Policy Reform Specialist - USAID/Nigeria SCALE Final Performance Evaluation at Navanti

Position Description:

• Navanti is seeking a policy reform specialist responsible for providing context on policy reform issues in Nigeria including those related to civil society work in Nigeria to the evaluation team to ensure a rigorous and high-quality evaluation in the target locations. Under the guidance of the MEL Support Activity, the policy reform specialist is expected to work closely with the USAID/Nigeria-PDG team. The policy reform specialist is expected to have done a similar evaluation in Nigeria and other similar contexts.
• The policy reform specialist will be supported by the team leader, evaluation specialist, and civil society/advocacy specialist. The policy reform specialist will consult with and facilitate input from all team members throughout the evaluation.
• The team will use a combination of literature review, mixed methods through focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews to gather insights to answer the evaluation questions. The team is also expected to propose an evaluation methodology/approach as required to respond to the evaluation questions.

Responsibilities:

• The policy reform specialist will provide a contextual understanding that supports the enabling environment and conditions for civil society organization operations in Nigeria. The candidate should also have adequate knowledge of interacting, engaging, and assessing civil society organizational performance and the way the national and state assemblies work given the focus of SCALE on policy reform advocacy.

The policy reform specialist will:

• Participate in the evaluation kick-off session with USAID/Nigeria.
• Conduct desk review of the activity and support policy reform contextual understanding of the evaluation.
• Work with the evaluation specialist and other team members to design the data collection instruments and ensure they address all evaluation objectives.
• Lead government and civil society analysis in Nigeria
• Coordinate with the team leader and other team members to conduct interviews.
• Interpret and analyze qualitative and quantitative data.
• Support in preparing reports of research findings.
• Work with the team leader and other team members in planning, developing, coordinating, and administering research tools.
• Perform quality assurance reviews of both quantitative and qualitative data.
• Support the team leader and other team members in writing or editing technical reports and summaries of findings.
• Work with the team leader and other team members to perform desk review and identify additional information required for analysis.
• Work with the Team Leader and other team members in preparation and presentation of the In-brief and Out-brief to USAID/Nigeria and other stakeholders as requested.
• Support the team leader and other team members to develop the draft Evaluation report with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from the Out-brief presentation.
• Work with the team leader and other team members to respond to USAID comments on the draft report, incorporate USAID/Nigeria staff comments into the final version of the report and finalize the report.
• 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:

• Master’s degree in gender, economic development, or another relevant international development field.
• Minimum of seven years of experience in policy and enabling environment reform for CSO’s empowerment and leadership, especially in Nigeria.
• Prior experience on a USAID-funded project is preferred.
• Knowledge of constraints and opportunities for CSOs in Nigeria, particularly related to policies, regulations, leadership opportunities, and processes.
• Demonstrated skills in fostering relationships with government partners and the private sector.
• Experience in supporting CSOs, including those that represent marginalized communities, including capacity building and understanding the characteristics of CSOs, and the challenges they face in having their voices heard.
• Ability to respond to flexibly changing situations and diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, tasks efficiently.
• Willingness and ability to travel to field locations.
• Excellent time management skills and resourcefulness with strong attention to detail.
• Experience in the Nigerian local context is required.