Consultant - Strengthening Domestic Financing in Early Childhood Development in Emergencies (ECDiE) at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

About Moving Minds Alliance

• The Moving Minds Alliance (MMA) is a multi-stakeholder alliance advocating for prioritization of early childhood development in every crisis response. MMA focuses on early childhood development in emergencies (ECDiE), leveraging the strengths of diverse local and global actors to advocate for increased funding, programming, and investments in ECDiE to improve outcomes, equity, and overall child well-being in crisis-affected communities and countries.

Background

• Funding for early childhood development in emergencies has long been critically insufficient across countries and globally, with only 2% or 3% of overall funding reaching children affected by violence and crisis.
• Compounded by a global decline in development assistance, the unmet needs of young children in emergencies have become even more acute. MMA seeks to address these funding gaps by advocating for increased investment, supporting programming, and centering local and refugee leaders in strategy development and implementation.
• This consultancy is part of an MMA initiative that responds directly to the evolving global financing context, which will be implemented in two - three countries, including Nigeria. We are working to finalize the remaining contexts, and welcome expressions of interest.

Objective (Oct – Dec 2025)

• The objective of the consultancy is to work closely with a global lead consultant and the MMA team to develop strategies to mobilize domestic and local resources, strengthen partnerships, and build investment cases for ECDiE.

Scope of Work
The consultant will work closely with the Lead Consultant for the overall initiative, specifically by providing the following support:

• Identify and secure documents / data related to country level spending and funding in ECDiE, including from government, philanthropy, corporate funders or other sources.
• Support in identifying key local stakeholders, funders, civil society, and local refugees or IDPs, to participate in the initiative through interviews or workshops. 
• Contribute to co-creating protocols, controls, process, and plan for interviews and focus group discussions to take place with key stakeholders in country and inform ECDiE funding trends and opportunities in Nigeria.
• Conduct interviews or focus group discussions with key local stakeholders to learn about ECDiE funding mechanisms, trends, and opportunities for domestic innovative financing.
• Analyze data and conduct an analysis of financing in ECDiE, including mapping funding flows, an equity and distribution analysis, and ECDiE financing trends. Data should include ECDiE related sectors such as health, education, social protection, and humanitarian assistance.  
• Contribute to co-creating country profiles, stakeholder engagement plans to mobilize local funding and ECDiE advocacy efforts, and participatory change approaches to measure progress in advocacy and funding in ECDiE.
• Collaborate with consultants in other participating countries to ensure alignment across the initiative, and to share insights, learnings, and recommendations for continued improvement.
• Contribute to the final strategy and other project documents.

Expected Outcomes

• Expected outcomes of this phase, in collaboration with the Lead Consultant and consultants in other participating countries, include:
  • Completed landscape and stakeholder analysis focusing on ECDiE financing and advocacy efforts. Synthesis of results from stakeholder consultations. Strategy to mobilize ECDiE financing and advocacy efforts, including a country profile, engagement plan, including timing and entry points for engagement, and a participatory change methodology.  
• Following the rapid landscaping effort in 2025, we anticipate the local consultants will lead a phase II campaign to drive budget mobilization in 2026.

Qualifications

• Education: Advanced Degree in Social Sciences, International Development, Economics, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Organizational Experience in Humanitarian Coordination: Minimum of 5 years working in humanitarian coordination.
• Data and financial analysis experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience in analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and conducting financial and fiscal analyses.
• Technical knowledge in Early Childhood Development (ECD): Strong ECD sectoral knowledge, which includes education, health, nutrition, social protection, and humanitarian assistance.  
• Relationship building: Strong relationships with stakeholders in the development and ECD sector in Nigeria and ability to foster further relationships in the sector, including with locally-led and refugee-led organizations.
• Advocacy and Policy Influence Capacity: Expertise in ECDiE advocacy efforts aimed at influencing national and state level policies.
• Local Knowledge and Contextual Understanding: Deep understanding of the local social, cultural, and political dynamics affecting ECD and humanitarian programming.
• Location: The position is expected to be remote, with the consultant being based in one of the following geographies; Levant, South Asia, West Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, or the Caribbean.
• Language: Fluency in English and local language is required, both written and spoken.