Technical Director (Nigeria)

Partners of the Americas (POA) is a private, nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1964 that connects people, institutions, and communities across the Western Hemisphere, especially between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its purpose is to build bridges of collaboration to promote sustainable development, strengthen civil society, and create opportunities that improve people’s lives. Over the past six decades, POA has become a strong network that engages volunteers, professionals, governments, and businesses, generating positive impact in education, economic development, agriculture, health, youth leadership, and community resilience.

We are recruiting a Technical Director to lead the USDA Food for Progress Nigeria project (FFPr Nigeria), an initiative funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and implemented by Partners of the Americas (POA). The project’s objective is to expand trade by strengthening food safety, advancing systems efficiency, and reducing non-trade barriers across Nigeria’s agricultural sector. FFPr Nigeria also seeks to increase agricultural productivity through capacity development and enhanced efficiency, while increasing smallholder farmers’ and agribusinesses’ access to finance. The project is implemented from POA’s office in Lagos, with project activities extending to other parts of the country.

Position Summary: The Technical Director is responsible for ensuring technical quality in the design and implementation of FFPr Nigeria’s project activities. The Technical Director coordinates directly with project beneficiaries, the team of technical experts, and support staff to achieve the results projected by USDA, particularly in enhancing productivity and expanding trade within Nigeria’s poultry and aquaculture sectors. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in poultry and aquaculture production systems, with a strong focus on improving productivity and competitiveness while addressing and reducing non-tariff trade barriers. This position reports directly to the Chief of Party. The Technical Director is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Technical Director will have the following main objectives:

Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project’s three (3) activities.

Provide leadership, training, and mentoring for the execution of the project’s activities, including designing operating systems, identifying bottlenecks, facilitating stakeholder coordination, mentoring technical staff, and effectively communicating activity progress.

Collaborate across the project to ensure the implementation of activities aligns with the project objectives and contributes to the achievement of targets.

Coordinate the implementation of activities with government entities, local stakeholders, and sector experts for the achievement of project goals and objectives.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Programmatic and Technical Leadership:

Lead the design, implementation, and adaptation of the project’s technical vision, serving as the project’s top technical expert and advising the Chief of Party on the project’s technical direction.

Guide project interventions so they align with USDA strategy, local government priorities, and evidence-based practices.

Design and implement key technical operating procedures to ensure technical assistance provided is meeting internal project standards and can be monitored for efficiency and effectiveness.

Manage technical collaboration with project beneficiaries, including farmers, producer organizations, and other stakeholders, to promote and implement best practices.

Oversee capacity-building initiatives and provide technical assistance to enhance the adoption of US inputs by producer organizations and farmers.

Monitor and manage project subrecipients to ensure effective execution of project activities, in accordance with the terms and conditions of their subawards.

Support the development of project progress reports, annual work plans, and other documents required by USDA, ensuring the technical quality and integrity of the deliverables.

Represent the project among key technical stakeholders, including government ministries, donors, and other partners.

Contribute to the elaboration of relevant Requests for Proposals, ensuring they consider key technical specifications and contribute to the achievement of project objectives.

Coordination and Office Management:

Collaborate and regularly meet with the project’s technical and M&E team to update the work plan, activities, and introduce lessons learned to implementation, as necessary.

Coordinate with the Communications/Strategic Partnerships Manager and the POA-Home Office team to highlight the project’s technical progress and accomplishments, ensuring achievements are widely shared and reported to USDA and key stakeholders.

Manage the office, project resources, and staff located in the satellite office in Lagos, ensuring smooth operations, effective communication, and coordination with the main office and field activities.

Provide leadership and support to the satellite office team, ensuring alignment with the overall project goals and technical requirements.

Maintain regular communication with the Chief of Party, providing updates on technical progress and challenges.

Other relevant tasks that are assigned by the Chief of Party.

Team Management:

Develop team capacity, deepen understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and assist in career development.

Assist team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance and achieve goals.

Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback formally and informally with regular one-on-one meetings and performance reviews.

Create and maintain a mutually respectful work environment where team members strive for excellence. Hire, mentor, and direct team members as needed.

Responsibilities of All Partners’ Team Members:

Have a clear and deep understanding of POA and donor policies and standards to comply with programmatic, financial, administrative, procurement, logistics, human resources, and security processes.

Qualification and Minimum Requirements:

Education: Professional with an advanced degree (preferably a master’s degree) in agronomy, agriculture, aquaculture, or a related field.

Experience: Minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in management and leadership positions, or equivalent, executing agricultural project activities, specifically projects focused on rural development, finance, and trade.

Technical Expertise:

Technical skills in livestock production, access to finance, trade finance, and trade facilitation.

Well-rounded understanding of the dynamics of the poultry and aquaculture sectors in Nigeria and experience working with trade facilitation.

Familiarity with U.S. Government-funded projects preferred.

Leadership and Collaboration:

Prior experience directly collaborating with government entities, private stakeholders, and project beneficiaries.

Demonstrated success leading and mentoring technical teams to achieve project targets.

Language: Excellent communication skills and fluency in English (written and oral).

Workplace: Based in Lagos, Nigeria, with a travel requirement of at least 40% of the time to target regions.

Preferred:

Excellent organization and time management skills, with ability to prioritize effectively and meet deadlines.

Demonstrated ability to work independently and to track and report on progress.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervises two (2) Technical Leads.

To apply, please submit your resume to Gustavo Galdo at the following email address “ [Click the Apply button below to apply, and Create my CV to build a CV tailored to this offer, professionally] ” with the subject “Technical Director, Nigeria – Candidate Last Name”. Please note that only finalists will be

[Click the Apply button below to apply, and Create my CV to build a CV tailored to this offer, professionally]