Country Director at IPAS

About the job

• The Country Director provides overall strategic, programmatic, operational, and representational leadership for Ipas Nigeria, ensuring that the country program delivers sustained impact, financial viability, regulatory compliance, and ongoing organizational relevance. The role leads a multidisciplinary team to develop and achieve long-term strategic objectives and oversees the planning, implementation, and monitoring of a diverse portfolio of initiatives aimed at improving women’s and girls’ access to safe abortion care and contraceptive services. The Country Director ensures strong stewardship of Ipas resources and full compliance with Ipas’s global policies and quality standards.
• In addition, the Country Director upholds and strengthens Ipas’s technical leadership, drives robust programmatic results, and fosters effective collaboration with a wide range of partners. Operating within Ipas’s shared leadership and mutual accountability model, the role exemplifies Ipas values by advancing equity and inclusion, promoting learning, and collaborating closely with colleagues across the global organization. The Country Director is accountable for setting strategic direction, mobilizing resources, safeguarding assets, building partnerships, leading and developing people, and positioning Ipas Nigeria as a credible and influential leader in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) within a complex and evolving national context.

Primary Responsibilities:

Program Leadership

• Maintain and strengthen Ipas’s position as a sector leader in Nigeria.
• Lead design and implementation of the Ipas Nigeria’s strategic plan, in line with Ipas's strategic plan, global vision and mission.
• Work closely with Ipas’s global teams to ensure that regional/country programming meets Ipas Network standards and supports and is supported by the global organization.
• Develop and lead the implementation of business development plans with the support of the Ipas’s global teams, to ensure the maintenance and growth of the country programs in the region.
• Lead and support the country program teams, including strengthening programmatic and operational capacity of staff as needed.
• Model and foster a high-trust, positive management, high-performance work culture in the country offices, based on Ipas core values and organizational culture.

Program Management

• Ensure robust systems and processes are in place to support strong project and award management, including work planning, budgeting, and regular data-driven reviews of progress and problem-solving efforts.
• Ensure full donor contractual compliance for each project in the country portfolio, as well as compliance with Ipas's network standards and policies and procedures.
• Promote evidence-based decision making and lead in the adoption of innovative solutions to improve the country program effectiveness and efficiency.
• Ensure quality is maintained through development of and support of a quality and monitoring process for continuous quality assurance.

Finance and Governance

• Ensure Ipas Nigeria meets good governance requirements, including support for strategic engagement with Ipas Nigeria’s local board.
• Ensure that the Ipas Nigeria stays in compliance with relevant government laws and requirements, including nonprofit registration requirements, labor laws, tax and other laws and obligations.
• Ensure strong financial management aligned with Ipas’s financial compliance policies and award requirements, monitoring and sharing financial performance through regular reviews and follow on actions.
• Responsible for ensuring robust internal controls are in place to minimize and manage risk.

External Relations and Resource Mobilization

• Build and nurture strong partnerships with government, donors, health institutions, local organizations, media, and other stakeholders.
• Lead in developing and implementing a program development and resource mobilization strategy.
• Lead in revenue growth and increased efficiency, basing strategic and operational plans on sound financial and programmatic results data.
• Represent Ipas and our mission at the country/regional/international level, advocating for women's reproductive health and rights.

Human Resources & Culture

• Champion safeguarding across the Nigeria country program by ensuring robust prevention, reporting, and response mechanisms for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH), and by fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and survivor‑centered practice in line with Ipas safeguarding policies.
• Provide strategic leadership for HR, including workforce planning, performance management, staff wellbeing and succession planning.
• Ensure HR policies, systems and practices comply with local labour laws and Ipas standards, with clear accountability embedded in core processes (e.g., annual performance goals, performance reviews, and documentation).
• Monitor safety and security issues in Nigeria and the region and ensure country office complies with Ipas safety and security standards and policies.
• Promote a strong culture of continuous learning and development by supporting staff capacity building, reflection, and knowledge sharing, and by integrating learning from evidence, practice, and evaluation into program improvement and shared leadership decision‑making
• Performs any other assigned tasks.

SUCCESS MEASURES

Performance will be assessed against agreed performance focus areas, with associated annual targets defined, reviewed, and evaluated through the organization’s performance management process. Performance in this role will be demonstrated through:

• Sustained donor confidence and funding continuity
• Strong country reputation and sector influence
• Consistent program delivery at scale and quality
• Clean audits and regulatory compliance
• Positive organizational culture and staff engagement

Essential
Requirements for the role

• Commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially safe abortion and access to contraception.
• Respect and credibility as an advocate for reproductive health and rights, strong advocacy and speaking skills in a context with stigma and opposition.
• Knowledge of the issues and context of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in the region.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment through supportive supervision, strong communication and teamwork, and shared leadership approaches.
• Proven ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with a variety of partners, including government officials, partner organizations, and regional or global donors

Minimum

• Masters level degree or higher preferred, in a relevant field such as, Public Health, International Development, Gender Issues, Policy, Administration or Related Studies.
• A minimum of 10 years of increasing responsibility in Team Leadership and Program Management, preferably with an NGO / INGO and in the SRHR sector.
• Strategic leader with sound general management skills; previous experience as a Country Director/ Country Manager for an international NGO preferred.
• Experience and demonstrated success in fundraising and maintaining relationships with donors.

Preffered Requirements

• Medical qualification (e.g., General Practitioner, MD, or equivalent clinical degree) is an advantage
• Experience managing grants, funds, and/or budgets.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work with clear targets with minimum supervision.
• Ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders
• Ability to travel for up to 30% time (domestic, regional, and global)

Professional Capabilities

• Strategic vision and decision‑making
• External representation and influence
• Financial oversight and risk governance
• People leadership and organizational culture building
• Crisis management and adaptive leadership
• Resource mobilization/fund-raising and donor management

Competencies

• Leads with integrity, clarity, and purpose
• Builds trust and alignment across teams and partners
• Delivers results through disciplined execution
• Steward resources responsibly and ethically
• Continuously adapts strategy to context and learning