Individual Consultancy for endline evaluation

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity, and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

The IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when it responded to flooding in Kogi State. Due to the ongoing conflict in the country’s northeastern states, the IRC currently operates across eight sectors, including health, nutrition, WASH, protection/rule of law, child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, education, governance, and economic recovery and development. Currently, IRC’s Operations are managed from six field offices in Northeast and Northwest Nigeria.

SSNR Program Overview

The Strengthening Sustainable Nutrition Services (SSNR) project is a UKAID-funded initiative aiming to reduce maternal, infant, and under-five mortality rates resulting from poor nutrition services. It is implemented by the IRC in partnership with GREENCODE in Maiduguri, Jere, and Monguno LGAs of Borno State. The project began in July 2023 and runs until September 2025.

SSNR seeks to improve access to skilled breastfeeding support, micronutrient intake, and sustainable, quality treatment for acute malnutrition. Direct beneficiaries include children under five and pregnant and lactating women (PLW). Services are delivered through CMAM (Community Management of Acute Malnutrition), IYCF (Infant and Young Child Feeding), and Tom-Brown nutrition programs.

IRC is seeking a dynamic and experienced independent consultant with strong technical expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), particularly in nutrition-related programs, to conduct a comprehensive Endline Evaluation of the SSNR project. The assessment will evaluate the project’s effectiveness, capture outcomes, and generate learning across key components including CMAM, IYCF, and Tom-Brown implementation. Below is a summary of the project: 

Endline Objectives

To assess the relevance, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the SSNR project interventions (CMAM, IYCF, Tom-brown and PDIA). 

Independently assess project progress against project indicators.

Identify implementation gaps, learning and actionable recommendations to stakeholders for future programming and sustainability. 

Scope of work

To achieve the objective of assessing the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the SSNR project interventions (CMAM, IYCF, Tom-Brown, and PDIA), the consultant will carry out the following tasks:

Design and finalize the evaluation framework and methodology, ensuring alignment with international standards and donor expectations.

Conduct a desk review of project documents, including baseline data, project reports, and monitoring data to establish context and track progress against planned indicators.

Develop and validate tools for data collection (quantitative and qualitative), incorporating indicators that reflect relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability.

Conduct field data collection across all intervention LGAs using mixed methods, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and household surveys.

Analyze community and caregiver knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to nutrition, with a full comparison of endline findings to baseline data to measure changes and impact.

Identify key implementation gaps, challenges, and successes related to each of the project components (CMAM, IYCF, Tom-Brown, and PDIA).

Provide actionable recommendations based on the evidence gathered to inform future programming, scale-up strategies, and sustainability efforts.

Independently assess progress made against the project’s logframe indicators and theory of change.

Present key findings to IRC, GREENCODE, and relevant stakeholders, incorporating feedback into the final report.

Evaluation Criteria

The final evaluation will be based on OECD DAC criteria. The main evaluation questions are based on SSNR project quality framework as described below:

1.Relevance

Assess how well the SSNR project design and interventions (CMAM, IYCF, and Tom-Brown implementation) addressed the actual nutritional needs of children under five, pregnant and lactating women (PLW), and caregivers in Monguno and Maiduguri. 

Evaluate the alignment of project objectives with community priorities and the broader nutrition and health goals of Borno State.

Collect community and stakeholder feedback to validate whether the program remained appropriate and responsive over its implementation period.  

2. Effectiveness

Measure the extent to which the SSNR project achieved its intended outcomes, such as increased access to skilled breastfeeding support, micronutrient intake, and quality treatment for acute malnutrition. 

Examine changes in key nutrition indicators (e.g., MUAC, SAM/MAM treatment rates) among under-five children and PLWs.

Document successes and lessons learned how well program interventions performed in each of the eight (8) implementation communities.  

3. Efficiency

Review the cost-effectiveness and timeliness of project implementation strategies. 

Assess how well resources (funds, staff, supplies, partnerships) were utilized in delivering nutrition services across the LGAs.

Identify any bottlenecks or inefficiencies in coordination between IRC, GREENCODE, health workers, and community volunteers.

4. Impact

Evaluate the broader effects of the SSNR interventions on maternal and child health outcomes in the target communities. 

Analyze how the program influenced community awareness, health-seeking behavior, and practices around child feeding and nutrition.

Investigate any unintended positive or negative consequences of the intervention. 

5. Sustainability

Assess the likelihood of continued delivery of nutrition services (CMAM, IYCF, Tom-Brown supplementation) beyond the project’s end, especially by local health structures and community groups. 

Review existing community-based problem-solving mechanisms introduced or supported by the project.

Provide recommendations for strengthening institutional capacity, community ownership, and potential scale-up of successful models. 

Deliverables

1.1   Inception Report:

Conduct an in-depth literature review 

Complete Inception meeting

Develop of data collection plan and tools

Write and present a comprehensive inception report 

1.2. Data Collection:

Design and development of data collection tools  

Conduct Proper training of data collectors on both qualitative and quantitative questionnaires

Continuous monitoring of data collected by assessing the reported data

Supervise data collection exercise to improve data quality

Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) discussions

Clean and analyze data (Quantitative and Qualitative)

Draft assessment report 

2. Final Reporting:

Organize and hold workshops to present findings and recommendations and co-develop work plans 

Submit a final report of not more than 40 pages excluding annexes.

Payment Rate and Schedule

Payment rates shall be subject to negotiations. Payments shall be scheduled at inception stage (40%) and at the final reporting stage (60%) based on satisfactory completion of the key deliverables.

Requirements

At least a master’s degree or PhD in one of the following fields is required: Food Security and Nutrition, Public health, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Sciences, Nursing or any related medical field. 

Experience in Implementation of Nutrition technical assessments such as SMART, SQUEAC will be a plus. 

Prior experience in carrying out Endline assessment of UKAID funded project will be a plus.

Experience with the use of Mixed method approach and use of Commcare, Kobo collect, ODK for tool design. 

Experience working in Nigeria especially in BAY states. Experience as a consultant producing and delivering quality results.

Experience in interacting with stakeholders at all levels including but not limited to community, facility level and state.

Experience in fostering open dialogue, building trust, and engaging key stakeholders.

Excellent interpersonal skills required, including strong professional communication ability.

Advanced computer skills with proficiency in Windows, Microsoft office and other digital media

Strong written and spoken English ability. 

Code of conduct

International Rescue Committee-IRC work is based on deeply held values and principles of child safeguarding, and it is essential that our commitment to children’s rights and humanitarian principles is supported and demonstrated by all members of staff and other people working for and with IRC. The International Rescue Committee’s Code of Conduct sets out the standards which all staff members must adhere to and the consultant together with his/her data collection team are bound to sign and abide by the IRC Code of Conduct

Ethical considerations

All relevant local authorities will be informed of the study’s objectives, methodology, and roles, and their permission will be sought. For voluntary participation in the survey, mothers/caretakers of children and household heads will be asked for verbal consent. The participants’ identities will be kept anonymous. Those who do not wish to participate in the survey will be respected for their self-determination/decisions. The interviewers will introduce themselves and explain the purpose of the survey to the participants. All information gathered will be treated as strictly confidential. Both the survey protocol and the report of this survey will be submitted to IRC and TWG for validation before the commencement of data collection and results dissemination, respectively.

Application Procedure

        Interested candidates are kindly requested to adhere to the following instructions:

Submit technical and financial proposals -embedded in one PDF document. Ensure it includes a cover page, description of your understanding of the consultancy, technical approach and updated Curriculum Vitae/Resume of the relevant personnels (Not exceeding 15 pages). 

Please note that the technical proposal should cover the methodology describing how the objectives and research questions will be addressed.  The consultant should include a work plan and link to previous evaluations conducted in the past 3 years. 

Also note that the financial proposal should be submitted with a breakdown of thematic cost areas such as evaluation of staffing costs, training costs, travel costs and field data collection costs. Financial proposal costing can either be made in Naira or USD.

Please send your application to:

NGHR.ConsultantsApplications@rescue.org