Health Foundation, Nigeria, Calabar Arch-Diocesan Action Committee on AIDS ICAACA( and Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Succour and Development Services Initiative (SUCCDEV).

Objectives

• To conduct midterm evaluation on situation of OVC care, support and protection services among households. caregivers and children orphaned and/or made vulnerable due to HI V/AIDS In Cross River and Ebonyi States.
• To assess the organizational and technical capacities of local organizations within the two States to provide care, support and protection services to households and children mode vulnerable doe to HIV/AIDS.
• To gather information on situation of gender and gender-based violence among communities in the two States.

Scope of Work

• Content analysis of existing policy documents and literatures on orphans and vulnerable children, gender and gender-based violence at Federal, States and LGA levels for deeper understanding of the context, scope and size of the assessment.
• Design necessary survey tools and questionnaires that will adequately satisfy the overall goal and objectives of the midterm evaluation In Cross River and Ebonyi Stales.
• Ensure active Involvement and participation of relevant government and non-governmental stakeholders at State, LGAs and community levels involved in the OVC response.
• Provide leadership, monitoring and supervisory functions from,inception, through recruitment of research assistants, training, pilot testing, feedback and field assessment for data collection, collation and compilation.
• Design and define survey methodology and sampling techniques that will provide adequate representation of the true situation of OVC, gender and GBV in the two States.
• Align the design and survey methodology with LOPIN-3 Results Framework and performance measurement plan to extract midterm indices that will be measured against midterm evaluation values and tracked over the rest of the life of the project.
• Conduct data entry, analysis and generation of reports based on responses from field questionnaires and other responses, using appropriate statistical packages.
• Develop strategies and approaches that will Inform and Improve program Implementation that would lead to sustainable and Improved OVC coordination and service delivery at States LGA, communities and households.
• Propose concrete interventions and actions that will Install functional mechanisms for better OVC coordination, collaboration and sustainability of Interventions.
• Propose concrete approaches for the use of National OVC Management Information Systems (NOMISI to assure better coordination and to enhance a culture of the use of evidence-based Information for action; for OVC policy, planning, programming and decision making at State, LGA and community levels.
• Design regular reporting and communication mechanism for information and knowledge management that would facilitate effective collaboration and coordination.
• Report writing, documentation and dissemination of key findings and recommendations to stakeholders based on the situation assessment of OVC gender and GBV In Cross River and Ebonyi States.

Qualifications

• Advanced University degree In Public health, Demography, Health management, Developmental studies, Public Administration, Business Management, Social Sciences and other related fields.
• At least 10 years working experience in HIV/AIDS programs Gender and related health fields. experience In sector-wide HIV/AIDS coordination approach, systems strengthening, policy, advocacy, health planning and research, social developmental work and other cross-cutting areas such as governance, leadership and stewardship.
• Familiarity with conducting AIDS Impact surveys among households, Interviewing, cluster sampling and organizational capacity assessment and interpreting survey results Is needed.
• Proven experience In surveys and assessment, result-based planning, performance monitoring, use of statistical packages such as (Epi-Info, Stata and SPSS) In data analysis and reporting.
• Excellent analytical, reporting, computer and communication skills are essential requirement. Working knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS, demographic. social, gender and gender-based violence In Nigeria and specifically In the two States is required.
• Previous working experience In Cross River and Ebonyi States will be added advantage.
• Experience conducting social research Is desirable,
• Team player and willingness to work under pressure with key players within the State Ministry of Women Affairs (SM WACO), Local Government Authority ILGA) women development officers and Ward/village Development Committees (WDC or VDC) Is desirable.
• Willingness to travel across the two States and In ‘hard-to-reach riverine communities Is required.

Duration

• The duration of this assignment shall be for a period 22 working days from the day of assumption of duty, as determined by the management team of LOPIN-3. Total working days Include off-site preparation, travels, on-site consultation and report writing. Work days shall be Indicated on daily log-in Into approved timesheet.

Time Frame:

• The period of this assignment Is expected to commence In March, 2018. Detailed activity plan for the execution of this consultancy shall be submitted to the Director, Monitoring & Evaluation, LOPIN-3 and other technical team members for review and concurrence.