National Contractor at The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Position: National Contractor - GEP3 State Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Consultant
Job Number: 512261
Job Location: Kano
Work Type : Consultancy

Purpose of Assignment
The purpose of this consultancy is to ensure the effective monitoring, data collection and maintain records on all Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3) interventions in the respective GEP3 focus state of Kano according to the GEP3 state work plan and GEP3 monitoring and evaluation framework, contributing to the results of the project. One State M&E Consultant will be contracted in Kano GEP3 focus state. GEP3 activities are implemented in close partnership with government education agencies and civil society partners.

The consultant will report to the Kano State Project Coordinator under supervision of the Katsina Education Specialist and with technical guidance of the Education Specialist, M&E based in Abuja. The consultant will work closely with the Education Specialist responsible for GEP3, based in the respective UNICEF Field Office. It is expected the State M&E Consultant will form effective professional relationships with relevant education sector stakeholders in Kano state at all levels to advance GEP3 activities and results. The consultant will work collaboratively with the other GEP3 state consultants – coordinating activities, analyzing operating environment, sharing lesson learnt and progress and maximizing synergy between activities towards key result areas.

Background

• The UNICEF Country Office, Nigeria is implementing a DFID-funded multi-year Girls' Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3) which aims at contributing to improved social and economic opportunity for girls in northern Nigeria. With a total of 10.5 million children out of school, Nigeria accounts for almost one in five of all school age children living in extreme educational poverty worldwide:
  • GEP3 (Girls' Education Project Phase 3) is managed by UNICEF in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission at the national level and with the state Ministries of Education and State Universal Basic Education Board of target states
  • And other implementing partners (IPs). GEP3 involves an investment of up to £103 million over eight years (May 2012 to September 2020).
• In 2014, UNICEF took steps to redesign GEP3, through a process with government partners.  The purpose of the redesign was to:
  • Amend the Theory of Change to become more strategic and systematic;
  • Focus the project more on early grade learning; and
  • Simplify the project by eliminating some components and interventions. The outcome of the redesign was an updated Operational Plan, which outlines a new Theory of Change, logical framework and strategies planned to achieve change for girls' education. The Operational Plan also presents how the delivery of the proposed interventions will take place, in such a way that the key outcomes for which UNICEF is accountable - over one million additional girls receiving and using a good basic education - are delivered and measured.
• Results will be delivered under three outputs, with the following focus areas:
  • Output 1: Increased enrolment and retention for girls in basic education;
  • Output 2: Improved capacity of teachers to deliver effective learning for girls; and
  • Output 3: Improved governance to strengthen girls' education.
• As per the GEP3 redesign, the project has two implementation phases: testing and expansion. The testing phase commenced in April 2015 and ended in September 2017. The expansion phase started in October 2017 and will end in September 2020.
• As part of the expansion plan, UNICEF agreed with DFID to expand the project to Kano state building on the success of implementation and results achieved so far in the five GEP3-supported states (Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara). The M&E position is part of the core state team planned to support delivery of GEP3 results in Kano state.

Scope /Focus of the Assignment Areas of Focus

• The assignment will entail the M&E consultant to effectively ensure monitoring, data collection and maintain records on all Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3) interventions in the respective GEP3 focus state of Kano per the GEP3 state work plan and M&E Framework contributing to the overall results of GEP3 and in partnership with state education agencies.

Under the management of the State Project Coordinator, the supervision of the Katsina Field office Education Specialist and further technical guidance of the Education Specialist M&E Abuja, the State M&E Consultant shall carry out the following tasks in fulfilling the expectations of this assignment:

• Maintain up-to-date and accurate records/database on GEP3 implementation across the three output areas in state, and ensure effective and timely information reporting as required;
• Conduct quality assurance activities to ensure quality of the implementation of interventions under the guidance of the Education Specialist M&E;
• Work closely with SUBEB and MOE EMIS officials to ensure timely completion (based on agreed timeframe) of Annual School Census data collection, processing, data cleaning, data merging, analysis, standard statistics reports generation, and dissemination of gender disaggregated results;
• Liaise with MOE and SUBEB EMIS officials to provide technical support to strengthen capacity of EMIS staff at the LGEA level;Â
• In coordination with State Output Leads and national Education Specialist M&E, monitor and support IQS integration into the ASC processes;
• Coordinate and support State level research activities led by external consultants and GEP3 partners;
• Facilitate institutionalization of systems for effective and accurate data collection and analysis;
• Document lessons learnt and best practices, producing monthly stories on GEP3 implementation;
• Working with State Output Leads, ensure that systematic, accurate and updated data and information on GEP3 activities is collected and analysed collaboratively;
• Produce regular monthly work plans and submit them to the SPC, Education Specialist M&E, and FO Education GEP3 focal person;
• Support and coordinate state level research activities led by external consultants and GEP3 partners.

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required
Education:

• Advanced degree in Education, Statistics, Mathematics, or Computer Science.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience and demonstrated ability in data collection, monitoring and statistics.
• Demonstrated skills in the use of data analysis packages (Excel, SPSS, and Access).
• Strong analytical skills using diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data.
• Experience working on gender issues.
• Extensive knowledge and skills of education and social sectors in Nigeria and in northern Nigeria will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrates, applies and shares technical knowledge.
• Good understanding of girls' education issues, community involvement and participation.
• Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, to varied audiences.
• Able to work effectively in a multicultural environment, sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.

Language:

• Fluency in English language and good English writing skills. Fluency in language of the immediate
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