About the role

The Manager, Nutrition Governance, Africa will serve as a Relationship Manager for the Nutrition Governance Portfolio in Africa, serving as the primary point of contact with the organizations the Portfolio supports, principally national and local governments, other relevant stakeholders, and NI’s country offices. Working closely with Technical Project Managers, the Manager will ensure the engagement and satisfaction of client organizations throughout projects, accompanying projects’ key milestones, and between projects. Working closely with country offices and in-house experts, the Manager will play a key role in identifying future needs and designing new projects. On selected projects, the Manager will be the Technical Project Manager, leading the planning, implementation, and quality assurance of projects, and managing local consultants. The Manager will also represent NI in selected regional networks and forums, and support business development, engaging with donors and partners and supporting proposals.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain a strong relationship with the individuals and organizations NI supports, during and between projects, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain a current understanding of the political economy in each context relevant to ongoing or future projects, including key actors and organizations and their roles, the political environment, partner engagement, and the funding landscape.
• Work with country offices and in-house experts to develop comprehensive transformation agendas, outlining a theory of change and a multi-year suite of nutrition governance projects for select countries.
• Oversee the launch of new projects, ensuring that all preparatory tasks and initiation protocols necessary for the project’s success are implemented, and facilitate the transfer of project management responsibilities to the Technical Project Manager.
• Manage project resources, budgets, and timelines, identifying risks and developing contingency plans as needed.
• Lead the planning, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition governance projects.
• Lead the development and implementation of nutrition strategies within projects, incorporating best practices and innovative approaches.
• Develop proposals and pitch ideas to donors and country partners, securing funding for new initiatives.
• Lead the development of knowledge products and events to support NI’s positioning externally.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, regional government bodies, NGOs, and donor agencies.

About You;

You have;

• Master’s degree in nutrition, Public Health, International Development, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years in project management within international development, with a strong focus on nutrition programs.
• Proven experience managing technical assistance projects, including the remote coordination of consultants, and ideally in nutrition governance.
• Demonstrated expertise in, and experience supporting government with, issues related to nutrition governance, including:
  • Development of nutrition policies and plans;
  • Coordinating the implementation of nutrition programs;
  • Multisectoral coordination mechanisms such as national or subnational nutrition coordination committees or working groups;
  • Nutrition finance, such as the mobilization of government funds for nutrition, or the tracking or reporting of nutrition expenditures;
  • Developing and/or implementing advocacy plans and/or activities;
  • Nutrition-sensitive programming in sectors such as Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, or Social Protection.
• English: Excellent command of English is required, including the ability to summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation, and to produce clear, well-structured, detailed text and reports on complex subjects.
• French and/or Portuguese: Intermediate capacity in French and/or Portuguese will be considered an asset, including the ability to engage in technical discussion, interpret technical text, and to produce clear, detailed texts.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to oversee complex, multi-country projects.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for stakeholder and donor engagement.
• Business development acumen, with a track record of successful proposal writing and donor engagement.
• Financial management experience, including budget tracking and reporting.