Market Shaping for Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) Kano State, Nigeria at Results for Development (R4D)

The consultant’s responsibilities fit into three interrelated workstreams: evidence generation, demand generation and advocacy, and market shaping.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant’s responsibilities fit into three interrelated workstreams: evidence generation, demand generation and advocacy, and market shaping.

• Facilitate the co-creation of an evidence-generation strategy for Kano
• Support the identification of a small working group of key stakeholders and technical experts to identify primary stakeholders responsible for decisions leading to MMS scale-up, determine what evidence is needed to inform the appropriate decisions, and build a strategy that lays out steps to be taken to leverage existing evidence or generate additional relevant and required evidence.  
• In line with the evidence strategy, synthesize existing evidence and transfer them into a sharable document to be at the hand of the key champions and decision makers.
• Facilitate the development of a Demand Generation and KOL Advocacy Strategy
• Review available market landscapes, program experiences, operational research, and other literature (on MMS as well as IFA) and synthesize evidence on demand side barriers and factors influencing MMS uptake and adherence
• Conduct interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) to generate demand with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and selected segments of service providers
• Develop an evidence-informed demand generation and KOL advocacy strategy that introduces MMS in Kano including channels and messages for audiences, and clear advocacy actions and messages for key opinion leaders to continue to champion the scale-up of MMS
• Facilitate the development of a Market Shaping Strategy
• Collect qualitative and quantitative data on the regulatory, financing, supply and demand landscape for IFA and MMS in Kano State.
• Develop a market-shaping strategy with stakeholders and the R4D team which includes a regulatory strategy, product financing plan, procurement strategy, and supplier engagement plan

Illustrative Deliverables

• Evidence generation:
• Mapping of key evidence and stakeholders within MMS/IFA landscape
• Evidence Strategy with clear recommendation including packaging of existing evidence and generation of new evidence.
• Demand generation and KOL advocacy:
• Summary of demand generation and advocacy gaps
• Stakeholder mapping, consisting of potential allies, key influencers, and target audience for nutrition advocacy.
• Demand generation and advocacy strategy for MMS, to potentially include: standard operating procedures (SOPs), updating clinical protocols, advocacy actions, SBCC communication tools, and others
• Market shaping roadmap for MMS, to include: a regulatory strategy, a product financing plan, a procurement strategy, and a supplier engagement plan, all informed by desk research and stakeholder consultations.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master’s degree in public health, public policy, nutrition or related fields.
• A minimum of 7 years of experience working in the public health and nutrition sector, in Nigeria (Kano State preferred). Proven experience of conducting operational research in health and nutrition;
• Relevant experience in demand generation, advocacy and evidence generation for policy decision-making
• Strong existing relationships with priority partners in Kano’s health and nutrition sector, including stakeholders at the Ministry of Health, DMCSA, NAFDAC, implementing partners, donors, as well as clinicians and patients at the health facility level.
• Strong organizational skills, and ability to lead a workstream, working both independently and in cooperation with a multicultural team.
• Relevant computer software skills (including, at a minimum, the standard applications in MS Office).
• Proficient in both communicative writing and technical writing.

Strongly desired:

• A strong background in and knowledge of health and especially nutrition commodities, including regulatory systems, financing, procurement, quality, and the supplier landscape in Nigeria (Kano State preferred).  
• Experience in collecting and analyzing financing, quantification and procurement data for health and nutrition products.
• Demonstrated expertise in conducting analysis for efficient and effective introduction and/or scale-up of nutrition commodities.
• Experience conducting analysis using a hypothesis-driven approach and developing relevant solutions in an iterative manner.
• Experience with the use of mass media and social networks to influence and gain public support, and the negotiation and formation of all alliances across interest groups

Period of Performance

• In this role, the Consultant will work closely with a variety of state-level stakeholders and members of the R4D market shaping team in Nigeria, and Washington D.C. to carry out the above-mentioned activities for Phase 1 of the work, i.e., between February 2023 and July 2023, with a possibility of extension to Phase 2 (planned for August 2023 – May 2025) based on performance and fit.

Required level of efforts and payment schedule:

• Over the course of the consultancy, R4D estimates an average of 15 days of work per month. However, this estimate is only meant to provide an illustrative estimate of expectations. Given the nature of this work, the actual days of work per month may fluctuate and will be determined by the specific activities agreed upon between the Consultant and R4D. The Consultant will be required to submit a timesheet each month and will be reimbursed based on documented hours worked.