Nigeria INGO Forum Deputy Director at iMMAP

Background

• The Nigeria INGO Forum (NIF) is a collaborative platform established in late 2014 to facilitate effective and principled interaction, engagement, and coordination among international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Nigeria.
• NIF plays a critical role in information sharing and analysis, advocacy and policy engagement, and liaising with government, donors, and UN agencies to ensure that the perspectives of INGOs and affected populations are included in decision-making processes. NIF is currently administered by iMMAP in Abuja and Maiduguri.

Role Overview

• The Deputy Director Abuja will be based in Abuja and play a crucial role in supporting running of the Nigeria INGO Forum as well as Federal and State-level government engagement, coordination among INGOs beyond North-East Nigeria, and fostering engagement across the humanitarian, development, and peace spectrum.
• The primary focus will be on promoting collaboration, information exchange, and joint responses among INGOs, ensuring effective engagement with stakeholders in the humanitarian, peace and development sectors at Abuja level and across the country beyond NE Nigeria, and supporting management of grants and of admin processes.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate NIF members by planning and facilitating action-oriented meetings to enhance information exchange and coordinated responses across the country.
• Represent NIF at key platforms, thematic discussions, and planning sessions, ensuring high-level engagement and promoting the perspectives of INGOs.
• Develop and nurture relationships with government counterparts, donors, and international agencies working in relevant thematic areas, in collaboration with NIF Director and NIF Government Liaison team.
• Devise a plan for the coordination among INGOs in the development and peacebuilding sectors, including on topics such as sustainable development goals, health, resilience, policy environment, public sector reforms, and private sector engagement.
• Engage and form partnerships with the development community in high-level meetings, including government, donors, and diplomatic officials, e.g., Dev Partners Group.
• Collaborate with national counterparts to mobilize resources based on government priorities and available donor resources.
• Facilitate structured and effective information exchange among INGO partners and national NGOs, UN agencies, government entities.
• Lead on the implementation of NIF government engagement strategy in close collaboration with NIF Government Liaison team.
• Stay informed on political, economic, and social contexts, providing regular updates to the INGO Forum Secretariat and its members regarding global, regional, and national development and peacebuilding related trends.
• Develop briefing and guidance materials for new actors, providing support and leading briefings as required.
• Ensure compliance with donor and host agency (i.e., iMMAP) regulations.
• Adhere to security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Draft or review scope of work for hiring and managing technical consultants, ensuring technical efficacy.
• Support NIF director on HR, admin, grants management related tasks, as well as on coordination and representation tasks on an ad hoc basis.

Requirements
Education:

• Advanced University Degree in Public Policy, International Development, Political Science, International Relations, Journalism, Social Sciences or a related technical field; or Undergraduate Degree with significant experience in development or resilience contexts.

Experience:

• Years: Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience, preferably within the aid sector (UN, INGOs, government)
• Representation: Experience in managing humanitarian and/or development programs or engaging in high-level representation and engagement of aid actors
• Contextual understanding: Knowledge of the Nigerian humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding space, and understanding of the related coordination platforms and key stakeholders. Sound understanding of Nigeria's political environment.
• Sectoral understanding: Understanding of key thematic priority areas, including Education, Finance, Governance, Public Health, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Knowledge and understanding of the Humanitarian, Development, Peace (HPD) Nexus approach and related initiatives in Nigeria.
• Negotiation and consensus-building: Proven relationship-building skills and ability to facilitate consensus among diverse views and agendas. Demonstrated experience in facilitating engagement among diverse actors and in diplomatic representation of collective views to various stakeholders. Experience in coordinating aid actors is desirable.
• Influencing: Experience in developing engagement and influencing strategies, and stakeholders and power mappings. Proven experience in influencing policy change and practice is desirable. Track record of lobbying and engaging with high-level actors, supported by strong evidence from the field.
• Strategic approaches: Excellent writing, editing, and analytical skills, with the ability to formulate strategic documents effectively.

Soft Skills:

• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Service-oriented mindset and ability to build consensus.
• Ability to understand and adapt to complex and dynamic situations.
• Proactive, self-managing, and self-motivated.
• Self-driven, flexible, and creative.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and demanding environment.