Program Officer

Ford Foundation

Lagos, Nigeria

The Program Officer should be well-versed in gender and social norms responsive programming with a particular focus on gender-based violence prevention approaches and have a practical knowledge of gender frameworks such as the Gender, Equality, and Social Inclusion Framework (GESI). The ideal candidate would have a multidisciplinary and international background, strong social science research experience, and they should understand the West African context especially Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal in that order. In addition to bringing an intersectional lens and gender analysis to this work, candidates should have a commitment to reducing social inequality.

The Program Officer will help think through engagements with religious and cultural institutions, leaders of faith and culture, women’s and civil society organizations on preventing gender-based violence as well as working with governments of the focal countries on improving funding and programs for gender based violence intervention.

The Program Officer is responsible for the development of grant portfolios and all related activities, based on the strategies and approaches defined in the Foundation’s Thematic areas and regional context. They ensure grantmaking strategies are developed to support the Foundation’s strategic development framework: building strong and impactful institutions, supporting the leadership of people and supporting impactful projects.

The Program Officer will be based in the Ford Foundation’s Lagos office and will report to the Foundation’s Regional Director. They will build relationships with colleagues in West Africa and in the Foundation’s other regional offices and the New York office.

Responsibilities

The Program Officer is responsible for the development and implementation of a grant portfolio and ensuring all related activities (grant making, convenings, thought leadership, civil society strengthening, government relations) are designed to deliver on the Office’s goals and strategies. They will assess and analyze the landscape of organizations and identify which actors to work with to shape agendas that would promote specific strategic outcomes and make grants to this end. The Program Officer shares lessons with Foundation colleagues worldwide; collaborates broadly with the West Africa office team; collaborates with other members of the global GREJ team; and serves as a ‘connector’ of grantees. They work with leaders in a variety of sectors on issues of common concern to leverage resources towards common goals.

More specifically as part of a multi-disciplinary team, the Program Officer will:

Manage, monitor and coordinate a grants portfolio, including: annual grant planning, identifying and working with the Foundation’s grantees to develop proposals for grant recommendations, undertaking periodic reviews of progress with grantees, performing grantee site visits, and reviewing financial and narrative reports from grantees;
Contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of team strategies, working to fulfill the Foundation’s West Africa Office and the international program goals;
Develop grant making activities in a team-oriented way, that are aligned with global and local strategy goals, and designed to achieve significant and scalable impact;
Contribute to ensuring that intersectional programming is realized across all lines of work;
Develop and implement grantee convenings and reflections to strategize and review opportunities, challenges and advances;
Recommend and participate in learning and evaluation activities to guide the evolution of programmatic work, promote exchange and strategic partnership;
Represent the Foundation and its work to the government, media, academia, business, philanthropic and civic leaders through meetings, updates, speeches, briefings and interviews, with guidance from the Regional Director;
Play a leadership role within the team, working toward and influencing team collaboration, team building and team effectiveness, modeling these skills for the team;
Serve as a mentor and coach to Program Associate and Program Assistant.

Qualifications

A minimum of 8 years of experience leading social justice strategies and a Master’s degree in a related field of study or relevant and equivalent experience;
Subject-matter expertise in gender and demonstration of strong generalist cross-cutting work in the social justice arena;
Exceptional leadership presence – internally and externally;
Exceptional communications skills - strong active listening skills, constructive verbal and written skills, strong public presentation skills;
Deep understanding of the regional context and cultures;
Demonstrated ability to be a productive member of a community of people at work, respecting differences while working toward shared goals, comfort with periods of ambiguity, constructive participation in ongoing organizational development;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English;
Willingness to work to a flexible schedule, including occasional travel within the region and abroad.

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