Terms of Reference - Consultancy to Revise the Jigawa State Social Protection Policy and Operational Plan & Align with the Recently Passed Jigawa State Social Protection Law, and the Jigawa State Social Protection M&E Framework at Action Against Hunger | ACF-International

Project and Study Summary Table

Project Background
1.1. Rationale for the Project
Despite more than a decade of positive economic growth, Nigeria’s human capital development continues to be weak with poverty both in monetary and non-monetary terms, remains remarkably high.
According to Brookings Institute report of 2018 based on data from the world poverty clock, Nigeria was already the poverty capital of the world, being home to 86.9 million people living on less than $1.90 a day - the largest number of citizens living in extreme poverty of any country in the world. Nigeria is also
home to one of the very highest number of malnourished children in the world.
Over the last seven years, the government of Nigeria has continued to invest and expand social protection. However, despite significant progress, coverage remains low and programmes remain highly fragmented creating numerous gaps in addressing poverty and vulnerability across the various stages of the human lifecycle, reducing the impact of social protection on widespread poverty levels.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought social protection into the national spotlight in Nigeria as the pandemic was just as much about the devastating economic consequences for millions of households across the country as it was a public health crisis. With social protection playing a central role in the response of federal and state governments to protect vulnerable households, it has been brought into the public arena as never before and, along with it, a range of opportunities as well as risks
The objective of the consultancy is to collect and utilize combination of primary and secondary data as well as conduct a critical stakeholders’ desk review of the Jigawa State Social Protection Policy and the Operational plan, and align the Social Protection policy with current Social Protection activities of the state and the Jigawa State Social Protection law. There are disconnect which should be aligned or streamlined.
1.2 Project Goal
A robust review of the Social Protection policy and operational plan towards aligning it with the recently passed Jigawa State Social Protection law, the recently designed M&E framework and streamline/align them to current realities and programmes of the government. The consultant will work with an array of stakeholders to achieve this and will utilize a combination of primary (KII, FGDs, Household interview) and secondary information and data which will be sourced to streamline all documents.
1.3 Geographical scope covered by the analysis

The study will be conducted in Jigawa State, North-West Nigeria. The consultant will work with government stakeholders and may take a trip to some intervention LGAs chosen by the government to observe some of the government Social Protection programs

2. Profile of the Evaluator
The evaluation will be carried out by a National consultant with the following profile to carry out the Social
Protection Policy and Operational Plan :

• Master’s degree in Economics, Sociology, Rural Development, Public Policy or other relevant fields with particular experience in designing/reviewing poverty-alleviation policies or programmes.
• Similar experience in designing Social Protection Policy including Implementation plans and Monitoring and Evaluation framework especially in the northern part of Nigeria will be an added advantage
• Background in Social Protection with an in-depth experience in social policies and programmes of Federal and state governments in Nigeria especially in the North West
• Familiarity with the National Social Protection Programmes/Policy, including state government social policies on livelihood, food security, Nutrition, cash transfer, etc.
• Significant field experience in operationalizing policies in a humanitarian/development context;
• Significant experience in coordination, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs;
• Good communications skills and experience of workshop facilitation;
• Ability to write clear and useful reports (may be required to produce examples of previous work);
• Fluent in English;
• Understanding of northwest Nigeria political context will be an added advantage
• Ability to manage the available time and resources and to work to tight deadlines;
• Independence from the parties involved.