Country Representative for Nigeria, based in Abuja 24 views0 applications

WHAT IS IMPACT INITIATIVES ?

Created in 2010, IMPACT is a Geneva-based NGO and the largest independent data provider in contexts of crisis. We aim to support a range of stakeholders in making better, more informed decisions in humanitarian, stabilisation, and development settings. We believe that a key pathway to better planning and decision-making is direct engagement with local communities.

HOW DO WE WORK ?

IMPACT takes an initiative-based approach to structuring our programming. Each initiative has a specific aim, operational model, and portfolio of solutions.

REACH strengthens evidence-based humanitarian decision-making through efficient data collection, management, and analysis – before, during, and after an emergency.

PANDA improves the impact of humanitarian and development interventions through programme design, assessments, and monitoring & evaluation.

AGORA promotes localized and multi-sectoral aid action in support of the recovery and stabilisation of crisis-affected communities, in partnership with local stakeholders

Through our global team of research specialists, on average IMPACT publishes more than 1,700 information products on a yearly basis.

In 2010, IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarters are based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which particularly allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for a Country Representative to lead our Nigeria mission, based in Abuja.

Position: Country Representative

Contract duration: 12 months (pending funding confirmation)

Location: Abuja, Nigeria (with occasional stays in Dakar, Senegal)

Starting Date: As soon as possible

Application Deadline: 23 February 2026

COUNTRY PROFILE

Nigeria is a country of significant regional diversity, navigating a range of social, humanitarian, and development challenges shaped by protracted insecurity, economic pressures, and long-standing structural factors. Across several regions, these dynamics continue to affect access to basic services and livelihoods, contributing to varied patterns of vulnerability and resilience. While international humanitarian coordination and engagement has historically focused on the Northeast, security dynamics in the Northwest are intensifying in a context where reliable, up-to-date information remains limited, suggesting the potential for significant unmet needs. Evolving needs and opportunities for engagement across multiple regions underscore the importance of context-specific, evidence-based approaches. Nigeria’s scale and current landscape offer meaningful opportunities to generate high-quality analysis, support informed decision-making, and contribute to more effective, accountable, and sustainable responses.

Against this backdrop, IMPACT Initiatives has developed a wide range of research cycles to provide an evidence-base for the humanitarian community. Historically, IMPACT Initiatives has been present in both the Northeast and Northwest of Nigeria. Thematically, across 2021 – 2023 IMPACT Initiatives fielded Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs), Hard to Reach (H2R) assessments, Area Based Assessments (ABA), Rapid Overviews of Areas of Return (ROAR), Thematic Assessments (TA), Rapid Assessments (RA), and WASH Infrastructure Mapping, while also playing a key role in Famine Monitoring, Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance, and the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI).

FUNCTIONS

Under the management of IMPACT’s Regional Coordinator in Geneva, the CR is responsible for representing IMPACT and managing and developing IMPACT’s programs in Nigeria. At present IMPACT programmes comprise an FCDO-funded Third Party Monitoring (TPM) project, where IMPACT serves in a Consortium with FACT Foundation, and pending funding confirmation, programs are also likely to include IM support to coordination structures in country, as well as our flagship project MSNA. The CR will be overall accountable for the delivery of the programs, whist focusing on stakeholder engagement and fundraising within the wider response, in line with the mission’s strategic objectives. The CR is furthermore in regular contact with HQ, ensuring that organizational risks are promptly and clearly communicated to the Regional Coordinator D, and other relevant HQ Senior Management. She/he will promote organizational vision and core values across the mission and will actively link with HQ to contribute to the implementation of IMPACT’s global strategies.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Country Representative responsibilities include the following:

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

• Provide overall strategic leadership to the IMPACT Nigeria mission, guiding the Senior Management Team to develop, maintain, and deliver a clear and forward-looking Country Strategy aligned with contextual dynamics, organisational priorities, and stakeholder needs.
• Translate IMPACT’s global objectives into coherent, realistic, and impactful portfolios of work across regions and technical areas, ensuring alignment and shared ownership across teams.
• Continuously assess the evolving Nigerian context, identifying strategic opportunities to strengthen IMPACT’s relevance, analytical coverage, and influence, including in under-assessed or emerging priority areas.

PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Provide strategic oversight of IMPACT’s research, assessments, and analysis portfolio in Nigeria, ensuring high-quality, timely, and methodologically sound outputs
• Guide programme teams to ensure effective planning, coordination, and delivery of projects in line with approved strategies, donor requirements, and IMPACT standards.
• Ensure strong learning, adaptation, and use of evidence across programmes, promoting outcome-oriented approaches and practical uptake by decision-makers.

FUNDRAISING & DONOR ENGAGEMENT

• Lead and support the identification of funding opportunities aligned with the Nigeria Country Strategy, in close coordination with IMPACT HQ.
• Oversee the development of high-quality proposals and concept notes, ensuring strategic coherence, analytical ambition, and feasibility.
• Develop and maintain constructive, trust-based relationships with donors, promoting regular exchange around evidence, priorities, and lessons learned.

FINANCE AND BUDGET OVERSIGHT

• Ensure sound financial oversight across the mission, including budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting, in close coordination with HQ Finance and our operational partner FACT Foundation.
• Proactively identify financial risks and support mitigation measures to ensure efficient and responsible use of resources in support of strategic objectives

OPERATIONS

• Ensure that appropriate operational structures and processes are in place to support effective programme delivery, including HR, finance, logistics, and administration.
• In coordination with FACT Foundation and relevant partners, support the implementation of security management and contingency planning, ensuring duty of care and staff safety are prioritized.

HUMAN RESOURCES & TEAM LEADERSHIP

• Provide leadership and direction to the IMPACT Nigeria team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and performance-oriented working culture.
• Support staff development, capacity building, and career progression, ensuring clear roles, accountability, and alignment with organisational values.
• Serve as line manager to senior programme staff, providing guidance on strategy, implementation, and people management.

REPRESENTATION & COORDINATION

• Represent IMPACT in key coordination, analytical, and decision-making fora, ensuring the organisation’s evidence and perspectives inform humanitarian and development responses in Nigeria.
• Strengthen engagement with UN agencies, NGOs, donors, and research partners, positioning IMPACT as a credible and trusted provider of analysis.
• Ensure close coordination and coherence with FACT foundation, IMPACT’s operational partner in Nigeria.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

• The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about IMPACT’s programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every IMPACT staff member.

DATA CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

• The IMPACT CC will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of any information and data belonging to IMPACT and its partners or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

• Academic: Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar)
• Management experience: Previous experience in a senior management role in an INGO at field level. Proven track record in successful management of international and national teams in humanitarian contexts
• Familiarity aid system: Familiarity with the aid system, and the research community.
• Communication/reporting skills: Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience in contributing to high level presentations/briefings.
• Years of work experience: At least 5 years of relevant working experience or proven progression within IMPACT.
• Research skills: Excellent research and analytical skills an asset. Experience in assessments. M&E, field research, evaluations an asset.
• Software skills: Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset.
• Multi-tasking skills: Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles in complex environment.
• Level of independence: A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently.
• Cross-cultural work environment: Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.
• Experience in geographical region: Past experience in Sub-Saharan Africa is desirable.
• Language skills: Fluency in English required.
• Security environment: Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 4’740 CHF and 4’800 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 500 USD
• NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in a guesthouse.
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered)
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training;
• Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees.