National Consultant – Political Economy Analysis (PEA) Evaluation Specialist at Malaria Consortium

Objective of the Study

• The primary objective of the study is to examine how political, economic, institutional dynamics and perception influence PMC operational feasibility, policy adoption and integration as one of the malaria control strategies in Nigeria.
• The secondary objectives of the study are to generate contextual, robust political economy evidence on the enablers and constraints shaping the adoption, scale-up, and sustainability of Perennial Malaria Chemoprevention (PMC) as a national malaria control strategy in Nigeria.

Specifically, the study will:

• Identify the key incentives, constraints, and power relations among stakeholders (e.g. NPHCDA, FMoH and state actors) that shape decision-making around PMC sustainability and scale-up.
• Generate insights on how current political will, governance structure and existing legislations influence PMC adoption as malaria control strategy
• Explore the role of financial, donor support, and domestic budget priorities in influencing PMC sustainability.
• Generate information on how the stakeholder`s perceived institutional readiness of federal and state health systems to integrate PMC within existing malaria and child health programmes.
• Explore community-level perceptions and the influence of traditional, religious, and civil society leadership on the acceptability and sustainability of PMC delivery.
• Explore the role of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, donor financing architecture, domestic budget priorities and health sector governance arrangements in enabling or constraining policy adoption, scale-up and sustainability of PMC in Nigeria
• Generate actionable recommendations for policymakers, donors, and implementers to strengthen the political, policy adoption and economic feasibility of PMC in Nigeria

Evaluation approach and framework

• This Political Economy Analysis (PEA) study will employ a hybrid methodology that integrates Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis (PD-PEA) and the Health System Structures framework.
• The PD-PEA approach will map actors, incentives, interests, power relations, and decision pathways across federal, state, local government area (LGA), and community levels to identify windows of opportunity and resistance in the policy process, as well as to propose feasible political and financing strategies for the policy adoption and sustainability of PMC in Nigeria. Concurrently, the Health System Structures framework will evaluate operational and institutional readiness by assessing key components, including leadership and governance, financing, procurement and supply chain, workforce capacity, service delivery (aligned with the Expanded Programme on Immunization), monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and community engagement.

Conceptual and Analytical Framework:
The conceptual framework will combine:

• Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis (PD-PEA) by exploring foundational factors, rules of the game, and here-and-now dynamics that shape PMC adoption.
• Health System Structures Framework by assessing institutional capacity, governance, and service delivery readiness.
• This multi-framework approach ensures the analysis captures both political and institutional realities and their implications for PMC policy adoption, operational feasibility, scale up and sustainability.

Methodology

• Methods: Multi-method qualitative design guided by political economy and health systems frameworks will be used for this study. This method will combine document review, in-depth interviews, Key Informant interviews and focus group discussions. Data triangulation across document reviews and qualitative sources will anchor causal inferences and policy options.

The study will apply a multi-method qualitative approach including:

• Desk review of policy, budget and program documents.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with health administrators and policy makers at the federal, state, LGA, and community actors.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with caregivers
• Facility readiness and budget assessments using structured checklists.
• The analysis will be guided by the Analytical Mapping Framework by linking research questions to study objectives, stakeholders, and data sources across governance levels.
• Levels and sample frame: Multi-level inquiry (Federal; Osun State; LGAs; facility & community) with purposive sampling of policy actors (FMoH, NMEP, NPHCDA, NAFDAC), finance and legislative stakeholders (MoF, National Assembly Committees), state and LGA implementers (SMOH, SMEP, SPHCDA, RBM, PHC departments), frontline staff (EPI focal persons, LIOs), and CSOs, and caregivers/traditional leaders in eight (8) Osun LGAs (Ayedaade, Ede South, Atakunmosa West, Iwo, Irewole, Ife North, Obokun, Egbedore).
• The study will be iterative as field insights will continue to refine sampling to probe emergent political or institutional dynamics.

Purpose of the assignment
The PEA qualitative evaluation aims to:

• Diagnose the political, institutional, financial barriers, Interests, power relations, decision pathways and enablers to national PMC adoption, state rollout, and sustainable financing in Nigeria.
• Assess operational readiness of health systems (EPI platform, supply chain, HR, M&E) to incorporate monthly/perennial SP delivery.
• Map actor networks, power dynamics and incentive structures that shapes policy choices and resource allocation for PMC.
• Produce actionable recommendations and advocacy products (policy briefs, strategic options matrix, actor-influence map) to inform decision-making by NMEP, FMoH, NPHCDA, State MoH/SMEP, Ministry of Finance and donors.

Scope of Work

• The scope is national but context-specific, with specific focus on pilot state (Osun) and across stakeholders at national level.
• The team will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of the study, including protocol and tools refinement, stakeholder mapping, training, data collection, data quality assurance, analysis, reporting, and dissemination.
• The study will cover four governance levels - federal, state, LGA, and community levels - with a focus on actors, institutions, and processes relevant to malaria policy and child health.
• At the federal level: Ministry of Health, NMEP, NPHCDA, National Assembly health and finance committees, Ministry of Finance/Budget, donors, and development partners.
• At the state level: Commissioners of Health, SMEPs, State PHC Boards, State Ministries of Finance and Planning, and implementing partners.
• At the LGA level: Directors of PHC, Local Immunization Officers (LIOs), Ward Focal Persons, and PHC management committees.
• At the community level: frontline health workers, EPI focal persons, caregivers, community leaders, traditional/religious leaders, and CSOs.

National Consultants - PEA Evaluation Specialist

• The National Consultants will be responsible for data collection across LGAs, state, and national levels, involving conducting key informant interviews (KIIs)/in-depth interviews with stakeholders at all levels, participating in facility and community assessments, and contributing to data analysis and reporting.
• The consultant will contribute to finalization of data collection guides, ensure fidelity of the data collection process as guided by the PD-PEA and Health System Structures frameworks.

Specific Tasks for National Consultants – PEA Evaluation Specialist:

• Conduct key informant interviews (KIIs) or In-depth Interviews at the community, LGAs and State levels with stakeholders, including SMOH, SMEP, SPHCDA, RBM, etc), LGA implementers, PHC departments and frontline health workers (EPI focal persons, LIOs), and private sector and CSOs etc.
• Support contextualization of interview tools and ensure accurate translation/back-translation for KIIs, focus group discussions (FGDs) recordings, and facility/community assessments checklist.
• Use structured observation checklists for facility readiness assessments during facility visit
• Validate at 100% the KII/IDI or FGDs interview records translation and transcription submitted by Research Assistants
• Participate in daily debrief sessions to discuss insights from data collection across all levels and contribute to iterative refinements of data collection approaches.
• Develop coding for all the interview transcripts and apply a coding framework (e.g., NVivo/ATLAS.ti) aligned with PD-PEA constructs for data analysis
• Summarize emerging findings by respondent type (federal policymakers, state officials, LGA implementers, frontline staff, etc.) to inform thematic analysis.
• Contribute to thematic synthesis and drafting of the sections of the final report, incorporating insights from data collection at national, state, LGA, and facility/community levels.

Key Deliverables:

• Completed KIIs/IDIs from, state, and LGA levels, with signed consent forms.
• Validated transcripts and translation outputs.
• Coded transcripts and thematic matrices reflecting insights from stakeholders across all levels.
• Records of all the KII/IDIs interviews and translated/transcribed documents
• Harmonized field report, incorporating findings from interviews and assessments at national, state, LGA, and facility/community levels.
• Evidence of validated transcription and translated records.

Person Specification for National Consultants – PEA Evaluation Specialist
Essential:

• Postgraduate degree in Public Health, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Demography or other relevant social science field.
• At least 5 years of experience conducting and analysing qualitative data in political economy or health system studies, including KIIs with high-level stakeholders (e.g., federal and state officials).
• Existing relationships and access to House of representative health committee members, ministry of finance and budget and minister of state for health
• Ability to develop stakeholders mapping across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs) with contact of all the representatives for interview
• Demonstrated expertise in multi-level data collection (national, state, LGA), stakeholder engagement, and application of PD-PEA for mapping actors, incentives, and power relations.
• Skilled in quality assurance procedures, such as validating transcripts, applying coding frameworks, and summarizing findings by respondent type.
• Proficient in computer use, including qualitative analysis software (e.g., NVivo, ATLAS.ti, QDA Minner), digital data collection platforms (e.g., ODK, SurveyCTO), and Microsoft Office tools.
• Strong facilitation and interpersonal skills, with experience in debrief sessions and iterative refinements based on field dynamics.
• Ability to fluently speak Yoruba, especially for translating local expressions and supporting culturally appropriate interactions in Osun State.
• Excellent attention to detail, particularly in data validation, theme identification, and ethical standards.
• Residency in or strong familiarity with Osun State.

Desired:

• Ability to develop stakeholders mapping across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs) with contact of all the representatives for interview
• Demonstrated expertise in multi-level data collection (national, state, LGA), stakeholder engagement, and application of PD-PEA for mapping actors, incentives, and power relations.
• Ability to fluently speak Yoruba, especially for translating local expressions and supporting culturally appropriate interactions in Osun State.
• Skilled in quality assurance procedures, such as validating transcripts, applying coding frameworks, and summarizing findings by respondent type.