Job Vacancies at Search for Common Ground

Position Summary

The Senior Education Officer’s primary aim is to support implementation of the education components of the “Supporting the Socio-Economic reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups including the Civilian Joint Task Force in North East Nigeria” programme. More specifically, providing and coordinating support to the children separated from CJTF to resume school, continue their formal education, receive necessary Back To School kits, and support ongoing monitoring of their progress.

The Senior Education Officer will Implement education programmes in line with Search’s Conflict Sensitivity and Common Ground Approach, always ensuring that Children’s Best Interests are promoted.

Reports to: Deputy Project Manager

Direct Reports: Education assistant 

About the Project

In the past decade, states in the North East region of Nigeria have faced frequent attacks by Boko Haram militants leading to widespread displacement, violations of national laws, international humanitarian and human rights laws, and a deepening humanitarian crisis. Children, who are the most vulnerable members of society, have suffered the worst impacts as pre-existing problems of access to social protection, education and healthcare increase, new threats emerge, and the systems to protect children fails.

This project aims to ensure that children verified and separated from CJTF receive a comprehensive child protection package including counselling, psychosocial support and socio-economic reintegration and that their communities understand the importance of their separation and reintegration. Search will work closely with the children, their families and communities, and CJTF to address the psychosocial and economic needs of the children and to influence the attitudes of communities and CJTF so they understand the negative impact of associating with armed groups on children and prevent the CJTF from using children. By increasing the resilience of children associated with CJTF and increasing their employability, this project will facilitate lasting reintegration of these children and amplify positive narratives around their role in communities as productive civilian actors and agents for peace.

Roles and Responsibilities

• • With support from the Child Protection Manager, develop, implement and monitor quarterly, monthly and weekly activity plans to achieve expected results related to social reintegration, specifically education. This includes planning of activities, budgets and procurement.
  • Ensure that all planned activities are implemented on time, to quality measures and within budget as per the monthly plan. Where challenges arise, ensure that these are flagged early, communicated to the Child Protection Manager and Deputy Programme Manager and addressed in a timely manner way.
  • Identify and communicate project gaps, challenges and vulnerabilities related to Education, and more broadly, to the Child Protection and Deputy Programme Managers on a timely basis and suggest possible solutions to the problems.
  • Proactively engage in the Education Working Group to become aware of Education responses across the programme implementation sites.  
  • Actively participate in education-related activities and meetings e.g. with School Principles, Ministry of Education and the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB), and seek active collaboration with other players working in the education sector.
  • Develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders including government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors
  • Share innovative ideas from student and school on education programs, in partnership with UNICEF, Ministry of Education and SUBEB.
  • Monitor progress towards the objectives and intended outputs pertaining to education using routine data, spot checks, observation, and other methodologies. 
  • Closely work with psychosocial and trauma support professionals to provide life skills and career guidance support for children transitioning from ‘education’ to ‘life’; 
  • Coordinate with Search’s procurement and administration team to ensure the timely purchases of the necessary education support materials; and distribute the education support materials to the selected children and their Schools with proper documentation; 
  • Assess needs for services of persons of concern, as related to education, and coordinate partners’ responses.
  • Prepare accurate monthly, quarterly and final narrative reports, logframes, and Sector 5Ws
  • Support Search to become a key actor in the field of reintegration of ex BH children and other vulnerable children in NE Nigeria.
  • Any other task relevant to the position as requested by the Child Protection Manager or Deputy Project Manager.  
  • As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

Education

• • University degree or equivalent in Education, Psychology, Social Science, or a related field.

Required Experience

•  

  • Minimum of 2 years experience in the field of education and with children.
  • Experience working with Children Associated with Armed Groups, and other vulnerable children.
  • Familiarity with principles including the best interest of the child, do no harm, humanitarian principles, amongst others.

Other Relevant Requirements

• • Strong cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Highly organised and systematic, with excellent attention to detail. 
  • Experience working in emergency settings
  • Experience working in different communities in Borno State
  • Experience working with refugees, IDPs, host communities, and other vulnerable populations 
  • Excellent analytical and writing skills
  • Good analytical, problem solving and project planning skills. 
  • Ability to prioritise, plan, organise workflow to tight timeframes, handle multiple tasks, and be flexible with changing priorities. 
  • Community-oriented and respect for local culture.
  • Good IT skills, particularly with MS Office - Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint.
  • Strong command of both written and spoken English.
  • Knowledge of a local language (Hausa, Kanuri) a must.
  • Holds self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and standards of behaviour.
  • Demonstrates a high degree of professionalism/integrity.
  • Provides good administrative and logistical support to the team.
  • Strong attitude towards teamwork and collaboration. 
  • Actively seeks support in addressing difficulties in the execution of duties.
  • Strategic thinking and effective contribution to own work and organisational development.
  • Sound judgement and decision-making in complex situations.
  • Strong emotional intelligence including self-awareness.
  • Leads by example to motivate high performance of others.
  • Strong commitment to continuous learning.

go to method of application »

About the project 

The “Deepening the Peace in the Niger Delta” Project is funded by the German Cooperation, to support a locally led peace architecture that is inclusive, at all levels of society. The project is in its second phase of implementation (Oct 2019 - Dec 2020), aiming to scale up impact and build on the positive results yielded from successful implementation of the project’s pilot phase (Nov 2018 – Sep 2019). In the first phase of the project, including a period of no cost extension (Jun – Sep 2019), the project focused on Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states, directly benefiting communities in 8 LGAS (Rivers State: Okrika, Gokana, and Port Harcourt LGAs, Bayelsa State: Southern Ijaw and Kolokuma/Opokuma LGAs, and Delta State: Warri North, Warri South-West, Isoko South LGAs). 

This scale up phase of the project targets 20 communities in 20 LGAs in the three focus states, (Rivers State - Okrika, Gokana, Port Harcourt, Khana, Obio/Akpor, Asari-Toru and Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni; Bayelsa State - Southern Ijaw, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Ogbia, Sagbama, Ekeremor,  and Brass), Delta State - Aniocha North,  Isoko South, Udu, Ughelli South, Ukwuani, Warri North and Warri South West) and continued to engage diverse stakeholders including Government authorities, security agencies, community leaders, women and youths, to collaboratively respond to conflict drivers in the region.

The overall goal of the project is to support an inclusive, multi-level dialogue process to peacefully address governance and resource issues driving conflict in the Niger Delta. This project goal is being achieved through two specific objectives and corresponding outcomes: 

Objective 1: Strengthen linkages between citizens and local authorities in the Niger Delta to respond to drivers of violence in the region. 

Expected outcomes:

People of the Niger Delta, including militants and ex-militants, feel that cooperation between them and local authorities is strengthened; 

Platforms for collaborative response to underlying conflict issues by communities,  government, and security are established in project LGAs

Objective 2: Amplify the voices of key stakeholders, particularly women, youth and marginalized groups to contribute to discussions around regional conflict issues and promote peace in the Niger Delta region. 

Expected outcomes:

2.1 Journalists and civil society organizations increase their capacity to report on elections and manage rumours; 

2.2 Increase in the number of voices of women, youth and marginalized groups contributing to discussions on regional conflict issues in the Niger Delta; and 

2.3 Increase in public awareness and support for peace in the Niger Delta

Purpose of the Final Evaluation

Building understanding and trust is the most critical precondition to peace building. With the growing population and resultant lack of control of resources such as land and crude oil proceeds, communities in the Niger Delta are prone to conflicts over these resources. In the absence of understanding and trust, intra and inter communal clashes are rife and further clashes with the Oil Producing Companies are also common. This project recognizes that if members of communities are empowered with non-violence means of resolving conflicts and embrace dialogues, and thus develop locally-owned and sustained mechanisms for conflict prevention and dispute resolution, the risk of intergroup violence will be reduced and norms and institutions favourable towards peace and reconciliation will be reinforced.

To this end, the final evaluation will provide information on the relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the project, for internal accountability and learning which will be used for designing, planning and implementation of future programs and for accountability to donors. The evaluation will also determine the level of adherence to the planned activities and associated results planned during project implementation. 

Objectives of the Final Evaluation are to:

• To determine the project’s contribution and impact in achievement minimizing conflicts arising from governance and resource issues
• To document outcomes/impact in line with all project expected outcomes and objectives.
• To determine the extent to which the project is having an impact on gender and inclusion dynamics, specifically the role of women, youth and marginalized groups in peace building in the communities. 
• To determine the capacity and motivation of project beneficiaries to sustain the gains of the intervention especially the platforms created by the project after the lifespan of the project. 
• To provide an overview of the strengths, weaknesses, challenges and gaps in the project implementation, and recommendations for addressing the weaknesses and challenges which will inform future programming.
• To provide and share actionable lessons learned and recommendations for the design and implementation of future projects. 

Lines of inquiry will be determined more in detail and should include:

1) Relevance

• How relevant were the project strategies, activities and partnerships to the specific context and objectives of the project?
• How relevant were the project strategies, activities and partnerships to the result of the project?

2) Impact 

• To what extent can changes (intended/unintended, positive/negative) be attributed to the program?  
• What particular features of the program have made a difference in the governance and resource issue conflict in the communities?  
• What is the influence of other factors and conflict context on the impact of the project? 

3) Effectiveness 

• To what extent were the objectives of the intervention achieved?  
• What components of the intervention have been more successful and what components proved to be more challenging? 

4) Sustainability 

• To what extent are the benefits of the program likely to persist after donor funding ceased? 
• What are the major factors that are influencing the sustainability of the program? 
• If the project has contributed to strengthening the linkage between the citizens and local authorities to address the drivers of conflict, how sustainable are these linkages?

Methodology 

Using Search’s tools and guidelines for working with project beneficiaries, the study will bring the perspectives of different stakeholders together through a participatory and solutions-oriented process that specifically includes women, youth, and other marginalized groups. The evaluation will be conducted using a mixed methodology that includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. This will allow for the triangulation of information, allowing for in-depth findings and recommendations. The study, from conception to recommendations will be grounded on conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm principles, to ensure that the needs of women and youths are met, in ways that do not entrench dividing lines between various groups in the community.

Operationalization of this proposed methodology is to be clearly stated in the application , detailing how this research and methodology is actionable in the states and to the purpose of the evaluation. In addition, the application  should include details on logistics and roll-out of the study: who the target respondents will be and why, how will they be identified or recruited, how data collection and data quality assurance will be carried out, as well as how data analysis will be done.

The inception and final reports will be developed by the consultant and/or team, and reviewed and approved by Search. The tools will be administered by the consultant and/ or team, working with a team of data collectors, while the data will be analyzed by the consultant and/or team chosen to perform this research. In addition, the consultant and/or team chosen will develop the report with guidance and reviews by Search’s DMEL team.

Deliverables

• An inception report detailing the proposed method, study matrix, and work plan. It is to be approved by Search’s DMEL staff before starting data collection.

  • Research tools and data collection (developed by the candidate and/or team with the input of Search’s DMEL staff)
  • Draft report for review by Search staff and other stakeholders
  • Final Report, consisting of but not excluded to: Executive Summary, Methodology, Findings and Analysis, Conclusions, Lessons Learned and Recommendations. The report should be structured according to the evaluation questions and should include information on:
  • All data collected for this research including audios and transcripts for all interviews, and quantitative data entered in a template, based on the methodology used
  • Appendices, including data collection tools and list of interviewees
  • A power-point presentation summarizing the report’s findings

Required Profile

• • At least 6 years’ experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL), Project implementation, impact and result assessment.
  • Prior experience conducting research is essential
  • 5 years or more of experience in evaluations and large-scale qualitative studies with international organizations;
  • Experience working in the Niger Delta of Nigeria and familiarity with the context with focus on Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States.
  • Experience in evaluating programs relating to community development, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution;
  • Strong analytical skills;
  • Excellent written communication and report writing skills in English;
  • Demonstrated experience in leading large scale research in the specific context of the Delta state, including ability to train and work with a locally recruited research team;
  • Knowledge of languages indigenous to the Niger Delta state such as basic pidgin English will be an added advantage;
  • Ability to be flexible with time and work schedule.

Logistical Support

• Transmission of background materials (project proposal, meeting notes, etc.);

• Availability of meeting rooms in Delta and Bayelsa, as required;

Budget and Terms of Engagement

• All logistic costs, including transportation and lodging will NOT be borne by Search and should be included in the proposed budget.

• 5% withholding tax will be deducted at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee for a firm.

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.
  • In addition, the consultant will respect SFCG’s evaluations standards, to be found in SFCG’s evaluation guidelines: https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SFCG-External-Evaluation-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf

go to method of application »

About the Project

With funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), Search implemented a 12 months project from September 2019 to August 2020 to strengthen community resilience to violence during the pre- and post-electoral period in high-risk areas of Bayelsa State. This project is implemented in five communities from 5 LGAs of the State (Brass, Nembe, Ekeremor, Oporoma and Sagbama). 

The project had two specific objectives:Objective 1: To foster youth- and women-led platforms for violence prevention during the pre- and post-election period.Objective 2: To build community resilience to violence, including cult violence, for the pre- and post-electoral periods and beyond.

The “WAY Forward” is a project that capitalized on Search’s existing conflict prevention programming in Bayelsa State, to elevate women and youths as leaders of peace and security in their communities. The capacity of the women and youth was strengthened and they were supported with platforms and key relationships in the bid that they could lead early warning and early response processes. They were also expected to facilitate peace and dialogue activities to build community resilience to violence; and raise awareness and sensitize communities for violence-free elections.

Evaluation Objectives

• Search seeks to evaluate to what extent the project’s objectives were achieved.  These are the specific objectives of the evaluation:
• To determine the outcomes and impact of the project since inception to date in building community resilience to violence 
• To determine the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing the project, including who contributed to or hindered these, and what lessons we can learn.
• To determine to what extent the project built and/or leveraged on the capacity of women and youth to have potential or existing influence over conflict and violence dynamics at the community LGA and state level, and the impact of this influence.
• To what extent has the intervention been coordinated with the efforts of the communities, LGA and government in ending electoral violence’s. 
• The extent to which the COVID 19 pandemic affected the conflict, project  objectives, implementation and sustainability
• This learning will be shared with Search and its donor on the project, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Conflict and Stabilization Operations. It will also be made available to community stakeholders and other development partners. The report will also be published on the Search website after sensitive details have been removed.

Evaluation Methods

Using Search’s tools and guidelines for working with project beneficiaries, the study will bring the perspectives of different stakeholders together through a participatory and solutions-oriented process that specifically includes women, youth, and other marginalized groups. The evaluation will be conducted using a mixed methodology that includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. This will allow for the triangulation of information, allowing for in-depth findings and recommendations. The study, from conception to recommendations will be grounded on conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm principles, to ensure that the needs of women and youths are met, in ways that do not entrench dividing lines between various groups in the community.

Operationalization of this proposed methodology is to be clearly stated in the application, detailing how this research and methodology is actionable in the states and to the purpose of the evaluation. In addition, the application  should include details on logistics and roll-out of the study: who the target respondents will be and why, how will they be identified or recruited, how data collection and data quality assurance will be carried out, as well as how data analysis will be done.

The inception and final reports will be developed by the consultant and/or team, and reviewed and approved by Search. The tools will be administered by the consultant and/ or team, working with a team of data collectors, while the data will be analysed by the consultant and/or team chosen to perform this research. In addition, the consultant and/or team chosen will develop the report with guidance and reviews by Search’s DMEL team.

Deliverables

• An inception report detailing the proposed method, study matrix, and work plan. It is to be approved by Search’s DMEL staff before starting data collection.

  • Research tools and data collection (developed by the candidate and/or team with the input of Search’s DMEL staff)
  • Draft report for review by Search staff and other stakeholders
  • Final Report, consisting of but not excluded to: Executive Summary, Methodology, Findings and Analysis, Conclusions, Lessons Learned and Recommendations. The report should be structured according to the evaluation questions and should include information on:
  •  
  • Timetable and Deliverables
    • Within the consultancy period, the consultant is expected to complete the above-mentioned scope of work. The deliverables are as follows:
    • An inception report detailing the proposed method, study matrix, and work plan. It is to be approved by Search’s DMEL staff before starting data collection.
    • Research tools and data collection (developed by the candidate and/or team with the input of Search’s DMEL staff)
    • Draft report for review by Search staff and other stakeholders
    • Final Report (20-30 pages, excluding appendices), consisting of but not excluded to: Executive Summary, Methodology, Findings and Analysis, Conclusions, Lessons Learned and Recommendations. The report should be structured according to the evaluation questions and should include information on:
    • All data collected for this research including audios and transcripts for all interviews, and quantitative data entered in a template, based on the methodology used will be included 
    • Appendices, including data collection tools and list of interviewees
    • A power-point presentation summarizing the report’s findings

Required Profile​​​​​​​

• • Advanced degree in Conflict Studies, Research and Statistics, Social Work or other relevant degree is an added advantage
  • 5 years or more of experience in evaluations and large-scale qualitative studies with international organizations;
  • Experience working in the Niger Delta of Nigeria and familiarity with the context with focus on Bayelsa State.
  • Experience in evaluating programs relating to electoral violence, conflict drivers, community development, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution;
  • Demonstrated experience in leading large-scale baseline and endline evaluation researches in Bayelsa State, including ability to train and work with a locally recruited research team;
  • Strong analytical skills;
  • Excellent written communication and report writing skills in English;
  • Knowledge of languages indigenous to Bayelsa State will be an added advantage;
  • Ability to be flexible with time and work schedule.

SFCG will provide the following logistical support to the consultant;

• • Transmission of background materials (project proposal, meeting notes, etc.)
  • Availability of meeting rooms in Bayelsa, as required;

Timeframe

• • The consultancy period will be from July to Early August 2020 The consultant will be based in Bayelsa with field trips to the five communities of activity implementation.

Budget and Terms of Engagement

• All logistic costs, including transportation and lodging will NOT be borne by Search and should be included in the proposed budget.

• 5% withholding tax will be deducted at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee for a firm.

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.
  • In addition, the consultant will respect SFCG’s evaluations standards, to be found in SFCG’s evaluation guidelines: https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SFCG-External-Evaluation-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf

go to method of application »

About the Project

The Borno, Adamawa Yobe Water for Agriculture project (BAY-WAFA) is a 3-year project aimed to increase agricultural production and income for over 62,722 herders and farmers in an equitable, inclusive and sustainable manner. BAY-WAFA will cover Kaga, Biu and Kwaya Kusar Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Borno State; Gombi and Mayo-Belwa LGAs of Adamawa; and Jakusko and Bursari LGAs of Yobe State.  

Project Strategy (Approaches and Methodology)

Component 1: Water Infrastructure for Livestock and Small-scale Irrigation

Component 2: Strengthening Capacity for Water Governance and Management

Component 3: Strengthening Capacity for Smallholder Farmers’ Cooperatives and Livestock Herders Groups

While the project focuses on the three components, Search for Common Ground is responsible for implementing activities under a fourth Cross-cutting component for Conflict Transformation, Gender, Accountability, and Youth.

The Cross-cutting component: Conflict transformation, Gender, Accountability and Youth

Restoring social cohesion and trust is the most critical precondition to recovery and peace building.   In seeking to transform the way parties in conflict deal with conflict away from adversarial approach towards collaborative solution, we are likely to create more conflict and in the end do more harm than good to beneficiaries.

On this project, Search is implementing alongside the Consortium (CRS) as an international partner and other local partners- Pastoral Resolve (PARE), Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) and the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) will be implementing the Water For Agriculture (WAFA) project at different stages and this means that partner organizations will be interfacing with stakeholders at different stages of the implementation of their activities.

These organizations are key therefore the need for them to possess the skills which will guarantee the smooth implementation of their various activities that will create safe space and  transform the way people deal with conflict in a way that does no harm is the reason for this training.

Overview of Content Analysis

More than 80 percent of livelihoods in the NE depend on rain-fed agriculture (both pastoral and crop cultivation).  These livelihoods are being threatened by the ever-decreasing quantity of and access to water. Climatic variability, inadequate investment, poor water management and population growth have significantly reduced the amount of water available for productive use. Insecurity, private acquisition of pastures, destruction of water infrastructure by violent extremism and settlement on grazing lands have reduced access to existing water points.  The resulting acute water needs have increased conflict and fueled violent extremism. Limited productive skills, poor marketing infrastructure and lack of appropriate technology has further reduced livelihood options. To compound the situation, herders and farmers lack access to credit and are unable to manage emergencies such as disease outbreaks that destroy their coping mechanisms and asset-base.  Gender and protection issues, including sexual violence, forced marriages and survival sex, are rampant in the NE.

This has become imperative as Gender inclusivity, Youth and protection issues still remain a greater challenge. Search with her expertise is expected to conduct a Gender Accountability, Youth and protection training to CRS Staff and other implementing partners 

Purpose or Summary of the consultancy

We are looking for a consultant that is well grounded in training staff and partners on Gender and protection issues involving youth  sexual violence, forced marriages and survival sex. The consultant must possess a requisite skills in promoting gender equity by engaging both men and women in project activities, designing specific activities for women and girls, and encouraging culturally acceptable means of increasing participation by women in community meetings, decision-making and planning. The consultant will train staff to recognize gender biases and tackle staff behavior that promotes inequality. Staff will additionally be trained on scheduling activities to enable women (who are often in charge of household chores) to participate. 

Methodology

The methodology of training will be a Hybrid process- Involving both virtual and In-Person training with some participants joining the training online and the trainer either physically present or deliver the training virtually. The methodology of the training will be experiential learning , powerpoint presentation, role plays group tasks, questions and answers. Training will involve:

Trainer being either In-person in Yola with 70% of the participants and other 30% join virtually

Trainer delivers the training virtually with 70% of the participants in Yola and 30% join virtually

Reporting Line

The consultant will work closely with the Senior training coordinator, project Coordinator and report to the Head of Office North East. S/He will be supported by the state teams in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

Timeframe

The training will take place between 7th- 9th July, 2020 (3 days) 

Deliverables

•  

  • Preparation of training manuals and materials in powerpoint slides
  • Delivering a 3 day training (Virtually or In-Person)
  • Submission of activity report 4 days after completion of training

Required Profile

• • Five years’ experience as a trainer in gender related topics
  • A minimum of 5 trainings provided to participants on Gender and protection issues
  • Excellent command of English and Hausa
  • Excellent command of technology to provide virtual training
  • Training Experience providing  in the NGO sector in West Africa and Nigeria is an added advantage

The Consultant will 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.
  • In addition, the team will respect SFCG’s evaluations standards, to be found in SFCG’s evaluation guidelines: https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SFCG-External-Evaluation-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf

go to method of application »

About the project

Project Goal & Specific Objectives:

Search for Common Ground (Search) Nigeria is implementing a 24-month project with an overall goal to contribute to preventing violence and the destruction of lives and properties resulting from protracted violent conflicts between farmers and herders while combating impunity and promoting the freedom of religions and belief in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. The specific objectives are:

To increase collaboration between farmer and herder communities to develop joint, effective, sustainable local mechanisms for early warning response, dispute management, and violence prevention and mitigation at the community levels.

To strengthen implementation of rule of laws and accountability measures by the government of focal states and relevant federal government institutions to respond to and prevent violence resulting from farmer-herder conflicts at the state levels.

To enhance public understanding of the farmer-herder conflicts by promoting conflict sensitive contents and, countering hate speech, stereotypes, biases and negative narratives that fuel violence.

The project will be implemented in selected LGAs of three states, Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue, which has been experiencing escalation in the violence and the loss of human lives and property as a result of farmers-herders conflicts.

Activity 3.4 Social Media Campaign: 

As part of the deliverables of this project, Search has made a commitment to implement a social media campaign that will reach a target of at least 5000 people. Social media has played a large role in perpetuating stereotypes, particularly around Fulani herders, and negative narratives around farmer-herder relations and the conflict. 

Hence, Search will fund the production and promotion of 15 episodes of audio drama tagged “our heritage drama series” which will highlight stereotypes, particularly around Fulani herders, and negative narratives around farmer-herder relations and the conflict. The audio drama messages will be focused on moving beyond these stereotypes and celebrate shared humanity and rights to freedom of religion or belief. 

The 15 episodes of Our Heritage audio drama series will thereafter be published and promoted on Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram which will be used to share credible information. Search will also leverage existing relationships with radio houses in project states through the media fellows to air the audio dramas across the radio stations where possible In order to further penetrate and reach our target demography and beyond. We will also engage key opinion leaders, media influencers and celebrities to be the credible voice to address and dispel rumors that fuels farmer-herder conflicts and reprisal attacks.

Methodology for activity 

SFCG, plans to work with citizens to increase access to positive messaging that dispels rumors and inciting speeches, strengthen understanding of conflict drivers, and fosters intergroup engagement between herders and farming communities. 

To this end, Search will fund the production of a 15 episode audio drama to support this initiative. Search will leverage on the skills and resources of experts to create innovative and inspiring drama content that has the potential of changing the narratives between these communities.

Search isnow looking to work with a contracted creative hub for the scripting, recording, production and editing of these contents. The 8-10 minutes long audio drama will promote peace and unity by highlighting inspiring stories, messages, and raising awareness on the root causes of conflict to dispel the notion that conflict drivers are linked to identity and religion. The creative vision and content of the audio content will be envisaged by the consultant. SFCG will upload these contents on its social media handles which can be listened to both locally and internationally by a wide range of internet users, especially the target audience. The audio drama content will be scripted in the most-widely spoken language (mainly English, and some instances of native languages spoken by natives in the middle belt area to ensure ownership by listeners) so that the messages and themes are more relatable and accessible to a wide range of people.

Expected Outputs

•  

  • Promote conflict sensitive contents that will encourage healthy interactions in cyberspace.
  • Improved narratives on conflict sensitivity content and reportage in non-adversarial ways.
  • Stimulate understanding of the common ground approach;
  • Understanding of Trauma awareness and sensitive journalism; 
  • Awareness and understanding the objectives and goals of the project;
  • Instilling the culture of sustenance of peace at all times.
  •  
  • Requirements
    • The contractor will develop an 8-10 minutes long audio drama content which will include introductions, cast and transitions. 
    • The contractor will provide all necessary production, and post-production equipment. No equipment or software (i.e., computers, audio editing software, etc.) will be purchased under this activity. The contractor is solely responsible for engaging all personnel to facilitate all aspects of this contract as necessary. All costs associated with the audio content production and will be the sole responsibility of the contractor and should be incorporated in the contract cost proposal.
    • The contractor will establish operations rapidly and efficiently in consultation with SFCG, to accomplish formative scripts and other preparatory work. The contractor is expected to hold a meeting with the Dutch team to further familiarize with the project goals and objectives. 
    • The audio drama series should convey core messages of the Dutch project and tell engaging stories through a creative and well scripted content.
    • The audio drama series should mirror the communities’ situations through different and unexpected perspectives, the challenges faced, and also their conflict coping and managing strategies. The content should target laypersons and appeal to human emotions through beautiful and vivid imageries in the storylines and production process. 
    • The content should include professional high quality transitions, voice-over or peace message at the end of every episode, and appropriate supporting background music.  The content should be so appealing to the human senses that the listeners would almost see the picture. 
    • SFCG will provide expert field knowledge, and expects the contractor to incorporate in his work when developing these contents.

• The period of production for this contract is approximately 1-2 months

  • Development : The contractor will work closely with SFCG to learn about the Dutch project and its objectives. With this background, the contractor will generate initial ideas, propose storylines, and possible scripts for the audio content. The work during this phase may be conducted remotely from the proposed start of the contract in May. 
  • Pre-production : The contractor will work closely with SFCG in selecting characters, and method of delivery to ensure that idea of inclusion and conflict sensitivity are entrenched in the plots of the stories
  • Production : The contractor will script and start recording the content during this period. The contractor can work with the SFCG team, incase of clarity on some narratives, names of communities, stakeholders or any other intellectual resource they will be needing.
  • Post-production : The contractor will work closely with SFCG during the editing phase to finalize these contents and make corrections where necessary. The work during this phase may be conducted remotely. 
  • Distribution : The contractor will deliver to SFCG all 15 episodes of the content in a flash drive even if  episodes are sent prior to the delivery of the final work for upload on Search’s social media handles. The contractor is not responsible for further distribution of these audio contents.

Proposal/Offer Submission - Each bidder must submit the following:

• • A technical proposal, of no more than four pages, describing how the audio production objectives will be met within the stated timetable. Also a narrative “pitch” describing the basic audio drama concepts and examples of how the content would be structured.  
  • Technical qualifications with select internet or social media links of content developed by team members. 
  • Budget/financial proposal to include overall cost for the contract. Final audio content decisions will be discussed between the consultant and SFCG before production begins. 
  • Creative portfolios, including internet links or digital copies of relevant scripts developed by the organization.

SFCG will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:

• • Understanding of the proposed project narrated in the technical requirements per the SOW.
  • Review of the consultant ’s portfolio and technical capabilities including creative storytelling, applying emotion to, and content that informs, inspires, and motivates audiences.
  • Experience and demonstrated ability to do the job
  • Price will be one of the components in the evaluation of proposals.

go to method of application »

Position Summary

The Psychosocial Support (PSS) Officer supports the direct implementation of the “Supporting the Socio-Economic Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Groups, and other vulnerable children, in North East Nigeria” project through delivery of Trauma Awareness and Resilience Trainings, in addition to facilitating Transformative Dialogues. 

The PSS Specialist will also support Case Management Officers in providing specific PSS related technical advice on more complex child protection cases to improve the well-being and safety of beneficiary children.   

Reports to: Psychosocial Support Specialist

Duration: 6 months (with possibility of extension dependent on performance and funding).

Roles and Responsibilities

• • The PSS Specialist will deliver Trauma Awareness and Resilience Trainings to beneficiary children, in addition to Transformative Dialogues, according to project work plan.
  • Coordinate with Community Mobilizing Officers and Assistants to ensure relevant target populations are mobilised. Ensure coordination to capture attendance record and ensure information is stored systematically.
  • Engage in training on Trauma Awareness and Transformative Dialogue delivered by Trauma Specialist.
  • Respond to cases of particular children if more in depth PSS response is required, and ensure coordination with Case Management Officers and Assistants.
  • Support technical capacity building of Case Management Officers, Assistants and Community Case Workers through ad hoc consultations and mentoring on psycho-social support. Deliver in depth trainings when required.
  • Write training activity reports on all trainings facilitated, ensuring rich content is captured through quotations and photos (with necessary consent/ assent), and ensure these are submitted in a timely manner.
  • Represent Search externally where required, for example in MHPSS forums in Borno State.
  • Share necessary security updates with Security Manager in areas of intervention to ensure safety of beneficiaries and team members in ongoing risk assessments
  • As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

Qualifications

• • University degree, Diploma or equivalent or equivalent in Social Work, Psychology, Law or Sociology
  •  
  • Required Experience
    • Minimum of 4 years psycho-social support (PSS) experience, with a particular focus on children.
    •  Solid understanding of psychosocial trauma interventions, methodologies and theory.
    •  Minimum of 4 years in an advisory/ technical role in the field of PSS.
    •  Minimum of 4 years management/ supervisory experience.
    •  Excellent training and facilitation skills.
    •  Experience working with Children Associated with Armed Groups
    •  Experience working in emergency settings
    •  Experience working in different communities in Borno State
    •  Experience working with refugees, IDPs, host communities, and other vulnerable populations

Other Requirements

• •  Good understanding of Child Protection Minimum Standards and the Inter-Agency
  • Guidelines for Case Management and Child Protection.
  •  Knowledge of types of child abuse and their impact (violence, abuse, neglect,
  • exploitation)
  •  Familiarity with referral pathways in and around Maiduguri
  •  Excellent analytical and writing skills
  •  Excellent ability to develop positive helping relationships with children and
  • caregivers.
  •  Strong reporting skills capturing case management information.
  •  Knowledge of a local language (Hausa, Kanuri) a must.