State Manager at Palladium Group

Ref Id: req10885

Project Overview and Role

• Global Prosperity Fund’s ‘Skills for Prosperity is a £75m DFID programme, which seeks to improve the cost-effectiveness, access, quality, relevance and equity of skills through innovative approaches in 9 Middle-Income Countries around the world, including Nigeria.
• In Nigeria, the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) country programme will work in three targeted states to:
  • Improve access to quality Higher Education and TVET for youth and young women, with a focus on improving access to and the quality of apprenticeships, and supporting training institutions to deliver demand-driven, competency-based training,
  • Strengthen education-to-employment linkages, and Build the capacity of training institutions to improve outcomes for vulnerable women and people with disabilities.
  • Apprenticeships, training, and capacity building interventions will focus on identified high growth sectors of the economy (Agriculture / Agribusiness / agro-allied industries; Creative and Entertainment, and Information and Communications Technology sectors).
  • S4P aims to directly benefit youth, vulnerable women and People with Disabilities (PwD) in targeted states of Kaduna in the north, Benue in the central belt, and Lagos in the south.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Background:

• S4P requires a State Manager for Benue with a relevant track record, and interest or experience in the private sector and skills training in the state.
• The State Manager should have the drive to tackle new and complex challenges and work with us to learn, adapt and deliver sustainable benefits for Benue State and for Nigeria.

Responsibilities:
The Benue State Manager will be responsible for delivering the following:

• Responsible for programme management and implementation at state level within Benue State, reporting directly to the Team Leader
• Lead and manage the programme team in the state
• Oversee and facilitate all S4P skills development interventions in the state
• Lead the development of policy at state level on behalf of the programme
• Identify, develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders in state and local government, private sector, academia and in civil society in order to promote and its approach both in-state and in other states, as opportunities arise
• Collaborate with and report to the intervention managers (PSD, Skills and Equity) to ensure successful execution of interventions at state level
• Work with MREL team to assess the impact, demand and feasibility of the interventions and facilitate monitoring
• Feed updates to the Communications and Safeguarding Officer on communications activities and support with developing relevant communications at state level
• Any other tasks as assigned by the Team Leader.

Level of effort and Location:

• Full time and located in Benue. No moving allowance provided.

Reporting:

• The Benue State Manager will report directly to S4P Nigeria’s Team Leader.

Specific Deliverables:

• Lead in the implementation of all three Outputs’ activities and deliverables at state level in Benue, as well as all cross-cutting activities and deliverables, as outlined and agreed in the final inception report
• Manage the partner engagement databases on an ongoing basis, and be the main point of contact and relationship builder with key Programme partners at the state level in Benue
• Manage and implement the Programme Communications Strategy at state level in Benue
• Manage and implement the Programme Safeguarding Strategy at state level in Benue.
• Manage the state-level team.

Required Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Public Administration, Management or related discipline, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of the Nigerian social and political context and developments in skills development and private sector engagement, especially in Benue State.
• Demonstrated outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, organizational, supervisory and team-building skills.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing programme operations.
• Willingness to travel within Benue state and to Abuja as needed.
• Proven programmatic, technical and managerial expertise in providing support to institutions to strengthen their management and/or leadership capacity, systems and processes, and sustainability potential.
• Proven ability to establish and sustain interpersonal and professional relationships with government stakeholder and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, the private sector, and donors.
• In-depth knowledge of FCDO-funded projects, regulations, compliance, and reporting will be an added advantage.
• Ability to multi-task and proven knowledge and skills in use of Microsoft Office Suite (Word processing, Excel and PowerPoint) is mandatory.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, presentation skills and fluency in English language.
• Ability to speak a local language spoken in Benue will be an added advantage.
• Excellent group facilitation and communication skills; experience in multi-stakeholder consultation, and strategic planning.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills.