Assistant Manager Governance and Stability - Nigeria at Adam Smith International

About the role

ASI’s Governance and Stability Practice is responsible for supporting the design and delivery of our work focused on strengthening governance and enhancing stability around the world. The practice covers centre of government reform, local government reform, public financial management, anti-corruption and illicit financial flows, and civil society development and education under the rubric of governance and stabilisation, countering violent extremism, countering disinformation, security sector reform, conflict reduction. We place a strong emphasis on gender and social inclusion in all of our programming and have a particular focus on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Our work takes place in a range of fragile and conflict affected states as well as more and economically advanced countries. We work in places ranging from Pakistan and Myanmar to Iraq, Syria and Palestine, Ukraine, Georgia and Latvia, to Somalia, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali.
Assistant managers at ASI form the entry level for professional development in the company.

We are currently looking to fill an Assistant Manager role, with a principal focus on supporting the delivery of a project working across the Lake Chad Basin region:
The LCB is a region spanning parts of North East Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Decades of underinvestment means the region is significantly marginalised and very poor. Terrorist groups, including ISWAP and JAS, conduct attacks on local communities, aid workers and security forces in the region, predominantly in North East Nigeria. The conflict has caused widespread instability and a humanitarian crisis with 2.3 million people are displaced and 10.7 million people are in need of lifesaving assistance There have been attempts to tackle the conflict at a regional level, such as deploying troops under the Multi-National Joint Task Force, a regional force comprising troop contributions from the four LCB states and Benin; agreeing a LCB Commission (LCBC) Regional Stabilisation Strategy; and international efforts in support including the development of the Regional Stabilisation Facility (RSF).
Our project in the Lake Chad Basin programme takes a regional approach to building stability in the four Lake Chad Basin states in support of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy. The programme, as a whole, will address the threat from ISWA/JAS, combining work on security sector reform, capacity building support (training) to the regional response with stabilisation programming that responds to the structural causes of the conflict, improving security, livelihoods and access to services for vulnerable communities in the region.
Key tasks and responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

Project Management:

• Support the programmes’ Senior Managers in the successful management of projects to terms of reference, time, quality, cost and donor and Government satisfaction. This will include support in the following areas of project management:
• Financial and budget management, client invoicing and financial forecasting
• Operations management
• HR management and recruitment
• Implementing partner management
• Financial and narrative programme reporting
• Monitoring project deliverables and workplan execution
• Team management
• Risks & issues management
• Event logistics & management
• Build strong working relationships with project associates, ensuring they feel part of the ASI ‘family’, and support them to ensure job satisfaction; and with ASI technical, geographic and finance teams
• Supporting Senior Managers in engaging with and managing relations with project clients on a day to day basis.

Nigeria Platform Management

• Supporting Senior Managers in ensuring that ASI’s operations in Nigeria are compliant and meet ASI’s Duty of Care obligations
• Supporting in-country platform staff in ensuring that ASI’s operations in Nigeria meet ASI corporate’s requirements

Business development

Research business development opportunities and helping to develop opportunities into winnable pipeline, as agreed with Line Manager
Take on ad hoc, discrete and accountable roles in technical and commercial proposals and be an effective member of bid teams, as agreed with Line Manager

About you

An Assistant Manager should have the ability to build effective relationships with clients from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds, and to work effectively in politically sensitive and challenging environments. He/she should relish working in a team, should be innovative, energetic, positive, and genuinely committed to making a lasting contribution to the reduction of conflict and poverty.
Adam Smith International seeks the following skills and experience:

• An under-graduate degree in international development, international relations, political science, economics or other relevant fields from an internationally recognised university;
• Demonstrable interest in governance, politics, justice, or conflict and stability in developing countries and emerging economies;
• Demonstrated experience of initiative, planning and organisation skills, results-focus and working in complex and time-pressured contexts;
• Outstanding English written and oral communication skills
• Excellent inter-personal skills and team-work;
• Strong attention to detail;
• Willingness to travel extensively to Nigeria;
• Enthusiasm and flexibility along with a willingness to travel at short notice and work in developing countries; and
• Strong IT skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Experience or particular interest in security sector reform, and conflict and stability programming would be advantageous
• Fluent French would be advantageous.
• Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK.

What We Offer You

We offer you a dynamic and friendly team environment and the opportunity to work on a highly successful portfolio of programmes. We have a strong commitment to our people and strive to live by our values.
We’ve built a culture to reflect our values, full of likeminded professionals who are smart, passionate and great at what they do. We have a headquarters overlooking the Thames in a central London location.
Assistant manager roles are the entry point for younger professionals seeking to develop experience in the sector. The role is suited to those who are starting out in international development and overseas professional services, and have a few years or less of relevant experience. The Assistant Manager role typically leads to promotion to a full manager position after a year, and is the gateway to taking on more responsibility for managing and designing programming and mobilising funding for new activities further on in your career.