Consultancy Positions at UNICEF

Background

• Nigeria has striven to provide quality education, learning and skills development opportunities to the increasing number of children, but it has fallen short of the goal.
• Although basic education is free and compulsory, 10.2 million children of primary school age and 8.1 million children of junior secondary school age remain out of school. 
• Due to the limited access to schooling and poor quality of education, about 75 per cent of children aged 7–14 do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills, which are building blocks for continued learning and acquisition of advanced skills.
• The gaps in foundational skills are cumulative across the life cycle, resulting in an increased risk of school dropout and a lower chance of developing the skills necessary to participate in society and the labour market. 
• For example, 74 per cent of the adult population in Nigeria are financially illiterate.  Over 80 per cent of Nigerian youth aged 15–24 years do not have digital skills, which are essential to work and thrive in a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy.
• The skills deficiency has impacted labour market outcomes, especially for adolescent girls and young women.
• The female labour force participation rate in 2023 was as low as 52.2 per cent, compared with 65.9 per cent for males. 
• Only 37 per cent of youth are employed, and half of employers reports that they cannot find appropriately qualified employees for the roles they aim to fill. 

Purpose Of the Job

• Nigeria decided to harness the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) to address the skills gaps. The GESP is a public–private partnership between the Government of the UK government and major global businesses to empower young women with skills and opportunities in developing countries. It aims to provide 1 million young women aged 13–24 years with high-quality and market-relevant skills to enable them to become employable and entrepreneurial in local labour markets. The UK government partnered with UNICEF Generation Unlimited (GenU) to deliver the GESP
• The tracer study aims to:
  • Assess the effectiveness of GESP in increasing girls’ skills and attitudes to work, as well as the programme's impact on transition to work (i.e., employment and entrepreneurship) and income generation.
  • Assess the extent to which the GESP interventions are gender-transformative (e.g., sense of agency; self-esteem; self-efficacy) and address barriers faced by adolescent girls and young women.
  • Examine the social impacts of the programme on parental and community attitudes toward girls’ education and employment.
  • Identify enabling and constraining factors by examining how various factors (e.g., programme designs; characteristics of girls; skills and practice of trainers and employers; attitudes of parents and community) are associated with the outcomes

Scope of Work

• Activity 1: Preparation for data collection. The national consultant will support the development of survey instruments and survey protocols under the guidance provided by the international consultant. The national consultant will conduct pilot testing of data collection, collect lessons learned, and support finalization of survey instruments and protocols. Based on the results of sampling of beneficiary girls and other target personnel, the national consultant will work with the international consultant and GESP partners to develop and finalize a survey plan.
• Activity 2: Data collection. The national consultant will conduct data collection from January to August 2026. Most quantitative data is expected to be collected through digital tools (e.g., sending a link to a questionnaire to girls and personnel). Qualitative data will be collected through field visits and remote interviews. The national consultant supports data entry and cleaning.
• Activity 3: Follow-up to data collection. Upon request from the international consultant, the national consultant will support verification and quality assurance of the data collected. This may include a follow-up survey with select girls and personnel.

Work Assignment Overview
Task/work area:
Training and Preparation for Data Collection:

• Review fieldwork plan, sampling frames, and logistics arrangements.
• Support piloting and pre-testing of questionnaires and provide feedback on local context and language clarity.

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Participate in training sessions conducted by the international consultant and programme team on survey tools, digital data collection methods, protocols, and ethical considerations.

Data Collection -Quantitative and Qualitative:
Administer structured digital surveys with sampled beneficiaries (both 6-month and 12-month cohorts).

• Conduct focus group discussions (FGDs) with adolescent girls and young women.
• Carry out key informant interviews (KIIs) with parents, educators, employers and community representatives.
• Conduct field-based data collection, including quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews/focus group discussions.

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Household surveys,
• FGDs and KIIs with beneficiaries, trainers, employers, parents, and community members.
• Ensure sampling protocols are followed.
• Collect and upload complete datasets using digital tools

Data Quality Assurance:

• Review data daily during collection for completeness and accuracy.
• Liaise with the international consultant and GESP focal points to flag inconsistencies or gaps.
• Participate in periodic debrief calls to refine protocols during data collection.
• Assist in clearing raw datasets by cross-checking entries and notes.
• Work with the international consultant to address discrepancies, missing information, or errors.
• Conduct daily checks to ensure completeness and accuracy of collected data.
• Ensure data is securely transferred to the central system/platform if applicable

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Ensure accuracy and completeness of data.
• Submit weekly field notes on challenges/observations.
• Provide short interim reports on field progress.)

To qualify as an advocate for every child, you will have… 
Minimum requirements:

• Advanced university degree in education, international development, social sciences or other relevant fields.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in conducting field-based data collection (quantitative and qualitative) in development and/or humanitarian contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in administering household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions with diverse stakeholders.
• Practical experience in using digital data collection tools (e.g., Kobo, ODK, SurveyCTO, tablets).
• Experience in ensuring data quality assurance, including verification, cleaning, and validation of field data.
• Knowledge of education, skills development, and labor market contexts in Nigeria.
• Prior experience working with UN agencies, INGOs, or reputable research institutions.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a team and engage with community members respectfully.

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Background

• Nigeria is home to an estimated 237 million people, 49.7 per cent of whom are children aged 0–18. 
• The child population is growing at 1.5 percent per year. 
• The rapid child population growth places significant pressure on the delivery of social services, while it creates potential to reap dividends from the impending youth bulge if the country successfully invests in children’s education and skilling.
• Nigeria has striven to provide quality education, learning and skills development opportunities to the increasing number of children, but it has fallen short of the goal.
• Although basic education is free and compulsory, 10.2 million children of primary school age and 8.1 million children of junior secondary school age remain out of school. 
• Due to the limited access to schooling and poor quality of education, about 75 per cent of children aged 7–14 do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills , which are building blocks for continued learning and acquisition of advanced skills.

How can you make a difference? 
Purpose of the Assignment:

• Nigeria decided to harness the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) to address the skills gaps. The GESP is a public–private partnership between the Government of the UK government and major global businesses to empower young women with skills and opportunities in developing countries. It aims to provide 1 million young women aged 13–24 years with high-quality and market-relevant skills to enable them to become employable and entrepreneurial in local labour markets. The UK government partnered with UNICEF Generation Unlimited (GenU) to deliver the GESP

The tracer study aims to:

• Assess the effectiveness of GESP in increasing girls’ skills and attitudes to work as well as the programme impact on transition to work (i.e., employment and entrepreneurship) and income generation.
• Assess the extent to which the GESP interventions are gender-transformative (e.g., sense of agency; self-esteem; self-efficacy) and addressing barriers faced by adolescent girls and young women.
• Examine the social impacts of the programme on parental and community attitudes toward girls’ education and employment.
• Identify enabling and constraining factors by examining how various factors (e.g., programme designs; characteristics of girls; skills and practice of trainers and employers; attitudes of parents and community) are associated with the outcomes

Scope of work
Activity 1:

• Preparation for data collection. The national consultant will support the development of survey instruments and survey protocols under the guidance provided by the international consultant. The national consultant will conduct pilot testing of data collection, collect lessons learned, and support finalization of survey instruments and protocols. Based on the sampling of beneficiary girls and other target personnel, the national consultant will work with the international consultant and GESP partners to develop and finalize a survey plan and schedule

Activity 2:

• Data collection. The national consultant will conduct data collection from January to August 2026. Most quantitative data is expected to be collected through digital tools (e.g., sending a link to questionnaire to girls and personnel). However, field visits will be also conducted to collect quantitative data from some target girls and personnel (e.g., those with disabilities). Qualitative data will be collected through field visits and remote interviews. As data is collected, the national consultant will conduct data entry and cleaning to get the datasets ready for analysis.

Activity 3:

• Follow-up to data collection. Upon request from the international consultant, the national consultant will support verification and quality assurance of data collected. This may include follow-up surveys with select girls and personnel.

Work Assignment Overview
Preparation for data collection:

• Support the development of survey instruments/protocol
• Conduct pilot testing of survey instruments
• Finalize survey instruments and protocols.
• Support the development of survey plans

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Draft and final survey instruments and protocols.
• Pilot testing report.

Data collection:

• Collect data
• Conduct data entry and cleaning

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Cleaned datasets for 1st round data collection
• Cleaned datasets for 2nd round data collection

Follow-up to data collection:

• Conduct data verification and quality assurance
• Conduct follow-up survey as needed

Deliverables / Outputs:

• Data verified
• Reports on follow up survey

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 
Minimum requirements:

• Advanced university degree in education, international development, social sciences or other relevant fields.
• A minimum of 3 years of experience in data collection.
• Experience in supporting the development of survey instruments/protocols.
• Experience in entering data in excel or other digital systems.
• Experience in using digital tools to collect data.
• Experience in conducting surveys in the education sector.
• Experience working with UN agencies or other international development agencies.
• Working knowledge of local languages in Lagos or Kano state.
• Understanding of gender-sensitive approaches including protection from sextual exploitation and abuse (PSEA).
• Fluency in English.

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Purpose of Activity/ Assignment

• The consultant will provide expert contextual understanding and local expertise on basic education in Lagos State Nigeria.
• The consultant will also leverage their network to mobilize a coalition of public and private actors to support the design and launch of an outcomes fund in the state. In addition, the consultant will play an active role in supporting EOF’s fundraising efforts with government and Nigerian philanthropy, and in strengthening EOF’s in-country engagement and visibility to ensure sustained stakeholder support for the programme.

Scope of Work

• The consultant will help EOF to bring their existing model of outcomes-based financing to address the needs of out-of-school (OOS) children in Lagos State Nigeria.
• The consultant will play a key role in engaging with government and other stakeholders to sustain momentum for the programme, build political and institutional buy-in, and facilitate effective collaboration with governance structures.
• This will include engagement with the wider education ecosystem, including the Lagos State Government, Federal Government, providers, and other relevant partners.
• In addition, the consultant will provide active support to EOF’s fundraising efforts in Nigeria.
• This will include contributing to the mapping of potential donors, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), and philanthropic actors, supporting the development and implementation of EOF’s fundraising and engagement strategy, preparing inputs for proposals, notes, and briefings, and facilitating meetings to advance discussions and build momentum with government and philanthropic stakeholders.
• The consultant will also strengthen EOF’s in-country engagement by actively promoting EOF’s work in Nigeria, representing the programme in stakeholder meetings and events, and embedding the outcomes fund within the local education and policy context. 
• Finally, the consultant’s understanding of the regulatory framework at state and federal level will also be valuable, providing insights into how existing policies can be leveraged to implement innovative financing models effectively.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables
Work Assignment Overview / Deliverables and Outputs / Delivery deadline:

• Contribute technical advice to inform the finalisation of the design phase for an out-of-school outcomes fund in basic education by advising on country context, stakeholder mapping, viability, and rationale for using OBF, and recommendations for the design of the outcomes partnership:
  • Deliverable 1: EOF’s request for proposal document for implementing partners, for the outcomes-fund in Lagos reviewed and edited 31 March 2026
• Support EOF’s fundraising and investment efforts in Nigeria by mapping potential donors, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), and philanthropic actors, supporting the development of an engagement strategy, and providing practical inputs such as notes, briefings, and coordination  support for engagement with government and philanthropic stakeholders. Support EOF’s fundraising and investment efforts in Nigeria by mapping potential donors, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), and philanthropic actors, supporting the development of an engagement strategy, and providing practical inputs such as notes, briefings, and coordination support for engagement with government and philanthropic stakeholders:
  • Deliverable:  Support EOF’s fundraising efforts in Nigeria:
    • Develop a donor and investor map of relevant HNWIs and philanthropies in Nigeria.
    • Develop an engagement strategy of estimated 5 pages for approaching relevant donors in Nigeria.
    • Attend an estimated 8 meetings of approximately 60 minutes with relevant donors and contribute technically to the discussion. 2-page contact report per meeting 31 March 2026
• Support the organization with missions from EOF teams to Nigeria, with a particular focus on liaising with the Government on logistics for the launch of the programme, as well as providing direct support with logistical arrangements. This will also involve identifying stakeholders to meet, managing invitations and confirmations, organizing technical workshops in collaboration with EOF teams, consulting with providers and experts in preparation for the workshops, and preparing notes/reports with the main takeaways from the workshops and technical meetings:
  • Deliverable: Support with the travel of EOF’s team to Lagos. An estimate 2 trips of 5 working days each:
    • Develop and implement a meeting schedule with relevant local stakeholders.
    • Prepare 10-slide PPT decks for an estimated 3 total workshops (each lasting 2 hours) 31 March 2026
• Engage with the wider education ecosystem in Nigeria by conducting stakeholder mapping, liaising with Lagos State and Federal Government counterparts, and supporting efforts to define key objectives for national buy-in to the outcomes fund:
  • Deliverable: Develop a stakeholder engagement plan of the education ecosystem in Lagos State (estimated 5 pages). Support EOF with its implementation by attending an estimate 15 meetings of 90 minutes each to provide technical guidance31 March 2026

Qualifications
Education:

• A master’s degree in political science, economics, finance, business, education, international development, international public policy, or a related field, is required.
• A bachelor’s degree will be accepted with an additional 2 years’ experience.

Knowledge / Expertise / Skills required:

• A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in education, international development, public policy, programme management.
• Extensive experience working in the education sector and development sectors in Nigeria.
• Experience working with donors and government in Lagos state.

Desired Requirements:

• Experience working with Out of School Children in Lagos, Nigeria.
• Experience drafting fundraising proposals, particularly in relation to international development funding.