Nutrition Advisor (Individual Consultant)

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need.

From chat-bots to chat-shows and TV dramas to tech, our content is reaching millions of girls in Africa and Asia to make choices and changes in their lives. Igniting their confidence to act differently at a time that can define their future.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts, and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, relationships and so much more. And we use innovative technology so we can reach girls at scale. We arm girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible, so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and livelihood.

When a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, her community, her country. That’s the Girl Effect.

Background

Nigeria faces significant nutritional challenges, with high rates of malnutrition among children and adults and high rates of anaemia among girls and women of reproductive age. The government, along with various international organizations, is committed to improving the nutritional status of its population through targeted interventions and policies. Girl Effect is seeking to better understand the Nutrition programming landscape in Nigeria, what has been done where and by who, what the government priorities are at the National level but also specifically in our 5 States of focus (Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Delta, Kaduna).

Objective

GE would like to identify potential strategic areas to program around in support of improving nutritional outcomes in Nigeria. Specifically, we are considering Nutrition interventions for 9-14-year-olds- possibly weekly iron-folic acid supplementation and MMS for antenatal (pregnant AGYW).

The Context

In this consultancy, you will provide technical support to Girl Effect global and Nigeria country team on the design and delivery of Nutrition programming with a focus on Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). One of your key objectives will be to provide strategic support to the GE – Nigeria Nutrition work, to execute a successful and visible programme.

Duties and responsibilities

• Contribute to the technical design of research and evaluation of the Nutrition work in Nigeria.
• Provide technical support in the implementation strategies for Nigeria.
• Provide advisory support on program expansion in Nigeria.
• Keeping abreast with the changes in the global Nutrition community of practise and ensuring we are cultivating and embedding the lessons in our respective country work.
• Enhancing the visibility of GE Nutrition work in the country.
• Working with Country teams to write proposals and concept notes, to build our work in Nutrition.
• Support the teams in packaging strategic Nutrition content for external audiences including conferences and strategic meetings.
• Providing technical training on key Nutrition concepts/guidelines to the country team.
• Support in review of program documents, key messaging and other technical and program documents.
• Support all Nutrition research and insight generation work in-country working with different teams including 3rd party suppliers/partners.

This list should not be considered exhaustive; you will be expected to deliver other duties relevant and appropriate to this position.

Outputs

• A comprehensive analysis of the current nutrition programming and funding landscape in Nigeria
• Insights on weekly iron-folic acid interventions in Nigeria for school-going girls and IFAs and MMS for pregnant AGYW
• Key gaps in the existing nutrition programs especially in our 5 States of implementation
• Summary review of existing policies, strategies, and interventions related to nutrition programming and policies in Nigeria
• Recommendations for an evidence-based nutrition program and interventions tailored to the needs of different population groups and aligned with national and international standards
• Specific nutrition implementation opportunities in our 5 States of focus (Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Delta and Kaduna)
• Recommendations on possible health area integrations with Nutrition for different audiences

This list should not be considered exhaustive; you will be expected to deliver other relevant outputs appropriate to the role.

Organization Accountabilities

• Lead by example as a role model for GE’s values and professional standards.
• Drive the delivery of organizational and team goals.
• Seek continuous improvement within your areas of responsibility.
• Maintain full awareness of and active compliance with GE’s policies and procedures relevant to your responsibilities and broader policies including (but not limited to) equality, health and safety, confidentiality, and data protection.

Who You Are

• Extensive technical experience in Nutrition in Nigeria 8+ years
• Advanced degree in public health or related degree
• Excellent government relations
• Experience conducting research at the National level and in the GE target regions

Expected Commitment

• The assignment will take approximately 6 months to complete.
• The consultant will be expected to spend 5 days a week or up to 40 hours each week on this assignment, depending on the programme’s needs.
• The consultant’s assignment period is from July 2024 to December 2024.

Location

The consultant must be based and have extensive experience in Nigeria. The Assignment is to be carried out in Nigeria.

Management

The consultant will have a primary point of contact with our Nigeria Country lead. The language of the materials and reports shall be English. The contract supervisor shall approve all deliverables submitted by the agency before any payment is made.

Tentative Timelines:

● Terms of reference published: 6th June 2024

● Deadline for responses: 19th June 2024

● Project commencement: July 2024

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (Max 5 pages), should cover

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this
• Credentials/Profile/CV – Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
• Reference- Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance.
• Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in USD. Consultants should provide their monthly billing rate.
  • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the RFP and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below.

Technical Evaluation

• Experience and qualification as outlined in your CV/Credentials/Profile – 20%
• Showcases relevant experience in having done previous similar work with relevant agencies or organizations – 20 %
• Demonstrate geographic experience in Nigeria- 10%
• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR – 10%
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 30%

Tax

Girl Effect is obliged by the relevant tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions to local tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this consultancy work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email address ([email protected]).

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for violence against children, beneficiaries, and staff.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect Services is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity, or expression. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an increasingly representative organization that works extensively with the communities we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.