Team: USAID/Nigeria MEL Support Activity

Project: USAID/Nigeria Health Population and Nutrition (HPN) Office

Location: Federal Capital Territory – Abuja, Nigeria

Reporting to: Assessment and Evaluation Advisor

Employment Type: Independent Contractor / Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA)

Period of Performance: July 2024 – September 2024

Number of Positions: 1

Navanti supports a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Support Activity program that assists USAID/Nigeria in advancing its broader organizational learning and development efforts. This program strengthens the Mission’s capacity and performance in programmatic monitoring, evaluation, learning, collaborating, and adapting. The MEL Support Activity closely aligns with USAID/Nigeria’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). It provides a broad range of specialized technical assistance, training, data gathering and analysis, field-based monitoring, evaluations and assessments, facilitation of organizational learning and adaptation initiatives, and short-term technical assistance.

Project Objective:

USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct a rapid assessment (RA) to understand where women deliver and why the majority of women of reproductive age (WRA) do not deliver in a health facility or with a skilled provider. This assessment is important to guide USAID’s support to the Government of Nigeria (GoN) for how and where our future investments should go to better serve the women (and their children) to reduce maternal mortality rates in Nigeria Though this is a rapid assessment, the study will provide specific insights into the following proposed states:

• South-South: Akwa-Ibom
• South-East: Ebonyi
• South-West: Lagos
• North-East: Borno
• North-West: Kano
• North-Central: FCT

The specific objective of the rapid assessment is to determine the exact locations (places) where women give birth, the factors influencing their choice of delivery location, and any barriers to using skilled providers for delivery.

The findings (and recommendations) from the rapid assessment will inform the client-centered approach to HPN’s new designs regarding:

• PHC Quality of Care
• Community Health
• Health Financing and Human Resources for Health
• Logistics and Supply Chain, and
• Digital Health

An important output from the qualitative review (FGDs and KIIs) will be journey maps. Careful consideration will be given to the selection of research participants in terms of demographic, psychographic variables, or life stages e.g. first-time pregnant women, first-time mothers, postpartum women with infants (under one), recently married nulliparous women, adolescent mothers/parents, etc. Selection into each FGD group or as key informant will be guided by inclusion criteria, ensuring close representation of a unique persona (to be jointly agreed to by MELSA and USAID) and journey maps will be created for each persona type.

The estimated start date will be July 8, 2024. The assessment is expected to last until September 2024.

Candidates are reviewed on a rolling basis; early submission is recommended.

Position Description:

Navanti is seeking a team leader responsible for the overall coordination and management of the assessment team’s effort and for ensuring a rigorous and high-quality rapid study in the locations stated above. Under the guidance of the MEL Support Activity, the team leader is expected to work closely with the USAID/Nigeria- HPN team. The team leader will be supported by a Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (RMNCH) expert and a health data management specialist. The team leader will consult with and facilitate input from all team members throughout the assessment.

The team will use a combination of literature review, secondary analysis of population-based surveys, and qualitative data collection through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to gather insights to answer the study questions, with a special focus on data from the six states representing the six geopolitical zones

Locations:

• Akwa-Ibom, Ebonyi, Lagos, Borno, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

Responsibilities:

The rapid assessment team leader will be responsible for the overall management of the assessment. S/he will be the primary person responsible for ensuring a rigorous and high-quality evaluation design, drafting and presenting the report, receiving and incorporating USAID/Nigeria feedback, and developing/submitting the final report to USAID/Nigeria through the MEL Support Activity within the prescribed timeline. The team leader will:

• Participate in the RA kick-off session with USAID/Nigeria.
• Conduct an initial desk study: gather relevant secondary materials to identify key actors and stakeholders. A summary of these findings will help to better understand the context, identify key stakeholders to be interviewed, and guide the finalization of the design for the assessment including the questions to be explored further during the qualitative assessment.
• Lead the development of data collection tools, including survey and interview tools, and methodology for covering target states
• Conduct and manage the entire process of data collection, including conducting several KIIs and FGDs with stakeholders including women, health care providers, etc.
• Present preliminary findings on data collected from stakeholders' engagement and desk review
• Provide leadership for the team and coordinate activities as necessary.
• Coordinate team's ongoing analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Lead the preparation and presentation of the In-brief and Out-brief to USAID/Nigeria and other stakeholders as requested.
• Write the draft assessment report with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from the Out-brief presentation.
• Respond to USAID comments on the draft report, incorporate USAID/Nigeria staff comments into the final version of the report, and finalize the report.
• Present the rapid assessment results to diverse audiences according to USAID standard reporting
• Work collaboratively with team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise.

Qualifications:

The candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of ten years of substantive and progressively responsible professional experience with qualitative research in reproductive, maternal, and child health programs in low-middle income countries, with a preference for work within Nigeria.
• A minimum of a Master’s degree in a relevant field: Public/Global Health, Sociology, Anthropology, or related social science discipline. A demonstrated competence in conducting assessments
• Possess strong research skills in survey design, data collection, analysis, and reporting meaningful conclusions concisely.
• Proficiency in the collection and analysis of qualitative data is a must, including conducting interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys, and analyzing statistical data related to healthcare utilization.
• Have advanced skills in qualitative data analysis, including coding, thematic analysis, and interpretation of findings.
• Possess strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to prepare clear and concise evaluation reports, presentations, and briefs tailored to different audiences.
• Have a deep understanding of gender dynamics and maternal health issues within the different sub-locations and populations in Nigeria. This includes awareness of cultural norms, societal expectations, social hierarchies, and gender disparities in accessing healthcare to guide accurate interpretation of findings within the local context.
• Have a strong understanding of the Nigerian healthcare system. This includes knowledge of infrastructure, staffing, policies, and resource allocation.
• Experience facilitating and providing leadership in collaborative and participatory evaluations with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience working in the health sector with international donor organizations, particularly USAID

The consultant should adhere to ethical guidelines, obtain informed consent, and protect the confidentiality and anonymity of participants.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.