Evidence Action: Country Director – Nigeria

Job purpose
The Country Director (CD) – Nigeria will be inspired by the mission of measurably improving the lifelong prospects of hundreds of millions of people through proven and scaled interventions. S/he will lead Evidence Action’s operations and programs in Nigeria. We are looking for a dynamic and energetic leader, an exceptional people leader, setting a team culture characterized by high levels of empowerment, achievement, and accountability. The CD will bring strong strategic and analytical capabilities, including comfort using data to continuously measure and improve highly successful and large-scale programs. Leading an exciting and growing program, s/he will also oversee the expansion of current programming into new health arenas based on rigorous evidence of impact. S/he will be adept at engaging government, including existing partnerships at various federal Ministries as well at various local governments authorities.

 

In collaboration with global and regional technical leaders, s/he will oversee program implementation in Nigeria, including strategic planning, operations, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, and policy advocacy. The CD will facilitate transparent communication about progress and results to the regional and global leadership team, donors, and other stakeholders. The CD will also play a leading role in expanding Evidence Action’s portfolio in Nigeria by identifying new program opportunities and engaging with prospective donors.

 

The CD must be proficient at managing donor-funded projects, liaising with government stakeholders, budgeting, program design and development, review and evaluation. S/he should have the skills to supervise and guide a growing country office with an employee-centric approach and progressive company policies and processes. The Country Director will uphold Evidence Action’s core pillars of evidence, cost-effectiveness, and scale throughout programs and operations.

 

The Country Director will be based in Abuja and will report to the Director, West and Central Africa. S/he will also be a member of the Africa regional leadership.

 

Duties and responsibilities

 

Strategy and Vision

• Country Director will lead and/or contribute to the development of the Nigeria program strategy and vision, collaborating with strategic partners within the organization. S/he will also contribute to key regional global strategy development.
• Draft annual country goals, including team priorities.
• Identify and address short-term and long-term risks and remove roadblocks to success.
• Ensure decision-making is aligned with global organizational priorities, program data, and local stakeholder data
• Maintain all relevant country registrations and statutory requirements, report to- and facilitate effective in-country board leadership, and ensure compliance with all in-country laws and regulations, as well organizational policies.

 

Program Performance

• In consultation with global and regional leadership teams, manage Evidence Action programs in Nigeria
• Lead program activities including field operations, research/evaluation, information systems, and support functions in Nigeria
• Create and strengthen program delivery systems to ensure high-quality implementation and service delivery
• Coordinate with the MLE team to ensure that program monitoring results and insights are used to improve or sustain program performance
• Coordinate closely with National, sub-National and community government stakeholders to identify and troubleshoot challenges that might affect the quality of the program

 

Build Culture

• Country Director will work with the in-country leadership team, People Lead and all in-country department heads for the following:
• Inspire all levels of staff through the celebration of team wins.
• Ensure Evidence Action values are known and lived.
• Conduct frequent field visits per month to spot-check program execution and to connect with clients.
• Monitor team sustainability and make adjustments to workload where needed.
• Oversee annual roll-out of staff satisfaction survey, among other feedback channels, and the resulting initiatives.

 

Build Team

Country Director will work with in-country People Lead and all in-country and global department heads for the following:

• Recruit and retain the best talent from both international and national talent pools (closely involved in hiring and promotions).
• Provide big-picture feedback and guidance to direct reports through weekly 1-on-1 check-ins.
• Ensure key linkages and communication between in-country department heads and as well as global and regional support.
• Build robust training programs at all job levels to maintain strong leadership development pipelines.
• In collaboration with global and regional leadership, build and maintain a country team organizational chart.

 

Resource Allocation

The Country Director will work with the Finance team and department heads for the following:

• Help lead the annual country budgeting process in line with global and country strategic objectives and performance targets.
• Conduct quarterly budget review and updates

 

Monitor program financial performance through monthly Budget-vs-Actual analyses and gross margin decisions.

• Ensure appropriate levels of business controls are in place.
• Provide necessary information and due diligence request support for country-specific funding opportunities.
• Promote a culture and ethos of cost-effectiveness within the country teams

 

Government and Partnership Engagement.

• In collaboration with program and external relations team, identify, articulate and execute key government and policy goals and objectives in-country
• In collaboration with various organizational and program leaders, take the lead on or actively contribute to the development of in-country Evidence Action partnership strategy.
• In consultation with program leadership, identify and assess strategic partners with capacity to implement/scale some of our key interventions and/or partners willing to share information and best practices of strategic relevance in general. Take the lead in cultivating relationships with the partners in the region.
• Identify and participate in relevant in-country stakeholder forums.

 

New Program Development Support

• In collaboration with global program leadership, support in the testing, piloting and/or scaling of new program initiatives in the region.
• Support new program registration, expansion and/or launch in new and existing states, including developing and maintaining an active database of profiles of high priority/strategic states in the country, detailing basic to intricate political, economic and social factors, and their potential implications for Evidence Action.

 

Others

• Undertake other duties as necessary and assigned.

 

Skills Required
People management, Stakeholder Management, Project Performance, Capacity Building, Program Management, Policy Advocacy, Strategic Planning, Donor Management, Government Relations

 

Qualifications
The Country Director – Nigeria will have at least 7 years of experience leading and managing program-related activities and an interest in expanding their horizons within a mission-driven organization committed to impact at scale. S/he must be excited about leading a cross-cutting team within an organization that sees learning and the use of rigorous evidence as central to its mission and is motivated to actively ensure that this approach is deeply embedded into all programs. The ideal candidate has experience working in developing countries.

 

The Country Director will have the following experience and attributes:

• Degree in health-related, business, social sciences, public health, health management, or related disciplines;
• Self-directed and self-motivated personality, with proven ability to manage demands from multiple clients while adhering to deadlines and priorities;
• Strong technical skills and capacity, particularly in health, nutrition, and or wash programs;
• Practical experience managing and working directly with data;
• Naturally inquisitive, skeptical, intellectually curious, detail-oriented, and organized;
• Proven leadership experience in Nigeria and/or in any other Sub-Saharan Africa Countries and experience managing a cross-cultural team;
• A critical, analytical, and process-oriented thinker with a willingness to form and adjust opinions based on evidence;
• A good understanding of and experience in consulting or other client-based and service-oriented roles;
• In-country board accountability and management
• An ability to operate effectively within ambiguous environments, and to thrive as a part of a dynamic and evolving leadership team.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• International Development experience (Experience working for a non-profit)

 

Working conditions –  Normal

Position Location – Abuja, Nigeria

 

Direct reports
Finance, Programs, Human Resource, Operations Team leads

 

Equal Opportunity Statement
Evidence Action does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.