Programme Manager, Democracy & Governance (Hybrid) at a Reputable Company

A reputable company is recruiting suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Programme Manager, Democracy & Governance

Location: Abuja (FCT)
Employment Type: Full-time (Hybrid)

Description

• The Programme Manager - Democracy & Governance will provide strategic and operational leadership for our Democracy & Governance portfolio. The role is responsible for designing, implementing, strengthening and growing high-impact programmes that advance women's political participation, democratic governance, civic engagement, electoral inclusion, leadership development, research, advocacy and policy reform.
• This is a senior delivery and thought-partnership role. The Programme Manager will work closely with the CEO to shape portfolio direction, maintain donor and partner confidence, participate across multidisciplinary teams, strengthen programme systems and ensure our work remains practical, evidence-led, politically aware and grounded in the realities of women seeking power and influence in Nigeria and across Africa.

Key Responsibilities
The selected Candidate will be responsible for, but not limited to, carrying out the following functions:
Strategic Programme Leadership:

• Lead the design, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of our Democracy & Governance, elections portfolio.
• Translate our strategic priorities into annual implementation plans, work plans, budgets, milestones, and measurable deliverables.
• Provide clear direction to Programme Officers, Programme Assistants, consultants, technical advisers, and implementing partners.
• Ensure programme delivery aligns with organisational priorities, donor commitments, safeguarding standards and impact objectives.
• Strengthen programme management systems, standard operating procedures, implementation calendars, and quality assurance processes.
• Identify emerging opportunities, risks and strategic interventions linked to election cycles, governance reforms, civic space, women's leadership and partner priorities.
• Lead programme review meetings, implementation planning sessions and quarterly programme performance reviews.

Programme Delivery and Technical Oversight:

• Oversee end-to-end programme delivery, from concept development and grant design through implementation, reporting and close-out.
• Ensure timely delivery of programme milestones, outputs, outcomes and donor deliverables.
• Review concept notes, proposals, implementation plans, budgets, technical reports, policy products and donor submissions for quality and coherence.
• Provide technical oversight across activities such as leadership training, candidate support, convenings, civic engagement, policy dialogues, research projects and coalition work.
• Embed gender equality, disability inclusion, safeguarding, conflict sensitivity and do-no-harm principles across programme design and implementation.
• Coordinate programme risk management, issue escalation and mitigation planning.

Policy, Research and Thought Leadership:

• Lead our Democracy & Governance policy agenda in close collaboration with the CEO.
• Drive research and learning initiatives that generate evidence for advocacy, policy reform, public engagement and programme improvement.
• Oversee the development of policy briefs, technical reports, position papers, research publications, learning notes and other knowledge products.
• Monitor national, regional and global developments affecting democracy, elections, governance, gender equality, political financing, civic participation and women's representation.
• Translate research findings and field intelligence into practical recommendations for policymakers, partners, donors and programme teams.
• Facilitate policy dialogues, roundtables and multi-stakeholder engagements that position us as a credible voice on women's political leadership and inclusive governance.

Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Partnerships:

• Develop and implement stakeholder engagement strategies aligned with portfolio priorities and organisational positioning.
• Build and sustain high-level relationships with government institutions, electoral management bodies, political actors, civil society organisations, development partners, regional institutions, academic institutions and multilateral agencies.
• Represent us at national, regional and international meetings, conferences, donor engagements and policy platforms.
• Identify partnerships that strengthen programme delivery, expand our influence and create practical pathways for women leaders, aspirants, candidates and public office holders.
• Manage partner expectations, follow-through and documentation so collaborations translate into measurable value.

Resource Mobilisation and Business Development:

• Work closely with the CEO and Growth Team to identify funding opportunities aligned with Democracy & Governance priorities.
• Contribute technical leadership to proposal development, grant design, program narratives, budgets and donor presentations.
• Support donor engagement, relationship management and portfolio positioning.
• Track donor priorities, funding trends and windows for democracy, governance, gender equality, civic technology, elections and leadership development.
• Contribute to programme sustainability by packaging evidence, lessons, partnerships and implementation models for future funding and scale.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning:

• Work with the MEAL function to ensure programme performance is measured through clear indicators, baselines, targets, learning questions and impact evidence.
• Review programme data regularly and use insights to guide strategic decisions, implementation adjustments and donor reporting.
• Lead programme learning sessions, after-action reviews and reflection processes.
• Ensure lessons learned are documented and integrated into future programme design and delivery.
• Promote evidence-based decision-making across programme implementation and external advocacy.

Cross-functional Input:

• The Programme Manager will actively coordinate across our internal functions to ensure programmes are visible, compliant,well-resourced and operationally sound.
• Communications:strengthen programme visibility, advocacy campaigns, thought leadership content and technical accuracy of external communications.
• Growth and Partnerships: provide technical expertise for donor engagement, strategic positioning and partnership development.
• Finance and Audit: monitor programme budgets, grant compliance, donor reporting obligations and audit recommendations related to programme implementation.
• People and Culture: support workforce planning, role clarity, learning needs and performance improvement for programme teams.

Team Leadership and Performance Management:

• Lead relationship with project consultants and other team members as applicable.
• Promote collaboration, initiative, learning, documentation, and strong internal communication.
• Model sound judgment, political sensitivity, integrity, responsiveness, and calm execution under pressure.

Required Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Political Science, Public Policy, Development Studies, International Development, Public Administration, Gender Studies, Law or a related discipline.
• Bachelor's Degree with significant relevant experience may be considered.
• 7-10 years of progressive programme management experience within the development, democracy, governance, gender equality or international NGO sector.
• Demonstrated experience managing donor-funded programmes and multi-stakeholder implementation.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, consultants and partners.
• Proven experience in policy advocacy, influencing, research uptake or public-sector engagement.
• Strong grant management, donor reporting, budgeting and compliance experience.
• Experience working with government institutions, electoral stakeholders, civil society and development partners.
• Experience using monitoring, evaluation, learning and impact data to improve programme decisions.
• Direct experience with women's political participation, elections, governance reform, leadership development or civic engagement is strongly preferred.

Core Competencies:
Technical Competencies:

• Strategic programme management
• Democracy and governance, elections programming
• Women's political participation and gender equality
• Social inclusion, safeguarding and do-no-harm practice
• Public policy analysis and advocacy strategy
• Research, evidence generation and knowledge translation
• Grant, donor and compliance management
• Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning
• Risk management and budget oversight
• Stakeholder engagement and partnership development
• Technical writing, reporting and executive briefing

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and political judgment
• People leadership, coaching and mentoring
• Decision-making and prioritisation
• Organisational planning and disciplined follow-through
• Collaboration, influence and executive communication
• Adaptability in a fast-moving civic and political environment
• Innovation, learning orientation and continuous improvement

Salary Range
N600,000 - N650,000 (Gross) per month.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Application and Resume to: recruitment@salveconsultinglimited.com using the Job title as the subject of their email