Senior Programme Officer (SPO) at International Budget Partnership

About this role 

• The International Budget Partnership (IBP) is looking to appoint a Senior Programme Officer with excellent external representation skills and a strong knowledge of civil society, government and other key stakeholders.
• The Senior Program Officer (SPO) works closely with the Country Manager to design and implement a new country strategy in Nigeria under the second phase of IBP’s global SPARK program. The role offers the chance to effect change and impact lives by ensuring that public resources match public priorities. The focus of work in Nigeria will be to better link budget expert groups with campaigns, communities, and activists working to advance a specific issue or service specific campaigns.
• At its core, SPARK is about building civil society capacity, with a strong focus on analyzing public budgets to expose and unblock service delivery gaps affecting the poor and marginalized in Nigeria communities. This second phase of SPARK has an even stronger focus on systems change, gender, and on transfer of power to underserved communities.

Role responsibilities 

These include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinates all technical support required by partners to effectively understand and implement the SPARK in-country strategy, including the planning and provision of the optimum mix of support that partners require to increase the impact of their strategic engagement.
• Plays a key role in facilitating planning, monitoring, and evaluation, and learning processes that feed into adaptive country program strategies and embeds action research into program activities at country level in accordance with overall SPARK and IBP frameworks and processes, and in collaboration with the SPARK and the Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) team.
• Oversees the Program Officers (POs) in the Nigeria office and provides support during programme implementation for the service delivery entry points.
• Manages and facilitates the work of in-country consultants, as appropriate, to undertake the effective implementation of the country strategy, including engagement with government actors, media, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Supports partners in the processes of applying for, and overseeing the use of their SPARK grant resources, as appropriate and/or required.
• Maintains quality assurance standards and ensures proper documentation standards are maintained for all SPARK reports for internal use in the organisation and to meet donor reporting requirements.
• Reports to and liaises with the Nigeria Country Manager and serves as the primary focal point for programme implementation.
• Supports the Country Manager in building strategic partnerships and maintains positive and effective communication with partners by playing a leading role in sustaining external relationships with partners and development partners.
• Contributes to the identification and cultivation of opportunities for new partnerships and forms of engagement with relevant stakeholders, including state governments, civil society, agency groups  and development partners.
• Contributes to the conduct of outreach for potential donor partners in/for the country, as may be designated by the Nigeria Country Manager, to explore, negotiate, and secure funding support required to implement the IBP country strategy.
• Ensures that partners are provided with technical assistance, analytical support, and learning facilitation in a timely manner. This includes workshops and meetings with program partners and technical advice to strengthen their campaigning and engagement efforts.
• Plays a key role in ensuring the country team has access to current information and knowledge on public financial management, political economy, service delivery challenges in the selected sectors and other relevant issues within the country.
• Supports the Nigeria Country Manager in ensuring that the strategy reflects IBP’s shared values in all aspects of the work, and that colleagues and consultants perform their duties and functions in a collaborative, effective and supportive team environment.

Core competencies

Relationship Management

• Cultural sensitivity and a good understanding of the political economy of Nigeria and subnational level dynamics.
• Strong people skills, including the sensitivity for building relationships and alliances across diverse groups, and the ability to thrive in and contribute to a culture of collaboration and teamwork in a diverse work environment.
• Ability to support the growth of networks of CSOs, including CSO networks for specific service sectors or issues, as well as multi-stakeholder networks where CSOs actively engage.
• Passion and deep commitment to build civil society capacity for effective reform campaigns and advocacy.
• Ability to establish, maintain and grow networks.

Leadership and People Management Skills

• Extensive management experience, covering the key areas of grant management, managing implementation of advocacy, research, and networking undertakings, and managing staff and budgets. 
• Capability to manage multiple projects and teams simultaneously, efficiently, and on time. 
• Ability to effectively oversee the administration of grant awards to CSO partners.
• Ability to plan, execute and manage budgets for the country program.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; high-level ability to communicate effectively with partners, colleagues, consultants, and representatives of government and other multilateral organizations.

Personal Attributes

• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a commitment to and passion for IBP’s mission
• Highly flexible and adaptable to shifting environments and works very well under pressure.
• Motivated to learn and willing to contribute to learning initiatives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; high-level ability to communicate effectively with partners, colleagues, consultants, and representatives of government, multilateral organizations, and other donors.
• Strategic thinker, focused on identifying and addressing problems.
• A high level of organization; a strong ability to prioritize tasks, to meet multiple deadlines and to develop a new area of work.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office package required, proficiency with other specialist software applications desirable.

Education and Experience 

Essential

• Master's degree in economics, political science, public policy management, political economy studies, public administration or related fields is preferred.
• 6 – 8 years of experience working in civil society campaigns and advocacy, including substantial time working with grassroots groups, social movements, or women-led pressure groups.

Desirable

• Experience in implementing and managing programs that support social movements and civil society organizations to engage and advocate for greater transparency, accountability, and participation in policy decisions.
• Firm understanding of the political economy nuances of service delivery in Nigeria, especially from a systems-change perspective.
• Good understanding of public financial management policies, processes and procedures in Nigeria at the federal and sub-national levels.