Data Analysts at ActionAid (AA) Nigeria

Job Description

• ActionAid (AA) Nigeria is seeking the services of a data analyst to analyse the 2021 Appropriation Bill / Law of Kogi and Nasarawa State. This is part of the policy work on the “System and Structure Strengthening Approach against Radicalisation to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) Project in Kogi and Nasarawa State Phase II.
• AA Nigeria is an affiliate of ActionAid International, which is a global alliance of organisations working towards achieving a world without poverty and injustice in which every person enjoys the right to a life with dignity. As a large and visible development organisation, we work in more than 43 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America. Our expertise lies in community-led approaches to development and working through partnerships with the poor and other grassroot organisations.

Project Overview:  Goal(s) and Outcome(s)

• In partnership with other relevant stakeholders, AA Nigeria is intensifying actions and efforts towards supporting communities to build resilience against violent extremism in order to tackle radicalization and violent extremism in Nigeria,with specific focus on Kogi and Nasarawa States, through the “System and Structure Strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) Phase II Project.
• SARVE II aims to see Community resilience against Violent Extremism strengthened in Kogi and Nasarawa States with the target of seeing decreased vulnerability of at -risk young men and women, ensuring community systems and structures to address violent extremism are strengthened and an improved enabling environment for Preventing Violent Extremism exists.
• As part of system strengthening towards creating enabling environment for the prevention of violent extremism in Kogi and Nasarawa State, AAN aims to support discussions on adequate budgetary allocations towards the prevention of violent extremism in Kogi and Nasarawa State for the security and peace of citizens in both states.

Context
There is a myriad of narratives to the possible causes of violent extremism in Nigeria. These factors can be grouped into the “Push and Pull Factors” (Albert, 2018).

According to Leuven (2019, p. 29), the “push factors" are conditions or grievances that create a sense of frustration, marginalization and disempowerment which encourage people to seek out remedies including, but not limited to, joining extremist groups, or embracing violent extremist world views. These factors may include structural issues such as “demographic imbalances, poverty, inequality, discrimination or polarised environments and transitional societies.” Similarly, Albert (2018) concurred that some push factors include exclusion, deprivation, horizontal inequalities, persecution, or the perception thereof, limited access to quality and relevant education, unemployment, underemployment, rights denial, historic grievances, weak family system, weak educational system, among others.

More so, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP (2017), unequivocally underscores the relevance of economic factors as drivers of recruitment. According to reports, about 86.9 million people in Nigeria are living in extreme poverty with unemployment as one of the major causes of   poverty. Statistics also show that the unemployment rate in Nigeria is 23.13%, while the youth unemployment is significantly higher at 38%, as revealed by the World Bank.

In a survey by Buchanan-Clarke & Lekale (2016), unemployment is one of the biggest socio-economic problems in Nigeria. In addition, the “pull factors – forces that can be attractive to potential recruits and specifically draw them into radical organizations, such as a sense of kinship, heroism, adventure, economic gain or self-realization” (Leuven (2019, p. 29). This according to him explains  the drivers of violent extremism in the society .

The pull factor also referred to as “individual incentives,” which is more effective when violent extremist groups claim that their goals are to resolve the issues, identified as push factors. However, there are varying arguments on the drivers of violent extremism, two of the greatest disagreements revolve around whether religion and economy are drivers of violent extremism. It is important to maintain that religious leaders and economic opportunities can be important allies and entry points in working to counter and prevent violent extremism. In this way, a State’s failure to provide basic rights, services and security will not only contribute to a growing inequality but also create a vacuum that will allow non-State actors to take control over the state’s sovereignty and territory. In view of this, it is pertinent to add that recruitment into violent extremism occurs at various levels depending on many factors and context. These include the individual, group, community, region, state and global levels. The drivers to violent extremism vary across individuals, communities, and regions, yet there is commonality in the ideology and narratives employed by extremist groups (USAID, 2016).

Therefore, one can submit that, violent extremism is the product of historical, political, economic, and social circumstances, propelled by religious ideology. More so, growing horizontal inequalities, exclusive politics and governance are some of the consistently cited factors fueling violent extremism.

On this note, an engagement with the states’ appropriation document is essential to support discussions towards directing attention in strengthening sectors that propel violent extremism. Such sections include:

• Youth engagement and empowerment
• Women engagement and empowerment
• Employment / Job Creation
• Education

Purpose

• The purpose for the analysis of the 2021 Appropriation Law / Proposal of Kogi and Nasarawa State is to provide an in-depth breakdown of the allocations to specified sectors in form of factsheets, with which to engage various policy holders.

Specific Objectives:

• To analyse how the 2021 appropriation is aimed towards preventing violent extremism in both states, vis-à-vis 2019 and 2020 appropriations.
• To provide an advocacy tool to be used by SARVE II team and other AAN programmes to engage with policy holders in the sectors mentioned above, namely Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education.
• To provide the needed information that will enable CSOs and citizens effectively engage with the 2021 Appropriation Law/Proposal of both States.
• To ascertain value for money in public expenditures.

Expected Deliverables
The deliverables of the consultant are:

• A report accompanied with a factsheet showcasing the comparative capital and recurrent expenditures allocations in the 2021 allocations to Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education.  
• A factsheet graphically illustrating with info-graphs the capital allocations to Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education into senatorial zones and LGAs, the capital allocations.

Tasks and Scope of Work:

• The Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks below, to arrive at the deliverables.
• Make a detailed comparative and trend analysis of the 2021 appropriation of Kogi and Nasarawa State allocations to the Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education clearly highlighting strengths and weaknesses and articulate recommendations for improvement.
• Make comparison among provisions for capital allocations in the sectors considered pro-poor (Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education) versus overheads, which represent the administrative cost.
• Classify into senatorial zones and LGAs, the capital allocations to Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education
• Using tables and graph illustrations, compare the percentage allocations to pro-poor sectors, Youth Empowerment, Employment Creation, Women Empowerment and Education
• Determine the 2021 Appropriations can prevent violent extremism and promote peaceful cohabitation among citizens and clearly demonstrae this using the generated data
• Demonstrate the dimension and pattern of inequality inherent in the allocations with regards to the specified sectors
• Produce a report accompanied with a factsheet containing data illustration using inforgraphs

Reporting Lines:

• The selected consultant shall submit all documentation and resources developed to the Manager, Humanitarian & Resilience Unit of AAN.

Qualification and Experience
The Consultant is expected to have the following qualifications:

• Minimum of Master's degree in Development Economic, Political Economy, Economics, Public Administration, Statistics, or any of the related Social Science disciplines.
• At least 10 years progressive experience working in the areas of public finance management and analysis, public sector reform and excellent knowledge of the development sector
• Excellent facilitation, writing and reporting skills
• Computer literate and able to apply Microsoft Office and other analytical tools efficiently
• Excellent communication and interpersonal relation skills
• An excellent team player

Required Documentations:

• CV
• Expression of interest note.
• Invoice / quotation for payment.

Payment

• The consultant shall be paid in line with negotiated amount. ActionAid is under Nigerian tax laws obliged to deduct 5% withholding tax on the payment and transmit same to the tax authorities in favour of the consultant.