ET Consultant at the World Bank Group

Job #: req3480
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade: EC3
Sector: Health/Nutrition/Population
Term Duration: 1 year 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Background
Nigeria has grappled with poor Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) outcomes over the last three decades. Between 2008 and 2018, under-five mortality rates (U5MR) declined from 157 to 132 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births. In spite of this, Nigeria is still the second highest contributor to under-five mortality globally and is on a trajectory to record the highest absolute number of child deaths by 2021. Even less progress has been made in preventing maternal deaths with the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) remaining stagnant between 2008 and 2013. The National Demographic Health Survey (2013) records Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio as 576 per 100,000. Between 2013 and 2018, the country has recorded the same proportion of stunted children under-five. Without making progress on health outcomes, Nigeria will be unable to develop its human capital and record attendant economic gains.

Poor health outcomes are fueled by limited coverage of critical maternal and child health indicators, poor quality of health services and poor utilization of already constrained health sector funding amongst other systemic challenges. Yet, the biggest causes of child deaths - malnutrition, malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea – are both preventable and treatable. According to the 2018 NDHS, about half (51.7%) of Nigeria’s under-five children slept under bed nets and Penta3 coverage is 50.1%. This implies that a significant proportion of young children do not have access to preventive technologies such as bed nets and vaccinations and are thus susceptible to life-threatening diseases.

Recognizing the need for new, bold, innovative approaches, the World Bank, in 2015, approved the Saving One Million Lives Program-for-Results (SOML PforR), to consolidate on government’s efforts to improve maternal and child health. The program adopts principles of fiscal decentralization, focus on results and accountability to bring sector stewardship closer to the people and strengthen service delivery. More recently, the Government of Nigeria has requested the Bank’s support to, in the short-term, improve nutrition outcomes through the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) project and taking a long-term view through the Improved Child Survival Program for Human Capital, Multi-Phased Programmatic Approach (MPA). The MPA will use a combination of evidence-based vertical interventions (for malaria and immunization) alongside scaling of proven health systems approaches through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).

The SOML PforR has recently undertaken a mid-term review and is likely to undergo some restructuring to adapt implementation approaches to current operational realities. ANRiN is about to become effective and will need to roll-out activities quickly. The MPA is also a new instrument, not before used in Nigeria, and will also require extensive technical support. The Health Specialist will be expected to take an active role in leading policy dialogue, fixing implementation issues, and guiding strategy for the continuation of SOML PforR and roll-out of ANRiN and the MPA.

Duties and Accountabilities
In support of SOML PforR implementation, the E T Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Provide technical guidance and operational support to the Program Management Unit (PMU) in all aspects of program implementation;
• Engage in high-level policy dialogue with the Minister of Health, other Federal Government officials, development partners and key stakeholders around SOML;
• Lead program support missions and produce aide memoires and management letters;
• Guide the restructuring process of SOML based on the outcome of the MTR and ensure the Government quickly carries out its responsibilities;
• Liaise with the PMU and the relevant stakeholders within the FMOH, FGON, state governments, development partners, and contractors to facilitate the achievement of the DLIs;
• Liaise effectively with other Bank staff and consultants working on PforR implementation;
• Engage and support states to facilitate greater focus on results and achievement of program objectives at the state level;
• Oversee the timely and high-quality collection of data is carried out and is made available for calculating state and Federal government earnings;
• Ensure that payments to states are carried out in a timely fashion and that funds are available for implementing key aspects of the program at the Federal level;
• Lead dialogue with the client on a Communications and Information Management strategy to raise the profile of the program and results emanating from verification exercises and ensure its implementation; and,
• Document the lessons learned during the implementation of the PforR including the development of policy briefs and working papers;

In support of the design and implementation of the MPA, including the malaria and immunization modules, the E T Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Guide policy dialogue and overall design of the malaria module with the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency;
• Lead the provision of technical and operational support to the NMEP and NPHCDA in all aspects of project design and implementation;
• Liaise with the NMEP, NPHCDA and the relevant stakeholders within the FMOH, FGON, state governments, development partners, and contractors to ensure a practical design and a smooth implementation;
• Liaise and dialogue with other stakeholders including co-financiers to ensure effective collaboration to achieve program goals
• Liaise effectively with other Bank staff and consultants working on MPA design and implementation; and,
• Lead dialogue with states to facilitate implementation of the MPA.

In support of the design and implementation of ANRiN, the E T Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Provide strategic guidance and support in the design and implementation of performance-based contracts;
• Liaise with relevant stakeholders within the FMOH, FGON, state governments, development partners, and contractors to ensure a practical design and a smooth implementation of the performance-based contracts;
• Guide the curation and deployment of non-state actor innovations and liaise with technical assistants from the Power of Nutrition to facilitate evaluation and learning;
• Provide strategic guidance for the roll-out of a communications and advocacy plan to raise the importance of ANRiN in-country.

The External Consultant shall carry out other such activities as the TTL reasonably requests, to facilitate implementation and achievement of the program development objectives of the operations.

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s Degree in a field related to Human Development/Health Population & Nutrition/International Development, and at least 8 years of relevant work experience. A medical degree would be an asset.
• A minimum of 8 years’ work experience in designing, managing, or implementing development programs;
• At least 3 years’ work experience working with a Development Finance Institution in Nigeria;
• Knowledge and understanding of developing country HNP issues, the political economy, and institutional and governance contexts. Experience working in the public sector would be an asset;
• A demonstrated ability to translate analytical/technical skills into operational results;
• Previous experience working on health systems interventions with a maternal and child health focus;
• Demonstrated communication and outreach skills with excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
• Strong diplomatic skills and success working in teams both as a team member and as a team leader. 
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues;
• Responsive to feedback in a timely and professional manner;
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to contribute to a team.

Required Language(s):    

• English language.

Duration of Consultancy:

• The contract will be for one year but renewable based on performance for upto a second year.

Duty Station:

• The position is subject to World Bank local hire conditions. The duty station of the Health Specialist will be the Nigeria Country Office of the World Bank in Abuja. There will be other travel as deemed necessary.

Reporting and Accountability:

• The External Consultant will have a contract with the World Bank and report to the Practice Manager for the hiring Unit (GHN07 or successor unit).