- Reconnect-HDI is entering its next phase of development and is seeking an energetic, entrepreneurial and highly motivated National Coordinator to lead its programmes, fundraising, partnerships and organisational growth.
- This is not a purely administrative or supervisory role.
- Reconnect-HDI operates with a small core team.
- We are therefore looking for a National Coordinator who is prepared to combine leadership with direct, hands-on involvement infundraising, programme development, partnership building and programme delivery.
- The successful candidate should be able to identify a community or development need, turn it into a strong programme concept, identify potential funders, develop a compelling proposal and budget, engage donors and partners, and then lead the successful implementation and reporting of the programme.
- The National Coordinator is the senior operational lead of Reconnect-HDI and is responsible for coordinating the organisation's programmes, people, partnerships, fundraising and day-to-day activities.
- The postholder will work closely with the President and Board to translate Reconnect-HDI's strategic objectives into practical programmes and measurable outcomes.
- Given the organisation's lean structure, the National Coordinator is expected to be a hands-on leader who personally contributes to programme development, proposal writing, fundraising, stakeholder engagement, implementation and reporting.
- A central expectation of the role is to help Reconnect-HDI develop a sustainable pipeline of funded programmes and strategic partnerships.
The National Coordinator will have four major priorities
Fundraising & Resource Mobilisation:
- Proactively identify Nigerian and international funding opportunities and personally lead the development of high-quality concept notes, Expressions of Interest, grant applications and funding proposals.
- The National Coordinator will be expected to build relationships with foundations, development agencies, government institutions, corporate organisations, international NGOs and other potential funders and partners.
Programme Development & Delivery:
- Develop innovative, evidence-based and fundable programmes aligned with Reconnect-HDI's mission and remain directly involved in their planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Partnerships & Organisational Growth:
- Build strategic relationships with government, donors, NGOs, development partners, universities, health institutions, corporate organisations and communities and identify opportunities for collaborations, consortium bids and joint programmes.
- Provide effective day-to-day leadership to the Reconnect-HDI team while remaining an active member of that team.
- This is a role for someone who wants to help build an organisation rather than simply administer an established one.
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising & Resource Mobilisation
Fundraising and resource mobilisation will be a central responsibility of the National Coordinator.
The postholder will:
- Proactively identify appropriate Nigerian and international funding opportunities.
- Regularly review donor portals, foundations, government programmes, development agencies, corporate CSR opportunities and other potential funding sources.
- Develop and maintain an active funding pipeline and application calendar.
- Personally lead or make a substantial contribution to high-quality concept notes, Expressions of Interest and grant proposals.
- Develop proposal budgets, logical frameworks, implementation plans and supporting documentation.
- Build and maintain relationships with prospective donors and funding partners.
- Explore grants, institutional funding, CSR partnerships, sponsorships and other appropriate funding mechanisms.
- Follow up submitted applications and maintain engagement with prospective funders.
- Identify consortium and collaborative funding opportunities.
- Work towards annual resource-mobilisation objectives agreed with the President and Board.
Programme Development
The National Coordinator will:
- Identify health, mental health, psychosocial, humanitarian and development needs consistent with Reconnect-HDI's mission.
- Develop practical and innovative programme concepts in response to identified needs.
- Conduct or coordinate needs assessments and stakeholder consultations.
- Convert programme ideas into structured, measurable and fundable projects.
- Develop project proposals, implementation plans, budgets and monitoring frameworks.
- Ensure programmes are evidence-based, needs-driven and capable of demonstrating measurable impact.
- Identify opportunities to expand, replicate or diversify successful programmes.
Programme Management & Delivery
The National Coordinator will remain directly involved in programme implementation and will:
- Lead and coordinate implementation of Reconnect-HDI programmes and projects.
- Develop detailed implementation plans, milestones and timelines.
- Allocate responsibilities and monitor agreed actions.
- Track programme activities, expenditure, outputs and deliverables.
- Participate in field activities, workshops, stakeholder meetings, training and community engagements where required.
- Identify implementation difficulties and take timely corrective action.
- Ensure programmes are delivered according to approved objectives, budgets, timelines and donor requirements.
- Prepare and review programme and donor reports.
- Document achievements, outcomes, challenges, impact and lessons learned.
Partnerships & External Relations
The National Coordinator will:
- Represent Reconnect-HDI professionally with government agencies, donors, NGOs, development partners, communities and other stakeholders.
- Build strategic relationships with relevant federal and state ministries, departments and agencies.
- Develop partnerships with Nigerian and international NGOs, universities, health institutions, professional organisations and corporate bodies.
- Identify opportunities for joint programmes and consortium applications.
- Attend relevant technical meetings, conferences, working groups and networking events.
- Strengthen Reconnect-HDI's profile and credibility within the mental health, health, humanitarian and development sectors.
Donor & Grant Management
The National Coordinator will:
- Ensure donor-funded projects comply with approved proposals, budgets and contractual requirements.
- Maintain appropriate grant documentation and reporting systems.
- Coordinate narrative reports and donor updates.
- Monitor grant expenditure, programme deliverables and reporting deadlines.
- Maintain appropriate communication with donors and implementing partners.
- Coordinate donor visits, programme reviews and evaluations.
- Identify and escalate significant grant or compliance risks.
Financial & Operational Oversight
The National Coordinator will:
- Work with finance/administrative personnel to prepare and monitor programme and organisational budgets.
- Monitor expenditure against approved budgets.
- Ensure appropriate accountability for organisational and donor resources.
- Support financial forecasting and programme budgeting.
- Promote value for money and responsible use of charitable resources.
- Ensure compliance with relevant organisational, regulatory and donor requirements.
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning
The National Coordinator will:
- Ensure appropriate objectives, outputs, outcomes and indicators are established for programmes.
- Monitor programme performance against agreed targets.
- Ensure appropriate programme data are collected and documented.
- Use evidence to improve programme implementation and future programme design.
- Coordinate programme reviews and evaluations.
- Document lessons learned and successful approaches.
Team Leadership & Organisational Management
The National Coordinator will:
- Provide day-to-day leadership and direction to Reconnect-HDI staff.
- Establish clear responsibilities, priorities and performance expectations.
- Coordinate the work of staff, consultants, volunteers and project personnel.
- Hold regular programme and team review meetings.
- Provide supervision, coaching and performance feedback.
- Build appropriate project teams as new programmes and funding are secured.
- Promote collaboration, accountability, initiative and professionalism.
- Provide regular organisational and performance reports to the President and Board.
- The successful candidate will be entrepreneurial, resourceful and results-oriented, with substantial experience in NGO, health, humanitarian or development programming.
- Of particular importance is a demonstrable track record of personally developing funding proposals, concept notes and grant applications and contributing to the successful mobilisation of funding, grants, partnerships or other resources.
Candidates should ideally have:
- A Bachelor's Degree in Public Health, International Development, Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Administration, Project Management, Health Sciences or another relevant discipline.
- A Master's degree or relevant professional qualification would be an advantage.
- Approximately 5 - 7 years or more of relevant professional experience, including significant responsibility for programme development and delivery.
- Demonstrable experience in fundraising, proposal writing, grant applications and resource mobilisation.
- Experience developing project concepts, budgets, workplans and donor reports.
- Experience working with donors, government institutions, NGOs, development agencies or corporate partners.
- Experience managing donor-funded projects.
- Experience coordinating teams and working in environments where senior staff remain operationally involved.
- Experience in mental health, psychosocial support, public health, humanitarian response or community development would be an advantage.
The Ideal Candidate
We are particularly interested in someone who is:
- Entrepreneurial - actively looks for opportunities rather than waiting for them.
- A strong proposal writer - able to convert ideas into compelling and fundable projects.
- Hands-on - comfortable moving between strategy, fundraising, programme delivery and day-to-day problem solving.
- A relationship builder - confident engaging donors, government, companies, communities and development partners.
- Results-oriented - focused on measurable outcomes rather than activity alone.
- Highly organised and able to manage competing priorities.
- A strong written and verbal communicator.
- Comfortable taking initiative and working independently.
- Able to lead a small team while remaining an active member of that team.
- Committed to integrity, accountability, safeguarding and responsible use of charitable resources.