State Manager at RTI International

Job ID: 17625

Department Marketing Statement
RTI’s Governance and Economic Development Division pursues innovative approaches and builds on best practices to create the foundation for and to promote democratic governance and economic development. Working alongside global partners, public institutions, the private sector, and civil society, we help build more effective, accountable, and responsive institutions and policies at the national, regional, and local levels of government. 
We believe an integrated approach using cross-sectoral strategies - incorporating service delivery and the social sectors, such as health and education - achieve the best results. Our clients include U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, and the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Job Summary

• The GED Division is currently accepting applications for State Managers for an anticipated USAID-funded State2State (S2S) activity in Sokoto, Bauchi, and up to 4 additional states in Northern Nigeria. The overall goal of S2S is to increase the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of selected state and local governments (LGAs) in Nigeria.
• This will be achieved by strengthening systems to improve the delivery of services in key sectors (basic education, primary health care, and water, sanitation and hygiene - WASH); increasing the efficiency of key governance operations (with a focus on public financial management [PFM] and procurement, as well as monitoring and evaluation); increasing government’s responsiveness to citizen needs and priorities; and improving government and civil society capacity to manage conflict.
• State2State builds on and expands the Mission’s currently ongoing “Leadership, Empowerment, Advocacy and Development” (LEAD, 2009-2017) activity, implemented by RTI.

Job Description

• The State Manager reports to the Chief of Party at the head office and will have overall responsibility for implementing, monitoring and reporting on technical activities and managing human and financial resources in the assigned state.
• The State Manager will lead a dedicated team of development specialists to develop, implement and monitor the S2S work plan for their assigned State. 
• Candidate should possess strong management, administrative and communication skills (including report writing). Positions will be based in partner states.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership, technical and managerial direction for the successful implementation of the program in the assigned state.
• Responsible for the overall performance and results of the program in the partner state, including management and oversight of the program’s technical, operational, and administrative staff.
• Liaises regularly with program management team on management and decision-making.
• Ensures the timely completion of all technical and financial deliverables in accordance with USAID guidelines.
• Serves as RTI’s liaison with government counterparts, local organizations, and program partners in the target state. Ensures a high level of communication and close working relationships with the state counterparts.
• Act as the focal point for the state team with the project HQ. Organize meetings, conference calls and field trips to facilitate the involvement of the technical support team in program development planning and implementation.
• Track S2S program development and keep the HQ project managers apprised of progress and challenges.
• Develop weekly briefs for submission to the head office and monthly reports for inclusion in the quarterly report.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills And Ability

• BA in relevant social or administrative science or equivalent and 10 years of development experience, including at least 5 years’ experience working to strengthen state and local governments or decentralization in Nigeria.
• Proven leadership, team building, management and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated experience and strong knowledge of management and systems.
• Demonstrated experience and strong knowledge of state and local government operations, and the ability to work with subnational institutions to develop and implement project activities.
• Strong English oral/written communication skills and ability to communicate at multiple levels in the organization is required. This includes demonstrated experience with technical report writing in English.
• Strong planning, organization and problem solving skills is required.
• Ability to work independently, and within team in difficult work environment.
• Analytical and research skills.
• Excellent computer knowledge with command on MS Excel among other packages of MS Office is required.
• Ability to speak the local language strongly preferred.

Remuneration
Position is contingent upon award and funding. Compensation will be based upon RTI’s Nigeria Country Compensation Framework.