Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultancy – Pipeline Manager, CFYE Nigeria

Reference ID: req12980
Location: Nigeria

About the Programme

• The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 6-year and €114 million programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that aims to create a prosperous future for 200,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa and Horn of Africa regions.
• The Fund will be supporting initiatives in 23 countries that will offer youth, in particular young women, opportunities for work that is demand-driven and productive, offering a stable income and safe working conditions, and that is contributing to their personal development and social protection.
• Private sector, civil society and knowledge institutions will be invited to submit proposals through Challenge Calls that are geared to scalable solutions for creating more and better jobs and income generating opportunities for youth. Solutions will in particular focus on an integrated approach that addresses the shortcomings on the demand side (jobs) and supply side (skills) and bridging the mismatch between these two in the labour market.

Assignment Overview

• As the In-Country Pipeline Manager, you will be responsible for providing strategic advise the CFYE team on in-country positioning, with a major focus on building a pipeline of prospective entities who will apply for CFYE’s Challenge Calls in-country. This assignment will build on the research, analysis and local engagement activities on building an understanding of the obstacles to youth employment that were conducted in previous years. Coupled with Marketing and Outreach activities, pipeline development will entail identification of strategic opportunities and entities that are well-suited to develop and deliver a project to address the challenges identified from research activities.
• As this is the second CFYE call in the country of focus, you will be part of a Country Start-up Team directly collaborating with the Country Lead. This role will also require you to work with wider CFYE team and coordinate particularly closely with the central start-up team that include the following : Deputy Team Leader, Strategy and Social Impact Advisor, Central Coordinator, Start-up Phase, and Associate, Start-Up Phase.

Overall, there will be five main areas of responsibility associated with this role:

• Provide strategic advise and insights on how the country can add maximum value to CFYE’s overall portfolio and what strategic opportunities the Fund should pursue to achieve its in-country goals.
• Lead on identification of and engagement with prospective entities in-country to introduce CFYE and its objectives, encourage them in applying for the Challenge Fund and advising them in developing project ideas that will be in line with findings from CFYE’s existing research and focus.
• Proactively manage the pipeline of prospective entities that will involve periodic follow-ups and sharing of key information related to CFYE concept note submission and selection processes. Along with Country Lead and Central Start-up Team, conduct on-going pipeline data analysis to identify gaps, risks and opportunities for CFYE’s portfolio of projects.
• Coordinate closely with Central Start-up Team and CFYE’s Communications and Marketing team to develop and refine an approach to building pipeline as well as country-specific marketing and outreach strategy.
• Update the existing research report which was develop during a previous Challenge Call in line with recent developments. This would include a strategic review of the existing literature review, report and conclusions derived, and adding additional inputs relevant to the recent developments in the country.
• These areas of responsibility are detailed as Key Activities below.

Key Activities
Strategic Advice and Insights:

• Under the leadership of the Country Lead, analyze the emerging overall CFYE portfolio, the existing in-country portfolio and CFYE strategic in-country goals (in terms of job types, job numbers, maximum investment etc.) and provide strategic advice on how to achieve these goals in-country. Ensure your workplan and activities are in line with the strategic direction.

Pipeline Development Approach:

• Develop a coherent and systematic strategy to build a pipeline of potential applicants that is reflective of the pipeline data from the previous Call for Solutions, scoping research and recent developments, country’s priority sectors and growth trajectory as well as overall CFYE portfolio’s aspirations.
• Provide feedback or inputs on the Pipeline Development Tool that will be used to capture the details of organizations and entities engaged or to be engaged in the pipeline building process.

Pipeline Development:

• This involves identification of prospective applicants who will be encouraged to apply for the Challenge Fund in the country.
• Responsible for development of a high potential pipeline and identification of prospective applicants in the country in coordination with the Country Lead as well as other members of the Central Start-up Team. The phase-wise target number of prospective entities for the pipeline will be agreed with the Country Lead and the Central Start-up Team but will be in the range of 30-100 prospects, contingent on the country.
• Coordinate and lead meetings with potential applicants to introduce CFYE, its key parameters and application process.
• Ensure that pipeline data is regularly and systematically captured using the tools and systems developed by the Central Start-up Team.
• Coordinate with the Central Start-up Team and Country Lead to ensure that the emerging pipeline is in line with CFYE’s portfolio priorities, identify the gaps, and work with the In-country Pipeline Consultant to fill those gaps.
• Coordinate with CFYE’s Communications and Marketing team to effectively use digital marketing platforms to widely disseminate the challenge fund in the relevant sectors. Identify and attend relevant industry events to market the challenge fund if considered a crucial part of the outreach strategy.
• Work closely with Country Lead to follow-up on leads identified during the course of research activities and stakeholder interviews.
• Where required, participate in the meetings with prospective stakeholders to identify key findings emerging and building strategic priorities for the challenge call in Country.
• Liaise with Country Lead on a regular basis to review the progress of pipeline building.
• Work closely with high potential and promising leads to act as a sounding board for them when developing project ideas that can be submitted for CFYE Concept Notes.
• Support with partnership development and match relevant applicants from network / existing pipeline on an on-demand basis.

Marketing and Outreach:

• Work closely with the Country Lead, CFYE Start-up Central Team and CFYE Communications and Marketing Manager to develop a detailed marketing and outreach strategy as well as an implementation plan for the country that lays out the approach to effectively reach high potential leads including (I) relevant (media) channels, and (ii) organisations (for instance local Private Equity. funds, other challenge funds, private business associations, etc)
• Work with the Country Lead to organize CFYE webinars to share findings of the existing scoping research updated with the recent developments, details of the application submission and selection process.
• Support the Country Lead in organizing and managing Q&A sessions with prospective applicants, development of FAQ documents and managing communication with prospective applicants.

Evaluation and Selection:

• Provides inputs on the development of Concept Note and Business Case Templates as well as the eligibility and evaluation criteria.
• When required, participate in evaluation of concept note and business cases submitted by applicants as per the process defined by the Central Start-up Team.
• Where relevant, provide support in developing a coaching plan for business case applicants based on the research findings and strategic priority areas.
• Assist in communicating feedback to rejected and accepted Concept Notes based on evaluators’ comments in a shareable language and standard format.

Update to the Research:

• Review of existing literature available and Call 1 scoping report.
• Provide support in adding an annex or adapting the existing Scoping Report to include most recent insights into economic developments, taking into consideration Covid-19, other donor practices / investments in the country, and any latest trends in youth employment.
• Organize and lead/participate research and analysis meetings with key stakeholders (including youth sessions) in coordination with and with support from the Country Lead, to ensure more recent trends and developments are captured in the updated scoping report.

Over-arching Activities:

• Support the Country Lead in development and execution of a country-specific start-up activities workplan, including the formulation of the Call for Solutions in the country of focus in accordance with the start-up process and ensure to operate and deliver as per the agreed workplan.
• Where required, provide inputs to the Central Start-up Team to develop and refine the start-up processes as well as tools and templates.

Level of Effort:

• This assignment is expected to take 2 to 3 days each working week, starting from 1 April 2022 to 31 July 2022, with a total of approximately 40 45 days ending on 31 July 2022. Depending on CFYE needs and utilisation of days, the duration of this assignment or the associated number of days may be amended as necessary.

Reporting:

• You will report to the Country Lead, but will be expected to work closely with other members of CFYE Central Start-up Team.

Deliverables and Outputs:

• Pipeline development strategy that will lay out the identification and engagement plan with prospective entities.
• Marketing and Outreach Plan detailing the activities to be conducted and key messages, that is expected to be developed with inputs from CFYE’s Communications and Marketing Manager.
• Final pipeline of prospective entities that are expected to apply to CFYE’s Call in country.
• Evaluation scores for and feedback on Concept Notes and Business Cases (if applicable).
• Annex or adapted version of the Scoping Research report reflecting recent developments and trends.
• Draft of the Call for Solutions.

Recruitment and Location:

• This assignment requires the consultant to be based in country. The recruitment cycle may be closed early contingent on the quality and number of applications received.

Required Qualifications
You are strongly encouraged to apply for this position if you:

• Are a private sector professional or a private sector development expert with linkages and networks that can help identify promising entities for the Fund;
• Have significant experience analyzing or supporting development of business plans or funding proposals;
• Bring a good understanding of the local context of private sector development in the country and have the ability to translate this into strategic insights and advise;
• Sound business judgment and initiative; ability to work in multicultural environments and build effective working relations with internal and external clients and partners;
• Aim to invest in building a thorough understanding of the objectives of the CFYE;
• Have the capacity to interact with senior officials and private sector leaders, and credibly influence senior decision-makers;
• Have high degree of self-motivation and proven ability to work independently under limited supervision and tight deadlines.
• Have the ability to multitask and work collaboratively in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams;
• Have proper balance between attention to detail and focus on broader issues;
• Have excellent writing skills. Ability to translate complex issues into easily understood terminology;
• Have excellent communication and presentation skills in English.

Application Closing Date
14th March, 2022.