A dynamic and impact-driven organization dedicated to advancing gender equity, political inclusion, and governance reform. Our work focuses on designing and implementing high-impact interventions that promote access to resources, representation, and opportunities for women across various sectors.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Democracy and Governance Lead
Location: Abuja (FCT)
Employment Type: Full-time
Job Summary
- We are looking for a highly strategic and forward-thinking Democracy and Governance lead to join our team and support our mission.
- The Democracy & Governance Lead will be responsible for delivering technical programme management, a progressive evidence-led policy influencing agenda, external relations, and engagement strategy for the referenced component. The selected candidate is a strategist with hands-on experience, who must possess high experience in development programme management, policy advisory, team leadership, donor relations, impact evaluation, technical writing, and can work with little or no supervision.
Key Responsibilities
High-Level Programme Management:
- Lead and collaborate with programme managers and assistants to provide strategic direction, ensure programmatic alignment, and foster effective cross-functional partnerships with relevant business units.
- Lead the strategic planning and delivery of programmes from design through evaluation.
- Ensure high-level programme management through clear SOPs, high quality concept note and work-plan development, early planning and timely execution of projects, meaningful internal and external collaborations to drive high-level coordination and implementation.
- Drive focused work around legislative and citizen engagement ensuring clear programming in line with national and wider external priorities.
- Contribute to the overall growth of the organizations programming, building linkages and driving collaborations with the organizations Mission.
- Implement monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, in collaboration with other team members, to assess the impact of programmes and identify areas for improvement.
Building strategic partnerships and collaboration:
- In consultation with the CEO, drive the development of stakeholder strategy for resource mobilization and detailed stakeholder map in alignment with the organization’s vision, mission and thematic areas.
- Maintain good working relationships with donors, counterparts and other critical stakeholders, ensuring a strong resource pipeline.
- In partnership with the Grant Manager, Identify and track relevant funding opportunities through advanced intelligence gathering, strengthened partner relationships, and advisory management on fundraising strategies.
- In collaboration with the CEO’s office, and communications team, Identify credible engagement platforms locally, regionally and globally.
- Represent the organization in designated fora to promote, advocate and speak for the organization.
Policy Analysis & Advocacy:
- Possess high-level policy expertise to drive and collaborate with respective technical teams and in close alignment with the CEO, actively supporting the agenda of the organization’s Policy & Research Center, ensuring the visibility and technical delivery of Research and Policy Innovation workstream.
- Conduct extensive research on key policy issues around gender, politics, elections, governance, democracy, and equity.
- Draft policy documents, opinion pieces, support or lead the delivery of technical reports.
- Build strategic partnerships and collaboration with key stakeholders across state & national assemblies, key government agencies, institutions, policy networks, working groups and other relevant players in a bid to strengthen policy advocacy & influencing work.
- Stay abreast of key policy & non-policy issues, discussions, and trends across the organization’s focus areas, locally, regionally and globally.
- Lead the facilitation of policy dialogues/ engagements between multi-stakeholders and analyzing relevant policy & legal documents.
Qualifications & Experience
- Minimum of Master’s Degree in a relevant field such as International Development, Political Science, Public Policy or a related discipline.
- At least 7 years’ practical experience in programme management with the last three actively leading a project team within the Civic space.
- Demonstrated experience in program design, stakeholder engagement, and strategic leadership in the governance space.
- Strong understanding of Nigeria’s governance landscape, civic actors, political systems, and regional dynamics.
Skills & Competencies:
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate ideas clearly and persuasively.
- Detail-oriented with exceptional organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Passion for social impact and an interest in the nonprofit sector.
- Ability to coordinate and manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with objectives.
- Understanding of partnership development and ability to adapt to changing priorities.
- Ability to analyze complex policy documents and data to provide actionable insights.
- Analytical and politically savvy, with the ability to navigate complex governance contexts.
- Collaborative leader with a flexible, adaptive mindset.
- Exceptional communication, advocacy, and relationship-building skills.
Experience managing teams and leading high-impact programs with minimal supervision.
Work Conditions
- Hybrid role.
- Frequent interactions with high-level stakeholders, requiring flexibility in work hours.
- Occasional travel for stakeholder engagements and advocacy, conferences and field work.
Salary
NGN 700,000 – 750,000 / month.
Application Closing Date
6th May, 2025.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Application to: [email protected] using the job title as the subject of the mail.
