In-Country Fund Associate Nigeria, UK PACT at Palladium Group

Programme Overview

• UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a UK Government programme funded through International Climate Finance (ICF) that has been running since 2018. The programme’s overall objective is to alleviate poverty, working primarily through reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• UK PACT is a flexible technical assistance (TA) programme that is designed to support ODA eligible countries to increase their future climate ambitions, reduce their emissions, and accelerate just transitions to clean growth.
• A key feature of UK PACT is that it aims to respond explicitly to partner government demand for capacity building interventions, and that it shares UK expertise (for example in areas such as climate legislation, green finance, and smart energy).

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• We are searching for an experienced In-Country Fund Associate Nigeria, UK PACT at our Abuja facility. 
• The Nigeria Fund Associate will be a key in-country member of the Palladium UK PACT team supporting management of day-to-day activities from project implementation and reporting to stakeholder engagement and context analysis to ensure overall programme success.
• The position is hybrid, with in-person presence in Abuja determined by programme activities and client requirements, and functions under the guidance and direct supervision of the Nigeria Country Fund Manager.

Specifically, the Nigeria Fund Associate will:
Strategy Development and Engagement:

• Support on continuous context analysis and assessment of local market capacity to identify the most appropriate avenues for interventions and pathways to climate change impact within each key strategic sector; and
• Support further demand scoping for UK PACT-funded projects in-country, including stakeholder mapping and engagement, identification of complementary existing programmes (funded by the UK and other donors) to avoid programme duplication, and horizon scanning.
• Take the lead in overseeing MEL frameworks across the portfolio, ensuring alignment with programme objectives, synthesising insights across projects, and identifying opportunities for cross-learning and strategic adjustments

Stakeholder Relationships:

• Support the UK PACT Nigeria Country Fund Manager in promoting UK PACT funding opportunities to potential implementing partners, project and programme outputs to intended beneficiaries, and broader UK engagement on low-carbon development where relevant
• Working closely with the UK PACT Nigeria Country Fund Manager, contribute to, and where appropriate lead the management of day-to-day interactions with local stakeholders, specifically supporting the relationships with project applicants and grant recipients/implementing partners
• Maintain an excellent working relationship with local FCDO team at Post to collaboratively design and generate buy-in for the programme activities

Project Management: Identification, Selection and Design of Interventions:

• Support the UK PACT Nigeria Fund Manager and Country Programmes core team in coordination of grant funding windows and support market engagement to ensure the right local stakeholders are aware of, and well-placed to apply for, UK PACT funding opportunities;
• Contribute to the project screening and selection process, particularly with regard to assessing deliverability and impact potential on the ground;
• Support the UK PACT Nigeria Fund Manager to oversee timely implementation of projects and regularly ensure the feedback of results, impacts and learning through quarterly and monthly delivery reports to FCDO covering overall progress, progress against outputs, main activities and outputs for the next period, budget, spend and forecast, and risks;
• Support the UK PACT Nigeria Fund Manager and Country Programmes core team to adhere to any local due diligence required from Implementing Partners and to support initial briefing to potential Implementation Partners;
• Support defence against fraud, corruption and safeguarding risks, conducting spot checks and other processes to ensure FCDO grant funding is spent as intended and that Implementation Partners meet FCDO compliance requirements; and
• Support the UK PACT Nigeria Fund Manager in advising on the potential to extend, scale up or replicate successful projects, and work with successful Implementation Partners to do this with FCDO approval.
• If needed, provide local context and expertise needed to improve the quality of Nigeria UK PACT portfolio implementation in the targeted region.

Programme Reporting and Financial Management:

• Support Implementing Partners on project reporting (technical, financial, results and risk), ensuring reporting meets FCDO requirements and Palladium’s MEL framework for UK PACT, providing a coordination and quality assurance function; and
• Support the oversight of project expenditures, assist with preparing budgets, analytic documents and expenditure forecasts, amendments, assist in the preparation of financial reports, and provide the interface for project internal and external audits;
• Support with supplier cost forecast and invoicing processes;
• Support identification of country and project-specific risk management, working with FCDO in post and in the UK, the Team Leader and PMU.

Reporting:

• The position will report and be accountable to the UK PACT Nigeria Fund Manager.
• This role will be full-time hybrid role, based in Abuja, Nigeria starting from 5th January 2026 through to the 31st December 2026. The contract may be extended based on performance and/or extension of the UK PACT programme.

Requirements

Essential Criteria:
Minimum five years of working experiences, with minimum two years of experience working of one or more of the priority areas below:

• Climate policy
• Green finance
• Energy transition

Key Competencies and Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred: 

• Programme and grant management skills, with experience supporting the deliver and management of projects, grantees or subcontracts
• Strong reporting skills with proven ability to contribute to client formal reporting and ad-hoc requests.
• Good knowledge and/or willingness to learn more about the environmental / low carbon sector in terms of policy landscape, relevant state and non-state actors in relation to climate change, and low-carbon economic development. Experience in climate policy and governance is preferred.
• Good  knowledge and understanding of the local political economy and business operating context in Nigeria, including socio-economic context and development challenges and priorities
• Strong organisational, inter-personal administration and communication skills
• Strong financial management and administration skills, with the ability to review and quality assure the financial reports of projects
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English
• Shows flexibility and ability to adapt to changing circumstances
• Highly collaborative and committed to close working and open communication with colleagues in post and in the UK, and other UK PACT partners
• Commitment to neutrality in all dealings with stakeholders, including political stakeholders, to build trusted relationships and ensure maximum effectiveness of the programme