Executive Director- ESC at Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)

Job Summary

• The Ernest Shonekan Centre (ESC) is an initiative of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), focused on providing technical support and stakeholder management in parliamentary, regulatory, and judicial areas. ESC is dedicated to legislative design, development, review, communication, and management, as well as supporting the design and implementation of government reform processes. It addresses the needs of parliamentary, regulatory, and judicial stakeholders at both national and sub-national levels.
• The Executive Director will ensure effective management administration to achieve the Centre's objectives. S/he will be a lawyer (more than ten years post call-to-bar) with demonstrable requisite expertise and experience in legislative reforms and administrative capacities.
• The Executive Director of the Ernest Shonekan Centre will provide strong leadership, strategic direction, and effective management, ensuring the Centre's success in promoting legislative reforms, economic development, and improving Nigeria's business environment.

Responsibilities

• Leadership and Strategic Planning—Develop and implement a strategic plan that aligns with the Centre's mission and goals. This plan will outline key objectives, priorities, and initiatives to guide the Centre's growth and impact in the long term.
• Policy Development—Work with the NESG leadership to develop comprehensive policies and procedures for the Centre that align with its goals and objectives. These policies will guide the team in delivering high quality programs, services, and initiatives while adhering to ethical and legal standards.
• Policy Implementation—Oversee the implementation of the Centre's policies and procedures, ensuring their effective execution across all functional areas. They will monitor progress, assess the impact, and make necessary adjustments to optimise the Centre's operations.
• Operations Management – Oversee the overall operations of the Centre and ensuring that international standards run it. They will establish protocols and procedures to maintain organisational efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance.
• Capacity Improvement – Ensure that the Centre's staff are continuously equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge. They will oversee training programs, mentorship initiatives, and professional development opportunities to enhance the capabilities and expertise of the team.
• Curriculum Development—Work with the staff to develop and implement the Centre's curriculum and programs. They will ensure that the content and methodologies align with best practices, promoting innovation and excellence in the Centre's offerings.
• Financial Management—Manage the Centre's finances prudently, efficiently, and transparently. It includes reviewing invoices and bills from vendors and suppliers, ensuring timely payments, and monitoring budgetary allocations. The manager will work closely with the finance team to maintain financial stability and accountability.
• Stakeholder Relations—Establish and maintain effective relationships with all stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector entities, foundations, and other relevant organisations. They will engage in advocacy efforts, partnership development, and networking to advance the Centre's mission and expand its reach.

Scope of Deliverables

• Expert-led research, advocacy and capacity development agenda-setting for ESC
• Design, development and deployment of studies, analysis and diagnostic programmes
• Design curriculum for capacity development of decision-maker programmes for legislative, judicial and regulatory officers
• Technical Coordination of the Parliamentary Stakeholder Management to deliver the ESC-prescribed outcomes, outputs and impacts
• Advisory efforts/presence at many critical meetings of the Federal Government to provide experienced, well tested and thorough on-the-stop assessments of the issues
• Parliamentary relations that elevate the scope, scale, and quality of NESG engagement with High-Level Government Executives, providing the strategic intelligence, insight, and guidance required for deep relationships characteristic of national think tanks of the calibre of ESC
• Deep Legal Research Capacity for Legislative, Judicial and Regulatory Studies that are domiciled within the Secretariat operations to allow ESC to accelerate critical action points deliverables to improve our Think Tank Connector and Intervener role
• Proactive parliamentary stakeholder engagement strategy that is based on a comprehensive parliamentary risk assessment of the ESC policy operating landscape and a dedicated expert that builds the required response readiness in these times of economic recession in terms of cycle time for articulating the issues, parliamentary analytics and strategic governance diagnostics
• The centre’s financial sustainability

Competency and Skill Requirements

• Excellent knowledge of the Nigerian political, economic and social environment.
• Awareness and understanding of local policies related to private sector businesses with emphasis on implication of policies on operations.
• Strong appreciation of key industries, trends, operators and dynamics within the local and international environment.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent resource planning and utilisation skills.
• Excellent communication, networking, marketing and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced business acumen i.e., financial and commercial knowledge.
• Excellent written, presentation and oral communication skills.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong motivational and team building skills.
• Strategic thinking ability.
• Strong business management and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office productivity tools and other related applications.

Minimum Education and Work Experience

The candidate must have:

• At least a decade experience in Public Policy, Legislative Research and Parliamentary Management Practice
• Led strategic initiatives in the areas of Parliamentary Management, Constitutional Reform, Legislative Reform, Economics, Economic Policy, Public Administration, Public Research, Policy Analysis and Governance Matters
• A good understanding of the Federal Government operations and the structure of policy, legislative and regulations at national and sub-national levels
• Made significant contribution to public policy and legislative development in Nigeria
• Excellent Professional Writing and Communications Skills at the Level of Policy Advisor to a President of the Country or Governor of State
• A good Understanding of Think Tank Operations and their Intricate Workings
• A good Understanding of fund management and fund raising, especially in a Think Tank, and the interrelationship between funding and impact/influential reporting
• A track record of institutional development and transformation in the public or private sector; experience in both sectors will be an added advantage
• Organisational leadership competencies to manage public and private leaders in a very complex and diversified setting, with groups of varying views, perspectives and approaches
• A good understanding of Research Craft and Practice of Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Policy Development, and Legislation Development within the context of the Nigerian parliamentary economy
• The ability to lead, moderate, facilitate and deliver policy/legislative dialogues, roundtables and position papers
• A Law Degree and a minimum of 15 years post call-to-bar experience