Nigeria National Coordinator Consultant at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Purpose of this consultancy:

As a global alliance, MMA’s new strategy focuses on supporting local to global ECD in crisis advocacy. MMA believes that to sustainably support young children and families affected by crisis and displacement, the partners with lived experience of crisis and displacement must lead the change for policy and financing decisions that affect their lives. Local and refugee leaders in Nigeria are the closest to the affected communities and would ensure that all relevant policies, and funding is tailored to their communities’ priorities and needs. The National Coordinator will be the primary engine for the Nigeria coalition, developing and testing a replicable model for national-level coalition building. This role is for a changemaker experienced in working with diverse actors, shaping partnerships that shift mindsets and priorities at a systems level, while being comfortable with multi-level power dynamics.

The national coordinator will support in developing and coordinating a new, strong ECD in crisis advocacy coalition built on dynamic relationships with strategic clarity and important diversity of stakeholders of government, LLOs, RLOs, private sector, UN, INGOs and academic representatives.

Objectives:

The National Coordinator who will serve as a consultant will coordinate a National Advocacy Coalition for Early Childhood in crisis in Nigeria. Aligned with the overall coalition goals and aims, key objectives for the consultancy include:

Establishing the coalition: Coordinate, support and guide the coalition members including refugee-led (RLOs) and locally led organizations (LLOs), state and national government, UN, INGOs, and private sector representatives to work together towards shared advocacy goals. Strategic Resource Mobilization: Support the coalition to build an investment case for ECD-in-crisis to secure domestic and private-sector financing, including advocating for a National ECD in crisis Fund that prioritises local and refugee ECD in crisis organisations. Policy Integration: Lead coalition advocacy efforts to integrate ECD into national emergency preparedness frameworks, development budgets, and inter-governmental coordination through working with the Nigerian government to establish a technical working group and include age crisis segregated data in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) tracking systems.

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

The national coordinator consultant will be responsible for supporting the National Nigeria coalition to develop, implement, and achieve its future advocacy strategy, and for developing the structure and processes underpinning the work. In addition, the successful candidate will oversee external coalition communications, campaign and monitor and pursue key developments and opportunities that align with the coalition’s objectives.

This role comes with considerable autonomy in shaping and implementing the work. The national coordinator will report to the Moving Minds Alliance’s Senior Engagement Manager and will receive support from the Education Coordinator, and Advocacy & Communications Coordinator at IRC Nigeria, based in Maiduguri, with frequent travel to Abuja.

The consultant is expected to deliver the following over three years (these are suggested activities; it is expected that the coordinator consultant will develop these further in their role):

Phase 1: Foundation & Coalition Seeding (March 2026 – December 2026)

Focus: Establishing governance, formalizing the core group, and setting the strategic direction.

Establishment & Governance: Recruit and onboard core members (including RLOs/LLOs); mobilize and set up the Steering Committee and Subcommittees; develop the official Coalition Terms of Reference. Strategic Mapping: Conduct a stakeholder gap analysis and prioritize new organizational memberships; begin recruitment of members with specific expertise in fundraising, government advocacy and public comms. Operational Setup: Implement platforms for communication and knowledge sharing; facilitate and support regular coalition and sub-committee meetings. Strategy Development: supported by the MMA Sr manager, co-develop the multi-year Advocacy Strategy and Workplan based on domestic finance analysis and national consultative meetings in consultation with the steering committee, coalition members. Plan for the first national advocacy engagement in the impact summit in Nigeria (summer 2026) working towards Act for the Early Years Summit early Jan 2027.

Year 1 Deliverables:

Finalized Governance Structure and coalition Terms of Reference. Comprehensive stakeholder map and recruitment plan. Draft Multi-Year advocacy strategy. Advocacy & engagement plan for the Impact Financial Summit in Nigeria leading to AFEY summit in Jan 2027

Phase 2: Momentum & Campaign Launch (January 2027 – December 2027)

Focus: Activating the advocacy strategy, launching public-facing platforms, and driving policy engagement.

• Campaign Execution: with the support of MMA comms manager, oversee the national communications campaign planning and launch; collaborate with the REACH Network of journalists and media influencers.
• Digital Infrastructure: Launch the coalition website and social media channels; initiate the quarterly internal newsletter.
• Policy Advocacy: Develop the Locally Owned Investment Case (aligned with the "Act for the Early Years" global campaign); maintain a calendar of national/regional advocacy moments.
• Relationship Management: Build alliances with ECD sector organizations; engage high-level champions within member organizations with drafted messaging and talking points.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Implement MEL tracking against strategy indicators with the support of MMA’s Knowledge Management Lead.

Year 2 Deliverables:

• Final report on coalition outcomes engaging in impact summit 2026, and financial summit in Jan 2027
• Three year calendar of national and regional relevant advocacy engagements,events and key moments
• National Communications Campaign Launch.
• The "Nigeria ECD in Crisis" Investment Case.
• Active Digital Platforms (Website/Social Media).

Phase 3: Scaling, Impact & Documentation (January 2028 – December 2028)

Focus: Sustaining policy influence, filling knowledge gaps, and codifying the model for replication.

Strategy Refinement: Review and refine operations to optimize alignment; continue overseeing strategy implementation and filling identified gaps. Knowledge Management: Identify evidence gaps and lead the publication process (conception to dissemination) for coalition research with the support from MMA’s Knowledge Management Lead. External Supervision: support the management of external contractors hired to support specialized technical work in Nigeria. Sustainability & Replication: Support the MMA team in documenting lessons learned into a "Coalition Playbook" to facilitate replication in other fragile contexts. Reporting: Prepare comprehensive materials for the Annual Report and final impact assessment of the three-year cycle.

Year 3 Deliverables:

Reviewed coalition strategy and operational structure Published Coalition Research/Evidence Papers. Final "Coalition Playbook" for Global Replication. Three-Year Impact & MEL Summary Report.

Ongoing Responsibilities (2026–2028)

Meeting Facilitation: Ongoing coordination of sub-committees, steering committee quarterly meetings and full coalition meetings in person and online. Context Monitoring: Continuous tracking of early childhood developments in crisis contexts within Nigeria and West Africa. Member Relations: Maintaining deep understanding of member priorities and strengths to ensure role alignment, synergies and efficiency. External engagement: Maintaining formal representation of the Coalition and MMA in Nigeria, with continuous building of ECD in crisis champions nationally. Global meeting participation: Attending Project team meeting monthly

Consultant Requirements:

To be successful for this opportunity, applicants must have:

Master’s Degree or equivalent experience in advocacy, public policy, international affairs or another relevant field Substantial (8+ years) experience in working with diverse entities on multiple levels (INGO, UN, Government, private sector, local organization, refugee organizations) in humanitarian and development sectors. Prior experience working with networks/coalitions is desirable. Substantial experience of project coordination and strategic decision making skills Strong knowledge of regional, national and local stakeholders / networks in the field of early childhood development in emergencies / child rights / humanitarian and development sectors, including ideally domestic and international humanitarian and development donors based in Nigeria. Excellent communication skills, with the demonstrated ability to effectively engage high level stakeholders (high-level government representatives, donor agency executives, etc.) in addition to refugee led and locally led organization representatives. Having trauma-informed training is desirable. Excellent ability to write reports, presentations, briefs, and knowledge products for dissemination.