About Partners of the Americas

Partners of the Americas (POA), a private voluntary organization engaged in development in the Western Hemisphere. POA’s network of Chapters across the Americas, Middle East and Africa forms the core of our work. We also welcome individuals, organizations, and higher education institutions as members. Inspired by President Kennedy and founded in 1964 under the Alliance for Progress, Partners of the Americas is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with international offices in Washington, D.C. 

The USDA Food for Progress Nigeria project, implemented by Partners of the Americas (POA) under USDA funding, focuses on poultry and aquaculture within the Agriculture and Agricultural Trade sectors. The project’s objective is to increase productivity in these areas and expand trade by strengthening market systems, improving compliance with international standards, and fostering public-private partnerships.

Position Summary 

Partners of the Americas (POA) seeks an experienced Technical Lead, Access to Finance for USDA Food for Progress Nigeria, a multi-year initiative focused on poultry and aquaculture within Agriculture and Agricultural Trade. The program aims to expand agricultural trade to and from Nigeria by increasing poultry and aquaculture productivity, improving access to trade finance, and reducing non-tariff trade barriers across Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Edo, and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). 

This position serves as the technical lead for facilitating access to finance for Nigerian importers to increase agricultural commodity imports, while supporting financial capacity-building. The Technical Lead will lead capacity-building workshops and technical assistance for Nigerian commercial banks and agricultural importers, design foreign exchange (FX) risk mitigation strategies and specialized livestock financial products, and oversee a competitive co-investment grants mechanism targeting agribusinesses with existing out-grower schemes and distribution networks in the poultry and aquaculture value chains. 

This position reports to the Technical Director. The Technical Lead, Access to Finance will be based in Lagos, Nigeria, with regular regional travel within the project’s target states. 

Roles and Responsibilities 

• Lead the conceptualization, execution, and quality control of all agricultural finance and local trade finance interventions.

• Design and deliver structured capacity-building workshops and hands-on technical assistance for Nigerian commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions, and agricultural importers to expand trade credit and livestock-sector lending. 

• Provide technical advice to financial institutions and agribusinesses to mitigate foreign exchange (FX) risk exposure and design specialized, accessible financial products tailored to poultry and aquaculture value chains. 

• Direct and manage the competitive co-investment grants mechanism for agribusinesses with established out-grower networks or distribution platforms in poultry and aquaculture. 

• Ensure co-investment grant funds achieve life-of-project targets, including enabling small and medium importers to aggregate input orders, expanding distribution infrastructure for perishable products, offering matching funds for commodity and equipment purchases, and providing non-financial technical support to scale productivity. 

• Partner with poultry and aquaculture anchor firms, feed companies, and producer groups to scale contract farming and out-grower models that bundle input supply, credit access, and guaranteed market linkage. 

• Catalyze complementary private and public sector co-investments, building synergies with ongoing value chain and financial inclusion programs across Nigeria. 

• Develop technical sections for annual work plans, quarterly technical updates, semi-annual performance reports, and other donor deliverables, in accordance with POA reporting standards. 

• Work in close coordination with the M&E Director to establish baseline metrics, track indicator progress, and integrate lessons learned into project activities. 

• Represent the project in financial sector working groups, donor forums, and high-level engagements with Nigerian government institutions, financial regulators, and agribusiness federations. 

Team Management 

• Develop team capacity, deepen understanding of 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.

Job Specifications 

• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in management and technical leadership roles executing trade finance, commercial banking, agricultural finance, or competitive co-investment grants management for international development projects or commercial financial institutions in Nigeria or West Africa. 

• Professional with an advanced degree (preferably a master’s degree) in Finance, Banking, Agricultural Economics, Economics, Business Administration, or a closely related field. 

• In-depth technical knowledge of Nigerian banking regulations, agricultural credit markets, foreign exchange risk management tools, and commercial lending mechanisms for agribusinesses. 

• Demonstrated experience designing, launching, and administering competitive grant funds or co-investment funds targeting agribusinesses, anchor firms, and out-grower models. 

• Deep understanding of the Nigerian livestock sector (poultry and aquaculture value chains), feed ingredient supply chains, and input aggregation mechanisms. 

• Familiarity with USG rules and regulations and donor grant management compliance protocols is desirable. 

• Advanced proficiency in English with superior written and oral communication skills; working knowledge of local languages (Yoruba, Hausa, or Igbo) is desirable. 

• Knowledge of project management tools such as Smartsheet and data management platforms such as Power BI is desirable.

To Apply 

Please submit a CV and cover letter to amusa@partners.net with the subject “Technical Lead, Access to Finance”.  Please note that only finalists will be contacted.

Partners is Proud To Be An Equal Employment Opportunity And Affirmative Action Employer. Partners Does Not Discriminate In Employment On The Basis Of Race, Color, Religion, Sex (Including Pregnancy And Gender Identity), National Origin, Political Affiliation, Sexual Orientation, Marital Status, Disability, Genetic Information, Age, Membership In An Employee Organization, Retaliation, Parental Status, Military Service, Or Other Non-Merit Factor.