UNDP Jobs - 85300- Lead Consultant on the Preparation of Baseline Ass

Lead Consultant on the Preparation of Baseline Assessment for EEU/UN Spotlight Initialtive to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria

Location :

Abuja, NIGERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

03-Jun-2019

Application Deadline :

29-May-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 weeks (21 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Country: Nigeria

Description of the assignment: Lead Consultant on the Preparation of Baseline assessment for EEU/UN Spotlight Initialtive to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria.

Project Name: Spotlight Initiative Programme in Nigeria

Applications should be submitted together with a brief Methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work no later than 28th of May 2019.

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to icrecruitments.ng@undp.org.?UNDP will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants.

The Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) project is a five-year program initiated in July 2018. The project is being funded with grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) being the Implementing Agency. The project consists of five (5) major components;

Strengthening the women’s movement.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in the world today. It is a major obstacle to the fulfilment of women’s and girls’ human rights and development and a threat to the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

Gender inequality and violence are manifested throughout the life cycle of women and girls, in countless ways and are widely accepted as normal part of what it is to be a woman or girl. Nigeria ranks 118 out of 134 countries on the Gender Equality Index. The inadequate inclusion of women and girls' perspectives in policy making decisions, resource allocation and implementation in economic and social sectors continues to challenge the advancement of gender equality.? Over 70 percent of women live below the poverty line, with maternal mortality ratios at 576 per 100,000. Of the estimated 3.2 million Nigerians living with HIV, 55 percent are women. Enrolment of girls in school ranges from one third to one quarter of classroom participants and out of the 10.5 million out-of-school children, two-thirds are girls.

Negative social norms which condone or support violence against women and girls (VAWG) and harmful practices (HP) remain pervasive. Gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread, and 30 percent of women aged 15-49 have reported experiences of sexual abuse, with a marked divide between girls and women in urban (33 percent) and rural (24 percent) areas. The Boko Haram insurgency, the rise of violent extremism and the humanitarian crisis have exacerbated the occurrence of GBV in the North-East. Nigeria has the largest number of child brides in Africa and one of the highest prevalence rates in the world: 23 million girls and women were married as children. Currently, 43 percent of girls are married before age 18, and 17 percent are married before they turn 15. Once girls in Nigeria are married, very few (1,2% of girls 15-19) use contraception or have their contraception needs met (13.1%). Nigeria accounts for the third highest number of women and girls who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), reported at 25 percent prevalence.? Harmful practices occur in a context of limited knowledge and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services, with complications of early child bearing and obstructed labour such as obstetric fistula. An estimated 20,000 new cases of obstetric fistula occur every year.

To address the challenges of VAWG, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations have embarked on a new multi-year program named the-EU-UN Spotlight initiative. The Spotlight Initiative aims to support the transformative change on the ground to end violence against women and girls and harmful traditional practices, in numerous countries globally. The initiative comes with the highest level of commitment globally and will be governed by the UN Deputy Secretary-General and the Vice President of the EU Commission.

Nigeria is one of the eight countries in African region selected to benefit from the Spotlight Initiative. The Spotlight Initiative will be implemented by five UN agencies (UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF & UNESCO), the Government of Nigeria, including federal and State governments and Civil society. It is anchored in the United Nations Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (UNSDPF) 2018-2022 for Nigeria and supports Nigeria’s advancement towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular SDG-5.

The goal of the Spotlight Initiative is for all women and girls, particularly those most vulnerable, to live a life free of violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and FGM. It is built around six pillars developed after an extensive global theory of change exercise and contextualized to the Nigerian context:

Enhanced Legislative and Policy framework.
Strengthened Institutions.
Prevention and social Norms change
Quality survivor services and ending impunity for VAWG/HP.
Improved data availability and capacities
Strengthening the women’s movement.

In Nigeria, the Spotlight Initiative will be implemented in five plus one states in Nigeria: Sokoto, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Cross River, Lagos and FCT. Nigeria’s Country Programme Document was developed in full consultation with the Government of Nigeria, CSOs and other stakeholders and has received approval for implementation. The joint Programme document contains a result framework of which this baseline forms a part. The baseline is an important element in the M&E plan and will enable the program team to understand the situation at the beginning of the project and will identify tools and approaches to measure project indicators. Accordingly, the Spotlight Initiative Programme Management Unit is seeking to hire a qualified consulting firm or team of consultants to design, plan and carry out a baseline assessment of the EU/UN Spotlight Initiative.

Duties and Responsibilities

The baseline will achieve the following objectives:

Collect evidence of the knowledge, attitude, practices and beliefs of community members, including survivors of VAWG/HP, relating to violence in the FCT and national institutions.
Mapping/situational analysis of national and/or subnational programmes developed for inclusion in educational curricula to promote gender equitable norms, attitudes and behaviors including targeting young women and girls, young men and boys facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
Identify and map existing initiatives/interventions by relevant stakeholders including CSOs in the FCT and national institutions working on ending VAWG/HP and protection of children
Conduct rapid capacity assessment of target beneficiary groups and institutions in the FCT and national institutions to inform training and capacity building interventions.
Document the status of beneficiaries covered by the program in the FCT and national institutions and identify the core constraints and opportunities facing program beneficiaries.
Provide the appropriate recommendations and areas that need more attention and focus during the project implementation and ways to strengthen on-going monitoring of the project to maximize learning and adjust/ improve the program intervention and monitoring indicators, if necessary.

Scope and key questions

The study will focus on collecting baseline data for a set of Outcomes and Outputs indicators set out in the program result matrix (see annex Result Framework). The study will include three main components:

First, the study will determine the prevalence of and access community members’ knowledge, attitude, practice and beliefs (KAPB) regarding VAWG, child/early marriage, FGM and SRHR, as well as the social norms and practices, goals and values that influence choices. The study must take into consideration the specific needs of women and girls who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and uphold the principles of ‘’leaving no one behind’’, gender equality, inclusion and non-discrimination. An abridged version (rapid assessment) of KAPB assessment will be conducted in the FCT and national institutions, and will be corroborated with analysis from existing literature, research available.

Secondly, the study will include a knowledge and capacity assessment of selected government officials, CSOs and women’s advocates, focusing on experience with and capacity for gender-responsive planning and budgeting, advocating for drafting and implementation of laws and policies on VAWG/HP and SRHR , and data collection, analysis and disseminations, targeted groups include parliamentarians, national-level government officials within targeted sectors (Gender, Justice, Health, Education, police ) subnational level government officials in FCT and national institutions and selected women’s right advocates, and any other additional assessment areas as required. A detailed capacity assessment of the justice and police and prosecutors in the targeted state will be conducted to determine the training and equipment needs to effectively investigate and prosecute cases of VAWG.

Finally, the study will include mapping of existing structures and program, primarily focused in the FCT and national institutions, but also nationally, as needed. In the targeted state, the assessment will examine:

Mapping of existing interventions with religious and cultural institutions that support upgrading/ harmonization of customary practices impacting VAWAG, HP including child protection and SRHR,
Mapping of programs for in school and out of school youth including access to CSE information/Family Life HIV Education (FLHE) in targeted LGAs/ communities that promote gender-equitable norms, attitudes and behaviours and the exercise of rights, including reproductive health rights and services.
Mapping of campaigns challenging harmful, social norms and gender stereotypes in FCT and national institutions and estimate the number of people reached through campaigns.
Mapping of community advocacy platforms that promote-gender-equitable norms, attitudes and behaviours, including SRHR.
Mapping existing social accountability mechanisms utilized by civil society to monitor and engage in ending VAWG/HP and promoting women’s and girls’ SRHR.
Mapping of relevant networks, platforms, civil society actors and women groups working on the issue of VAWG/SGBV/HP to get a broader perspective of relevant civil society actors.
Mapping of technical and institutional capacity gaps of CSOs, media group, women group, key populations and their ability to demand and monitor accountability for budget allocation, release and utilization.

This will include a detailed assessment of:

Listing of MDAs with National guidelines, protocols, SOPs and tools for delivery of VAWG essential services and review against established criteria.
Listing of existing MDAs and state governments with publicly available data, reported on a regular basis, on various forms of VAWG, including SGBV/HP, at country level and sub-national level and reviewed against established criteria.
Listing of CSOs and women groups, CPNs programming on EVAWG/SGBV/HP and SRHR in the FCT located at the urban and rural areas
Listing of relevant laws on EVAWG/SGBV/HP and SRHR in the FCT
Listing of available EVAWG/SGBV/HP and SRHR monitoring tools

Methodology

The lead consultant, with support from the state-level consultants are required to develop a comprehensive methodology (including detailed methods, techniques of data collection, analysis and sampling frameworks) and data collection tools. The consultants are expected to provide a roadmap for the baseline with clear plan for UN partner engagement. The consultants are also required to explain how qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and used in this survey and also develop a comprehensive technical offer to state their understanding of the ToR and strategies to use to perform this assignment.

Use of existing data source - in particular government sources should be prioritized as much as possible, both to reduce the expense of the baseline, but also to enhance the ability for ongoing annual monitoring and government buy -in.

Key deliverables

The lead-consultant will lead the process of the development of the Inception report, including methodology and sampling processes, where required, draft data collection tools, quality assurance and risk management strategies, data source, plan for data analysis and detailed workplan schedule.
Specifically, the lead consultant is responsible for the engagement and baseline delivery for the National institutions in Abuja.
Data collection report, regarding any primary data collection, including action taken as a result of any issues arising during the course of data collection, entry or analysis.
Draft baseline report for comment and feedback.
Recommendations for appropriate indicators and methods for program monitoring during implementation.
Presentation for stakeholders’ validation workshop, including on baseline methodology and findings.
finding baseline report, including addressing inputs from the validation meeting workshop, participating UN agencies, the EU and other government and CSO stakeholders. The report should be a minimum of 30 pages and a maximum of 40 pages in length excluding annexes.
Cleaned-up datasets, and any coding to evaluate data.
The lead consultant with support from the state-level consultants will ensure the overall quality, completeness & timeliness of the above stated deliverables.

Schedule

The team of consultants are expected to commence as soon as possible, for a total of 21 days. The consultants will provide an estimate timeline in their proposal for the evaluation start, key deliverables, field work and data collection and evaluation completion.

NB : The lead consultants will be required to attend and present their findings at the one day National dissemination meeting in Abuja and assist the state-consultants in preparing for their state level dissemination meeting.

RCA recourse in case of unsatisfatory performance

The RCO will reduce payments based on the amount of work submitted to satisfactory standard.

All deliverables will have to be quality reviewed and approved or accepted by supervisor of this consultancy, before final payment is made.

Competencies

Analytical skills, communications abilities, teamwork
Thorough knowledge of the Nigerian context.
Demonstrated methodological and research skills.
Ability to write clearly and concisely in English.
Proven strong communication and technical writing skills
All-round understanding of UN’s mandate, programming and modus operandi;
Knowledge of Nigeria’s UNDAF will be an asset
Excellent analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Post -graduate qualification in relevant fields (such as evaluation or relevant social sciences or related field, including laws, international relations, development studies and gender studies) with strong expertise in gender and ending VAWAG/HP.

Experience:

The team of consultants must include a lead consultant and the following experiences and competencies:Professional experience in the area of programming for gender equality, SGBV and/or Human Rights research.

At least seven (7) years of proven experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research.
Previous experiencing conducting KAPB surveys, baseline and/or prevalence study, government and sectorial capacity assessment, gender analysis and participatory research.

Language:

Fluency in English required, Local language will be helpful.