Demography Expert at Palladium Group

Ref.: req8485

Project Overview and Role

• The UK Department of International Development (DFID) appointed Palladium as the Supplier to deliver the UK Support for Health in Nigeria - Lafiya contract. Lafiya will be delivered at federal level, as well as with a focus on targeted states (Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Yobe) with activities tailored for each specific state instead of a “one size fits all” approach.
• The programme will run for an initial term of up to 7 years from February 2020 to finish by January 2027 (subject to availability of funding and other approvals by the Client).

The objective of the Lafiya contract is to improve health outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable in Nigeria through the following interlinked outcome:

• Increased resources invested in health, and prioritisation of health by Government of Nigeria (through civil society advocacy on human capital, community accountability for health; and use of data to inform government prioritisation of health);
• Improving effectiveness and efficiency of public and private basic health services (through health system strengthening, and working with the private sector to improve delivery of affordable health services for the poorest populations); and
• Reducing total fertility rate (through addressing social norms, demographic impact analysis, and support to family planning demand creation and delivery of services).

These outcomes will be achieved through a “joined-up, One-Team” delivery of the following outputs:

• Output 1: “Advocacy & Accountability”: Increased demand for affordable basic health services through community accountability, and increased prioritisation of human capital (health, education, nutrition, WASH) through civil society advocacy
• Output 2: “Data for delivery / health prioritisation”: Improved awareness and prioritisation by senior leadership in Government of Nigeria, using data in line with a “delivery-type” approach
• Output 3: “Technical Assistance to maximise Government of Nigeria resources and efficiency”: Improved efficiency of existing resources for delivery of health services
• Output 4: “Private sector”: Improved effectiveness of private sector in delivering affordable basic health services
• Output 5: ”Demographics and family planning”: Supporting family planning services through demand creation and addressing social norms/behaviour change (5A). Analysis and communication of the wider impact of demographics (5B).

Palladium seeks to engage a Demography Expert to support implementation of Lafiya’s output 5B activities (Demographics). The purpose of output 5B is to analyze and communicate the wider impacts of demographics in order to:

• Improve understanding of the benefits of demographic transition broadly;
• Bolster use of demographic data and evidence for government planning; and
• Improve government prioritization of multi-sector programmes that help avert demographic risk. While this output contributes to the realization of all Lafiya programme outcomes, it specifically feeds into increased use of modern methods.

The Demography Expert will work with Lafiya country staff and international subject experts to the design and implement activities under output 5B at both federal and state levels. These activities include institutionalizing demographic analysis skills within government and civil society (including by building capacity on demography fundamentals, demographic modelling and simple methods for deeper analysis of demographic data etc.) and supporting the creation (and packaging) of demographic evidence for planning and prioritization purposes across actors and sectors.

Reports to:

• The Demography Expert will report to the Lafiya Outcome 3 Lead, working closely with other Output Technical Experts

Location: 

• The Demography Expert will be based in Abuja with travel to targeted States.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities
The Expert is principally responsible for coordinating and executing along with inputs from national and international Lafiya staff activities under output 5B. Serving as the in-country Lafiya programme lead in demography, the Expert will:

Technical:

• Support the design of programme activities at federal and state-levels, including through desk-based research, interviews or focus group discussions with target audiences/stakeholders and the application of various assessment methods;
• Support the implementation of capacity building activities at federal and state-levels on demographic analysis and use of demographic data and other population subjects as needed, including through the design/update and delivery of trainings;
• Identify, provide and or coordinate technical assistance to government and non-government institutions in the demand, analysis and use of demographic data;
• Lead and/or facilitate demographic analyses for government and non-government actors as required;

Coordination:

• Coordinate federal and state-level 5B activities overall, ensuring alignment and close coordination with other programme Outputs;
• Work with national and international programme staff to prepare annual work plans, routine reports, track outputs and produce other key internal documents as needed; 
• Liaise regularly with relevant government and non-government partners, as well as others supporting demography programming in Nigeria (World Bank) to coordinate activities and prevent duplication.
• Other responsibilities across technical and coordination domains as assigned. 

Required Qualifications

• Academic background in demography/related subject or equivalent field experience.
• Demonstrated experience in executing Nigerian demographic analyses.
• Understanding in and experience applying multiple methods of demographic analyses; familiarity with demographic modeling techniques preferred. 
• Experience delivering demographic subjects to various audiences desired; proven ability to communicate complex population subjects in simple formats.
• Knowledge/familiarity with the family planning programming and outcomes at federal and state-levels (Lafiya states) desired.
• Experience working directly with government actors at federal and state levels within and beyond the Health sector desired. 
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including presentation experience to high-level audiences.
• Fluency in English required, and in Hausa preferred.