UK PACT Nigeria Country Fund Manager (Programme Delivery) at Palladium Group

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• The Nigeria Fund Manager will be a key in-country leader of the Palladium UK PACT team, accountable for the delivery performance of the Nigeria portfolio. The postholder will manage, monitor and coordinate UK PACT activities in Nigeria, working closely with the British High Commission (BHC) in Abuja and the FCDO lead in the UK to support strategy development, pipeline development, partner performance management and results-focused delivery of UK PACT grants and technical assistance.
• Key overall responsibilities focus on 1) client management with FCDO; 2) fund and team management; and 3) project management with implementing partners and government of Nigeria counterparts.
• The Fund Manager is the on-the-ground lead for Palladium, coordinating day-to-day delivery, enabling effective decision-making between in-country stakeholders and the wider UK PACT team. The role is hybrid, with in-person presence in Abuja required.

Specifically, the Nigeria Fund Manager will be responsible for the following delivery and leadership areas:

Strategy Development And Engagement

• Work collaboratively with BHC team, FCDO UK, the Palladium core team to implement an adaptive strategy for UK PACT-funded projects in-country drawing on the various types of funds, skill-shares and technical assistance available.
• Identifying complementary existing programmes (funded by the UK and other donors) to feed into UK PACT country implementation plans, theories of change and log-frames and avoid programme duplication.
• Provide technical advice and input for 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 flag policy, technological and commercial developments and risks that could influence the delivery of UK-Nigeria climate collaboration.

Stakeholder Relationships

• Maintain an excellent working relationship with the BHC team and FCDO HQ lead, supporting them in engagement with partner country government agencies, civil society groups, research agencies, (green) financial institutions and relevant private sector firms in order to collaboratively design and generate buy-in for the programme’s strategy, plans, and resource requirements.
• Act as an ambassador for UK PACT in Nigeria, promoting funding opportunities to potential implementing partners, project and programme outputs to intended beneficiaries, and broader UK engagement on low-carbon development where relevant, and as agreed with FCDO.
• Understand political economy dynamics within climate transitions, government of Nigeria, and within FCDO.

Programme Management: Identification, Selection and Design of Interventions

• Coordinate grant funding windows in accordance with country implementation plans, and lead on market engagement to ensure the right local stakeholders are aware of, and well-placed to apply for, funding opportunities.
• Organise, manage and run call for proposals in collaboration with post, the Palladium team in the UK and the FCDO lead.
• Facilitate and lead the project selection process, particularly with regard to assessing deliverability and impact potential on the ground.
• Lead project set-up, coordinating with the Palladium PMU and Regional team to adhere to any local due diligence required and to support initial briefing to potential Implementation Partners.
• Advise FCDO on potential to extend, scale up or replicate successful projects, and work with successful Implementation Partners to do this with FCDO approval.
• 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. Provide local context and expertise needed to improve the quality of Nigeria UK PACT portfolio implementation in the targeted region.

Delivery Performance, Reporting And Financial Management

• Lead high-quality partner performance management, including reviewing progress against outputs, deliverables and MEL requirements, and agreeing corrective actions where needed.
• Oversee and quality-assure implementing partner reporting to ensure it meets FCDO standards and can be used confidently for donor reporting.
• Own the in-country risk management approach across the portfolio (delivery, political economy, safeguarding, fraud and compliance), ensuring issues are mitigated quickly and escalated appropriately.
• Coordinate regular reporting to FCDO/BHC (including quarterly progress updates), covering progress against outputs, key achievements and challenges, next steps, budget/spend/forecast, and key risks and decisions required.
• Provide budget stewardship for the portfolio (planning, forecasting and value-for-money minded decision-making) in collaboration with Palladium finance and the core team.
• Contribute to programme governance and decision-making (in-country and centrally) as required, ensuring delivery is aligned to strategy and fund KPIs.

What Success Looks Like (first 6–12 Months)

• A clear, jointly-owned fund implementation plan and pipeline agreed with BHC/FCDO, aligned to UK PACT priorities and Nigeria’s context.
• A performing portfolio: project partners supported and held to account; delivery risks and finance actively managed; evidence and learning feeding back into decisions.
• Well-run funding rounds and a strong, diverse pipeline of credible implementing partners (public, private and civil society), in line with the fund strategy.
• High-quality reporting and communications to FCDO/BHC, with timely, accurate updates and clear escalation when needed.

Reporting

• The position will report and be accountable to the UK PACT Africa Regional Lead.

Location and duration

• This role will be full-time hybrid role, based in Abuja, Nigeria starting from June 2026 initially through to March 2027. The UK PACT programme is anticipating confirmation of an extension to the programme for up to two years and therefore this contract may be extended based on performance and extension of the UK PACT programme up to March 2029.

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION
Essential Requirements

• Donor and client management: strong reporting skills and confidence engaging donor and government counterparts, including drafting/quality-assuring formal reporting and responding to ad-hoc requests.
• Stakeholder engagement: demonstrated ability to build networks and trusted relationships across government, civil society, research bodies, private sector and (green) financial institutions, and communicate effectively with stakeholders at different levels of seniority.
• Programme / project / fund delivery leadership: 8+ years’ experience managing complex programmes or grant portfolios, with clear evidence of delivering results on time and to a high standard.
• Grant portfolio management: experience running competitive calls (e.g., calls for proposals), leading selection processes, contracting/set-up, and managing implementing partner performance across multiple workstreams.
• Team leadership: proven experience leading, coaching and line-managing teams to high performance (including remote/partnered ways of working).
• Adaptive management and risk: ability to navigate political economy and delivery uncertainty, identify risks early (delivery, safeguarding, fraud/compliance) and act decisively to mitigate/escalate.
• Budget stewardship: ability to oversee budgets/forecasts and value-for-money decisions (in collaboration with finance specialists).
• Professional fluency in spoken and written English; strong organisational, interpersonal and communication skills.

Desirable

• Experience on FCDO-funded (or similar donor-funded) programmes and strong familiarity with donor compliance expectations.
• Sector experience in climate policy, clean energy transition and/or green finance (Nigeria or comparable contexts).
• Experience designing or influencing country strategies / theories of change / logframes, and using MEL evidence to drive decisions and improvements.

Key competencies

• Strong programme and grant management: confident managing a complex portfolio of grantees/suppliers across sectors, from set-up to close-out.
• Reporting excellence: able to produce and quality-assure clear, evidence-based donor reporting and respond effectively to ad-hoc donor requests.
• Sector understanding and curiosity: good knowledge of (or willingness to rapidly learn) Nigeria’s climate / low-carbon policy landscape, including key state and non-state actors relevant to climate change and low-carbon development.
• Relationship-building and influencing: demonstrated ability to build networks and communicate with stakeholders at different levels of seniority.
• Organisation and communication: excellent organisational, interpersonal, administrative and communication skills; able to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strategic judgement: able to see the bigger picture, identify opportunities for innovation/value-add, and stay alert to delivery risks (and act early).
• Resilience and adaptability: flexible, solutions-focused, and able to adapt to changing circumstances and priorities.
• Collaboration: highly collaborative and committed to close working and open communication with in-country colleagues, UK-based team members, and consortium/UK PACT partners.
• Neutrality and professionalism: commitment to neutrality in dealings with stakeholders (including political stakeholders) to build trusted relationships and maximise programme effectiveness.
• Professional fluency in English.
• Strong monitoring, reporting and MEL capability, including quarterly donor reporting. Experience ensuring compliance with anti‑fraud, safeguarding and due diligence standards. Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with:
• Government agencies
• Civil society
• Research institutions
• Financial institutions
• Private sector actors