Fresh Jobs at Search for Common Ground (SFCG)

About The Project                         

• The Adamawa state project is an 18-months project aimed at Contributing to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa state in an equitable, inclusive and sustainable manner.
• COMITAS will cover Demsa, Numan, Lamurde, Girei and Mayo Belwa Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Adamawa State. 
• Search’ expertise in community mobilization will be used to mobilize an early response to address the early warning signals.
• To achieve this, Search will formally establish community response networks.
• These will include religious leaders, women leaders, youth leaders, and school teachers, representatives of the Police, Union representatives, e.g. Nigerian Union of Road and Transport Workers Community response Workers (NURTW), representatives of community-based organizations, and representatives of farmer and herder associations. These structures will be trained extensively to achieve the results in the project locations.

Description

• S/he will work in close contact with the EWER Coordinator and in close coordination with the Project team.
• The position is based in Yola with frequent travel to the field when needed.

Objectives for the Engagement of an Intern(s):

• The EWER component of the COMITAS Project requires interns who will provide support towards achieving our dialogue sessions in our 10 project communities.
• The objective of the dialogue sessions is primarily to bring together farmers and herders through dialogues.
• The intern will support the facilitation consultants on roles, duties and deliverables as may be assigned to him/her. 

Responsibilities and Duties of the Dialogue Interns

• Participate planning the implementation of transformative dialogues with the EWER team and dialogue facilitation consultants
• Participate in efforts to Create and nurture a positive working relationship with relevant stakeholders 
• Support the timely and successful implementation of transformative dialogues 
• Create and maintain a database of all relevant contacts engaged during the dialogues
• Communicate with relevant project stakeholders and mobilize them to ensure their participation in the project’s activities 
• Support in the reporting on dialogue activities by ensuring timely reporting of dialogue activities in coordination with the dialogue implementation team.

Requirements
Education:

• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication, Political Science, Conflict and Peacebuilding Studies, International Relations,  Sociology, Psychology  or related fields; 

Experience:

• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and in a diverse workplace.
• Had volunteered with Search or any other INGO and understands Search’s ethics.
• Has attended Search’s training in the past (desired but not required).
• Ability to prioritize, plan and organize workflow to tight time frames and handle multiple tasks.
• Has a good understanding of the context in the five Local Government Areas we are working in.

Skills Required:

• Analytical skills - ability to analyze data from different perspectives
• Interpersonal, Coordination, and communication skills, both written and oral.
• Understanding English, Hausa, and Fulfulde languages is a plus factor
• Ability to work under stringent deadlines with acute attention to detail.
• Self-starter with the ability to manage time effectively.
• Have a fair working knowledge of IT tools (e.g. Internet, MS Office, and Excel).

Duration of the Activity:

• The activity will be for 4 months (March - June 2022).

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About the RESILAC Project

• The overall objective of the RESILAC project is to contribute to the economic recovery and to the strengthening of the resilience and the social cohesion of the territories of the Lake Chad basin most impacted by the Lake Chad crisis and climate change.

About the RESILAC Project

• The overall objective of the RESILAC project is to contribute to the economic recovery and to the strengthening of the resilience and the social cohesion of the territories of the Lake Chad basin most impacted by the Lake Chad crisis and the climate change.

The Specific Objectives of the Project are: 

• Strengthening human capital, social cohesion and collective and sustainable management of natural resources in targeted territories;
• Promoting economic recovery in targeted areas and the resilience of the most vulnerable populations, especially young people and women, through access to employment and agro-sylvo-pastoral production systems intensified and adapted to climate change;
• Valuing and consolidating the actors of the targeted territories by encouraging dialogue and commitment, and reinforcing their capacities according to the skills and roles of each one; and
• Producing useful knowledge for the quality of project activities in a crisis context and for decision-making by local actors.

Purpose of the Consultancy

• During program implementation, it has been identified that communities often refer to religious leaders and traditional healers, as trustworthy interlocutors, when facing psychological issues, while they do not necessarily have the skills to handle this.  
• Search is organizing a series of Psychological First Aid training, Trauma awareness and Do No Harm, and information on referral pathways for these trusted leaders at community level, as well as connecting them to (Psychological First Aid) PFA committees.
• PFAs committees are part of the regional exit strategy of the RESILAC project, which aims at contributing to the empowerment of communities in the management of psychological needs in case of crisis.
• This is all in a bit to improve the services community members receive from the religious leaders and traditional healers. 
• In order to promote sustainability of the project outcomes and increased impact, there is a need to engage more stakeholders and practitioners towards building a body of knowledge on sustainable practices for intervening on Youth Engagement, Trauma and psychosocial support at the North East and National levels.
• There is a need to respond to the acknowledged gap within the aid community as well as amongst donors and implementers availability of a credible body of knowledge on sustainable practices for intervening on MHPSS specifically on the perceptions and practices of traditional healers and religious leaders regarding mental illness.
• Search for Common Ground is seeking to hire a consultant to lead a pilot study on the perceptions and practices of traditional healers and religious leaders regarding mental illness in their communities.
• The outcome of the study will be used to advance knowledge and could be used for further programming.
• The consultant will be responsible for conducting desk reviews and primary data collection using various data collection methods to elicit response from relevant stakeholders , analyze the information and produce a final report/study on the theme.
• The consultant is expected to handle all logistics and related costs associated with this study. More specifically, the Consultant will have the following roles and responsibilities:

Deliverables

• Conduct a desk review of the already existing information on the perceptions and practices of traditional healers and religious leaders regarding mental illness in Borno State.
• Collect primary data using various data collection methods on the theme.
• The consultant will be required to produce an inception report immediately after signing the contract.
• The inception report will be expected to include; Preliminary desk reviews, data collection and sampling techniques to be used, sample size, data collection tools and guide to the final report.
• Produce a draft report for review before the final report
• Produce a final report taking into consideration all recommendations and inputs to the draft report.
• The consultant is expected to share all files containing raw data, recordings and transcriptions of qualitative data to Search.

Requirments
Education:

• A Degree or equivalent in Communications, Psychology, Social Sciences, or related fields. A Master’s degree is an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience working on MHPSS and/or related fields in a leadership/managerial position 
• At least 5 years of experience in research, development studies and assessments
• Experience engaging and working with people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds;
• Demonstrated experience working on conflict issues and in fragile environments; 
• Excellent knowledge of the North-East conflict dynamics
• Relevant experience supporting and engaging traditional and religious leaders
• The Consultant must be familiar with the context of the region and experience in community engagement, planning and execution of programs in Peacebuilding and Humanitarian sectors

Other Relevant Requirements:

• The consultant must be familiar with the context of Northeast Nigeria.
• Excellent facilitation skills and high capacity to plan at short notice 
• Excellent written communication and report writing skills in English
• Basic computer skills is in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel among other skills
• Fluency in Hausa and/or Kanuri and knowledge of other languages indigenous to Northeastern Nigeria will be an added advantage.
• Motivation and self-discipline to work without supervision
• Budget and Terms of Engagement
• Payments will be made in three installments; 30% after submission of inception report, 30% after completing data collection and submission of Draft Report, raw data, recordings and transcriptions; and 40% on submission of the final report.
• Search Will deduct withholding tax at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee
• All logistics arrangements should be included in the proposed budget.

The Consultant is Required to Respect the Following Ethical Principles:

• Comprehensive and systematic inquiry: Consultant should make the most of the existing information and full range of stakeholders available at the time of the review. Consultant should conduct systematic, data-based inquiries. He or she should communicate his or her methods and approaches accurately and in sufficient detail to allow others to understand, interpret and critique his or her work. He or she should make clear the limitations of the review and its results.
• Competence: Consultant should possess the abilities and skills and experience appropriate to undertake the tasks proposed and should practice within the limits of his or her professional training and competence.
• Honesty and integrity: Consultant should be transparent with the contractor/constituent about: any conflict of interest, any change made in the negotiated project plan and the reasons why those changes were made, any risk that certain procedures or activities produce misleading review information.
• Respect for people: Consultant respect the security, dignity and self-worth of respondents, program participants. Consultant has the responsibility to be sensitive to and respect differences amongst participants in culture, religion, gender, disability, age and ethnicity.

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Project Summary

• Supporting the Efforts of the Nigerian Government on Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) and promoting Disengagement, Disassociation, Reintegration, and Reconciliation (DDRR) project aims to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Nigeria to develop and implement PVE and DDRR programming through the attainment of strengthened institutional capacities on PVE and DDRR programming of government officials at the federal and state levels, improved coordination of DDRR programming between the federal and state government levels, and enhanced communication and awareness on PVE and DDRR programming

The Objectives of the Project 

• There are three objectives of this project that will be achieved through the three Expected Results: 
  • If the institutional capacities in PVE and DDRR are strengthened, government officials will improve their skills to contribute to the development and implementation of PVE and DDRR programming effectively (taking into account political willingness).
  • If government inter-agency coordination is improved (and institutional capacities are strengthened), government officials will be able to develop and implement PVE and DDRR programming efficiently (considering political willingness)
  • If coordination for communication and awareness is enhanced between the different sectors and levels of the Government, and between Government and civil society as well as within civil society and communities, the development and implementation of PVE and DDRR programming by the Government will be better understood and inclusive, and will easily contribute to the common goal of sustainable peace and stabilisation in the region

Purpose of the Consultancy

• Search will be working with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on PVE and DDRRTo complement communication plans and strategies focusing on PVE and DDRR processes, targeting the receiving communities, and the coordination of communications strategies between the federal and state governmentsSearch seeks to engage a Consultant to add a comprehensive strategy on conflict-sensitive communication in relation to PVE and DDRR to the already developed training manual on strategic communication for PCVE developed by UNDP in 2020, to be implemented by ONSA
• The communication strategy will aim to enhance the capacity of ONSA and other relevant MDAs at local, state, and federal levels and will tailor them to the DDRR programming to effectively communicate and raise awareness on the importance of ongoing DDRR processes and PVE related concepts
• With the communication strategy and curriculum in place, Search and the Consultant will co-facilitate two Training of Trainers-ToT (one at the beginning of the project and one Refresher training towards the end of the project) for ONSA and other relevant MDAs at State and Federal level to enable relevant actors to strategically communicate and respond on DDRR and PVE related concepts, in order to sharpen their knowledge on DDRR communication, ensure continuity and sustainability of the programming

Roles and Responsibilities

• Work closely with Search’ Capacity Building and Training Specialist to tailor the manual towards a comprehensive strategy on conflict-sensitive communication in relation to PVE and DDRR to the already developed training manual on strategic communication for PCVE developed by UNDP in 2020.
• Develop a simplified handbook of the manual for training participants.
• Outline set of questions (Pre and Post-test) for assessing knowledge and capacity of the stakeholders based on the training modules
• Co-facilitate a two-five day TOT (one at the beginning of the project and one Refresher training towards the end of the project).
• Work with Search’ Capacity Building and Training Specialist to develop a detailed training report with key highlights of all the sessions conducted, successes, pictures, and feedback for improvement of future programming

Required Profile

• Advanced Degree in Social Sciences, Peacebuilding, Development Studies, International Studies or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).
• At least 5 years’ experience of curriculum development on PCVE, DDRR and training facilitation, including engagement with several actors – governments, community, religious leaders, civil society, governments, security organizations, specialist networks, etc.
• Experience working with INGOs and other Donor Organizations
• Ability to utilize different approaches to impact skills and knowledge toward practical application in PCVE and DDRR
• Have experience in developing training manuals.
• Have experience in facilitating formal and informal training.
• The consultant must be familiar with the context of Northeast Nigeria with a focus on the conflict dynamics of Borno, Adamawa,Yobe and Gombe StatesParticularly, key political, social, and security situations, around the Non-State Armed groups.
• Ability to create a safe space for participants of diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent written communication and report writing skills in English.
• Basic computer skills in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel among other skills.
• Motivation and self-discipline to work without supervision.

Reporting Line:

• Under direct supervision of the Search’ Capacity Building and Training Specialist, the Consultant will work with the Project Management team to coordinate and ensure the smooth implementation of the consultancy

Budget and Terms of Engagement:

• The consultancy (development of the manual) will begin the first week of April 2022, all training and reports should be completed within 10 days 
• The entire consultancy will cover a period of 23 working days {10 days to cover 2 training sessions of 18 participants for each training, 10 days for the development of training materials, and 3 days for training report writing}    
• All statutory deductions will be removed at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee
• All logistics arrangements should be built into the consultant's proposed cost.

The Consultant is Required to Respect the Following Ethical Principles:

• Comprehensive and systematic inquiry: Consultant should make the most of the existing information and full range of stakeholders available at the time of the review. Consultant should conduct systematic, data-based inquiries. He or she should communicate his or her methods and approaches accurately and in sufficient detail to allow others to understand, interpret and critique his or her work. He or she should make clear the limitations of the review and its results.
• Competence: Consultant should possess the abilities and skills and experience appropriate to undertake the tasks proposed and should practice within the limits of his or her professional training and competence.
• Honesty and integrity: Consultant should be transparent with the contractor/constituent about: any conflict of interest, any change made in the negotiated project plan and the reasons why those changes were made, any risk that certain procedures or activities produce misleading review information.
• Respect for people: Consultant respect the security, dignity and self-worth of respondents, program participants. Consultant has the responsibility to be sensitive to and respect differences amongst participants in culture, religion, gender, disability, age and ethnicity.