Application Closing Date: July 21, 2014
CVs only: The system is designed to accept CVs only and not designed to upload a large volume or large sized tender documents.
Background:
Since the late 1990s, Mercy Corps has managed over 100 peacebuilding projects in over 30 countries and regions, making Mercy Corps a true leader in the field. We currently implement 34 peacebuilding programs in some of the world’s toughest places. In Nigeria, Mercy Corps is currently implementing a program called Conciliation in Nigeria through Community-Based Conflict Management and Cooperative Use of Resources (CONCUR).With UKAID funding, Mercy Corps aims to prevent and resolve conflict between pastoralists and farmers in the four Middle Belt states of Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, and Benue, with an emphasis on conflicts that cross religious lines and negatively impact local livelihoods and economic growth. The program addressed the underlying drivers of community conflict, preventing the escalation of ethno-religious violence and incentivizing government, the private sector, and community members to take proactive measures to promote stability.
Purpose / Project Description:
TheCONCUR project has a total of three outputs. Output 3 is “increased support for long-term policy solutions among local and national leaders through business-led research and advocacy.” The first activity in Output 3 is to conduct three studies exploring the economic costs of pastoralist/farmer conflict. In collaboration with Nigerian business leaders and associations, Mercy Corps will conduct research to better understand the economic impact of pastoralist/farmer conflict on specific markets and to identify opportunities for promoting inclusive economic growth through reduced pastoralist/farmer conflict.
The two studies that will be the focus of this consultancy are as follows:
- Study 1. The Microeconomics of Peace and Conflict: Costs of Conflict and Benefits of Peace at the Household Level in the Middle Belt of Nigeria
- Study 2. State- and Sector-Level Costs of Conflict: Costs of Conflict and Benefits of Peace in the Middle Belt of Nigeria at the State Level
Data used to inform the study will be drawn from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including a household survey, existing data on wealth (Demographic and Health Survey), existing data on violent incidents, and state-level economics tables.
Consultant Objectives:
The Data Manager/Econometrician on this project will work closely with two Economic Consultants (Senior and Junior) to complete the data management and analysis required for arriving at robust findings on the economic costs and benefits of peace and conflict. The consultant will engage in the following activities, as needed: management of multiple datasets, data validation, codebook creation, and econometric analysis. The Data Manager/Econometrician will be a key part of the research team who will contribute to essential parts of the research such as finding and testing independent variables, assembling new datasets out of existing data, tabling results, and generating figures. The period of this consultancy is a maximum of fifty-five (55) days, and can be performed at a location remote to Nigeria where the research is based.
Consultant Activities:
The Consultant will:
1) Support the assembly and management of datasets sourced from a range of existing and new studies.
2) Preparing data for analysis, including cleaning, organizing, recording data into consistent formats, and deriving new/composite variables.
3) Perform regression analyses of datasets to test the relationships between variables.
4) Present findings in regression tables, adjusted predictions graphs, and PAF tables.
5) Support the creation of additional figures as needed.
6) Provide support to the interpretation and presentation of results.
7) Report on a regular basis to CONCUR program manager.
Consultant Deliverables:
As this engagement requires multiple sets of deliverables, the responsibility of which will be determined in conjunction with other members of the research team, a detailed set of deliverables will be finalized upon beginning the consultancy period. A rough estimate of deliverables includes the following:
Deliverable
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Due Date
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Clean and (re)coded dataset for Study 2
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July 2014
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Graphs and tables for Study 2
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August 2014
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Clean and (re)coded dataset for Study 1
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August 2014
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Regression tables for Study 1
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August 2014
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Other graphs and tables for Study 1
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September 2014
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Other Deliverables as Needed
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July-Sept 2014
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The Consultant will report to:
Program Manager for the CONCUR program
The Consultant will work closely with:
The junior consultant will also be working closely with the Economic and Market Development Advisor for CONCUR, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Advisor for CONCUR, and two consultants hired specifically for this project to lead design and implement analysis.
Consultant Qualifications
- Degree in statistics, econometrics or social science
- Demonstrated skills in applied research and statistical analysis
- Coursework or training in Matrix Algebra and Advanced Calculus
- Proficiency using SPSS, STATA, or other statistical analysis package
- Demonstrated ability to explain research findings, both visually and in writing
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
- Good organizational skills and ability to work under time constraints
- Self-motivated and able to work without close supervision
Note: The position will be remote and work in support of a program in Nigeria
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