Governance & Rights Lead at Christian Aid

Christian Aid (CA) is a UK-based international NGO partnering with others to end poverty in Africa. At the heart of this vision is the transformation of the lives of people who live in poverty, empowering them to have a brighter future. Christian Aid works in more than 30 countries and has been operating in Nigeria since 2003. The Nigeria Country programme focuses on Community Health and HIV, Accountable Governance including humanitarian response and Gender.

We are recruiting to fill position below:

Job Title: Governance & Rights Lead

Locations: Abuja
Job Type: Permanent. Full Time. Hybrid Working (2 days per week in the office)

About The Role

• Reporting in to the Global Head of Programme Policy and Practice, the Governance & Rights Lead is a key role designated as the single point of accountability governance and rights leadership across the organisation, aligning with Christian Aid’s organisational values and goals.
• The post-holder will be responsible for co-developing a thematic strategy, collaborating with the Strategy and Learning Manager in organisational effectiveness, and with the Policy and Advocacy Lead in the Policy and Influencing division within the Impact Department.
• The role is ultimately accountable for the delivery of the Thematic Strategy on Governance & Rights and for reporting progress towards this at regular intervals to measure success and maximise impact.

Some of the key responsibilities of the Governance & Rights Lead include:

• Co-develop, create and deliver a thematic strategy for the whole of the Governance & Rights thematic priority, including clear measures of progress and impact/success which are then reported against at regular intervals aligning with organisational values and goals.
• Lead as the organisational technical expert on governance and rights programming and collaborate with staff across all 5 Multi Country Clusters (MCC's) and the broader Impact department, and IPE department so they are able to draw on governance and rights expertise – ours and our partners’ – in order to design, fundraise for and facilitate the delivery of strong signature programme work on governance and rights, maximising impact and income.
• Foster a culture of learning and improvement by identifying best practice among our partners and facilitating knowledge sharing across partners; by commissioning (or directly undertaking when appropriate) research and learning reviews to evidence good practice and course correct where needed.
• Build strong relationships with key policy and advocacy colleagues – particularly the Global Policy and Advocacy Lead for Governance and Rights –, focusing on ensuring insight and learning from programme practice feeds into, and influences public policy development, and provides evidence for advocacy materials.
• Collaborate with the Strategy and Learning Manager and the Impact and Evidence Manager to ensure appropriate evidence is being gathered and consolidated to measure and communicate the impact of our work on governance and rights and to adapt our signature programme approaches as necessary.
• Lead and build external networks globally so Christian Aid’s work on governance and rights is presented and promoted nationally and internationally, resulting in 1) an enhanced organisational profile within the sector to maximise our impact, 2) a portfolio of work that is innovative and in line with sector best-practice, 3) a pool of potential partners to engage and work with.
• Programme advisory and resource materials on governance and rights are developed on the basis of organisational values, goals, strategies, adaptive programming approaches, and informed by ongoing learning of Christian Aid

About You
Essential:

• Postgraduate or equivalent in International Development or relevant discipline.
• Detailed understanding of current thinking/debates on governance and rights (all human rights, including social, economic, civil and political), at global levels and across West & Central Africa, East and Southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East in line with Christian Aid's 5 MCC's coverage.
• Extensive experience of translating ‘rights’ concepts into practice within development programmes, across social, economic and civil/political issues in a multi-country setting, and preferably in more than 1 region.
• Detailed understanding and experience of governance programming, both on the ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ side (i.e. institutional strengthening/accountability, and empowerment and voice).
• Understanding the role of faith-based actors promoting good governance and defending human rights.
• Extensive experience of International Development, strategic planning and multi-country programme management.
• Detailed understanding of current thinking in sector specific M&E, including adaptive management.
• Developed ability to apply analysis of power/social exclusion to programme design and management.
• Highly developed negotiation, facilitation, influencing, diverse stakeholder engagement skills, and ability to promote critical thinking and reflection.
• Significant experience of providing training, technical support and/or advice.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills, including the ability to discuss sensitive issues and inspire others to take up new challenges.

Application Closing Date
4th January, 2026.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online