National Consultant-Social Protection (Social Registry) 11 Months, Abuja Nigeria

UNICEF, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, works together with partners in 190 countries and territories to promote and advocate for the protection of the rights of every child.

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For every child, commitment

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally – click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

Background:

Social protection is increasingly recognized as a fundamental driver of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development In Nigeria. Despite significant policy commitments and ongoing efforts, effective social protection coverage remains limited, reaching only 14.8% of the population. Government-led programs often face challenges related to weak targeting mechanisms and identification issues, largely stemming from inadequate data systems and limited administrative capacity. Persistent challenges hinder the implementation and effectiveness of social protection programs nationwide. These include limited coverage, insufficient funding, and fragmented coordination among government agencies, resulting in low population coverage, particularly among poor and vulnerable children, women, and their families..

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

To address these critical gaps and enhance the system’s responsiveness to shocks, a new project jointly implemented by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding from the European Union was launched in 2024. This EU-UN Joint Programme (EU-UN JP) titled “Supporting Sustainable Social Protection System in Nigeria (SUSI)” aims to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system at both federal and state levels (Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto). The project aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s Eight-Point Agenda and is anchored in Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021–2025) and the revised National Social Protection Policy.

• Expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) to include a greater number of poor and vulnerable populations.
• Building the capacity of government staff and policymakers at national and sub-national levels in social protection systems and delivery.
• Developing a robust policy and legal framework, including the drafting of a national social protection bill for legislative consideration.
• Enhancing the Social Protection Management Information System (SP-MIS) to ensure interoperability across key sectors such as health and education.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical and operational support to NASSCO/SOCU on expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) with field activities in 4 states (Abia, Benue, Sokoto, Oyo).

• Provide technical assistance to SOCUs in developing enumeration plans, including household listing, community targeting, and data collection workflows.
• Support training and capacity-building activities for SOCU enumerators, supervisors, and data validators on standardized tools and protocols.
• Monitor field-level enumeration and data collection activities in selected states to ensure adherence to NSR guidelines and quality standards.

• Assist in the development and implementation of state-level micro plans for NSR expansion, including logistics,timelines, and human resource planning.
• Facilitate coordination between NASSCO, SOCUs, and local government authorities to ensure smooth implementation of enumeration activities.
• Support documentation of implementation progress, challenges, and lessons learned at both federal and state levels.

• Support field visits and validation exercises to assess data quality and consistency.
• Review and analyze enumeration reports and data outputs from SOCUs, identifying gaps and recommending corrective actions.

• Implement strategies to enhance inclusion of marginalized and hard-to-reach communities /WARDs in the registry (e.g., persons with disabilities, displaced populations).
• Support initial assessments for integration of shock-responsive modules or temporary registries where applicable.

• Prepare monthly progress updates, technical briefs, and end-of-assignment reports highlighting achievements, bottlenecks, and policy recommendations.
• Document good practices and innovations from states implementing successful registry expansion strategies.

Work Assignment Overview

Task/Milestone

1.Finalize implementation plan with NASSCO/SOCU on the NSR expansion in 4 states, including timeline, key milestones and targets

Deliverables/Outputs:

Implementation plan with NASSCO/SOCU

Task/Milestone

2.Establish implementation processes for the NSR expansion with NASSCO/SOCU

Deliverables/Outputs:

Organigram and roles/responsibilities allocation matrix

Task/Milestone

3.Develop and agree with NASSCO/SOCU asset management guidelines for data collection equipment

Deliverables/Outputs:

Asset management guidelines

Task/Milestone

4.Support implementation of poverty mapping with NASSCO/SOCU

Deliverables/Outputs:

Poverty mapping report per state

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  ToR_National social protection consultant (social Registry).pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Social Policy, Economics, Statistics, Public Administration, Development Studies, Demography, or a related field from a recognized institution.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the design, implementation, or monitoring of social protection programs, poverty reduction, or community-based targeting mechanisms.
• Proven experience in supporting social registry development, large-scale household data collection, or community enumeration exercises.
• Demonstrated experience in working with government institutions, especially at federal and subnational levels, and familiarity with national social protection systems and structures such as NASSCO and SOCUs.
• Experience providing technical assistance and conducting capacity-building activities for data collection teams or local officials is an asset.
• Familiarity with shock-responsive social protection systems, social registries, cash transfer programs, and inter-agency coordination mechanisms is highly desirable.
• Experience working with international development partners (e.g., UN, World Bank, EU, bilateral donors) on social protection or humanitarian-development nexus programming is a strong asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.