Consultant - Operationalizing the Jigawa and Zamfara State Social Protection Policies at Save The Children

he Organisation
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• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

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Background

• The Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) is a DFID Funded program that provides an unconditional cash transfer of 4,000 NGN per month to pregnant women and women with children under the age of two (2) in Zamfara and Jigawa.
• It is delivered in partnership with Action against Hunger (AAH)).
• The programme is being implemented in close collaboration with state governments.
• The programme is aimed at reducing the prevalence of stunting and improving food security. The overall anticipated outcome is:
  • A scalable programme showing how cash transfers can bring cost-effective immediate and long-term food security and nutrition benefits to eligible households with young children in poor communities in northern Nigeria.
• DFID, SCI and AAH, through the CDGP, aim to secure increased political and institutional commitment by the Zamfara and Jigawa state governments to implement effective state-wide social protection to deliver improved nutrition, food security and poverty reduction for women and children at scale.
• The CDGP is accompanied by an independent evaluation that will provide rigorous evidence on impact that will be used at a variety of stages through the life of the programme to influence Zamfara and Jigawa state governments to adopt and scale up state-wide the approaches used in CDGP.
• The programme also aims to inform the design and roll out of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and specifically their flagship programme, National Social Safety Net programme (NSSNP).

Objective and Overview of the Consultancy

• The Jigawa State government, with the support of the CDGP, has recently approved the State Social Protection Policy following state-wide consultations. In order to operationalize the policy the state government has inaugurated a “State Council on Social Protection (SCSP)”, a central steering body of all social protection interventions in the state under the direct auspices of the Deputy Governor.
• The CDGP consortium (Action against Hunger and Save the Children) have been appointed as members of the SCSP.
• This consultancy is to provide support to the SCSP in operationalizing the Jigawa State Social Protection Policy. This will be followed by providing similar support for Zamfara State.

Main Tasks / Deliverables

• Preparation of Implementation road map for the Jigawa State Social Protection Policy (JSSPP) and Zamfara State Social Protection Policy (ZSSPP).
• Defining Modus Operandi of the council including how it will work and its key tasks and who the key stakeholder will be.
• Develop costed work plan for the road map
• Develop milestones for short, medium and long term.
• Develop a detailed overarching Monitoring and Evaluation framework for the social protection policies/road map. This would equant to an overarching M & E framework for ALL social protection programmes in the different MDAs.
• Identify capacity gaps for the implementation of the state SP policies including all existing social protection programme in the State
• For Jigawa State, define how their State financed Cash Transfer Programme fits into their Social Protection Policy implementation road map.
• Advise on the extent to which the State Development Plan has integrated Social Protection and possibly provide a framework or template for the development of MTSS for Social Protection Programmes in the State

Deliverables:

• State specific implementation road maps for the Jigawa and Zamfara social protection policies that include a costed work plan with milestones and a detailed overarching Monitoring and Evaluation framework.
• A capacity gap analysis for the implementation of the state SP policies

Location and Duration:

• Location of assignment: Abuja with frequent travel to Jigawa and Zamfara.
• Total Person Days technical input: 40

Required Skills / Qualification of Consultant

• A Master's Degree or PhD in a field related to Social Protection (Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy and/or International Development Policy),
• Previous research experience on poverty aid/development, experience in quantitative or qualitative data collection and analysis,
• Previous experience in policy development or program implementation would be an advantage
• Excellent written and oral communication skills are required,
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner,
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.