Democracy and Governance Lead at a Dynamic and Impact-driven Organization

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: recruitment@salveconsultinglimited.com using the job title as the subject of the mail.