Country Director, Nigeria Full Time

About United Purpose, Self Help Africa and the Gorta Group:

United Purpose is a leader in community-led development and grassroots innovation, supporting people to gain agency over their own lives – so they can move Beyond Aid. UP works mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Brazil and Bangladesh. In West Africa, we operate in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Togo, & Nigeria with over 80 staff, 50 partners and an annual turnover of around £5 million. Our work focuses on women & youth empowerment, developing sustainable livelihoods & agriculture value chains, nutrition & food security, climate & health resilience, and natural resource management & peace building.

In August 2021 United Purpose joined the Gorta Group of organisations (which also includes Self Help Africa, Partner Africa and TruTrade). Together, the Group is dedicated to ending extreme poverty and inequality across the globe. Our work reaches more than six million people and invests upwards of €45m in our programming that includes improving food systems, facilitating access to markets and financial services and enabling access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. This is an exciting time to join us as the merger of two like-minded and entrepreneurial organisations will be catalytic in nature as we look to tackle the global challenges of today and tomorrow as one unified organisation.

United Purpose has a long-established and growing presence in Nigeria, currently with 10 full-time employees who manage development projects in partnership with local actors in multiple states across the country. The Nigerian programme places a strong emphasis on targeting rural communities using a cooperative development and support approach; currently this includes supporting market access and business development in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, and developing our natural resource management and green economy approaches and climate change adaptation throughout the country.

Job description:

United Purpose are looking for a dynamic and entrepreneurial professional with significant programme management and proven new business development experience, to drive forward the Group’s mission and vision and deepening of our impact, through delivering high quality programmes and ensuring that the processes of planning, implementation as well as monitoring, evaluation and learning, are robust. The Country Director will be responsible for overseeing all areas of UP’s operations in Nigeria, providing leadership and strategy guidance to the UP team, with two direct reports and a mandate to expand operations. The key responsibility of this role is the development, delivery and recalibration of the country strategy to ensure the strategy is fit for purpose, aligned to our Global Strategy and that we are achieving significant impact for participants of our programming.

The Country Director will take full ownership for growing UP’s operations in Nigeria*.* This will focus on growing the funding base and exploring new income streams to increase our footprint and maximise our impact through securing and implementing new projects. The Country Director will collaborate with international organisations, national government, national organisations and the private sector to design and finance innovative programmes that strengthen agricultural value chains, support entrepreneurs and their businesses and drive rural economic development to reduce poverty.

Key responsibilities:

New business development and stakeholder relationship management

• You will be responsible for building relationships in-country to identify new opportunities and win funding for new projects
• You will build in-country partnerships to expand our footprint and impact in Nigeria
• You will work to forge strategic alliances and seeking out new business opportunities.
• You will represent UP in national, regional and international fora and build the organisation’s profile

Programme management & operations

• You will develop, present and implement the strategic vision, overall goals and objectives for UP
• You will oversee the implementation of all programmes in Nigeria, ensuring UP meets all key targets
• You will work with the Head of Programmes to ensure all programmes are effectively monitored and evaluated so we can demonstrate our success, impact and value for money
• You will work with the Head of Programmes to vet and manage any implementation partners
• You will ensure that UP is recognised as thought leaders in agriculture and agribusiness in Nigeria

Leadership

• You will manage a large and diverse team, providing direct line management to members of the Country Management Team
• You will ensure efficiencies in the operation of a joint country team through the use of shared services
• You will oversee talent acquisition, with a particular focus on championing local talent

Finance, audit and risk

• You will line manage UP’s Head of Finance and Administration in Nigeria
• You will oversee the financial management and will ensure programmes are delivered in a cost-effective manner, ensuring a value for money approach and that major costs are successfully recovered from programme funding
• You will ensure a culture of accountability and adherence to group policies and staff welfare & security
• You will ensure compliance with all programme and donor requirements

Required skills and experience:

• Minimum of five years’ senior management experience
• Previous experience running multi-sectoral teams to deliver complex programmes either in a development or private sector setting in sub-Saharan Africa
• Proven ability to secure new income opportunities through proactive and sustained business development
• Proven ability to develop, implement and adapt organisational and business strategy
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both in formal and informal settings
• Strong financial analysis and management skills
• Fluency in English

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