The posting
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO)
Industry: Non-Profit / Social Impact / Development Sector Location: Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria Employment Type: Full-Time Level: Executive Leadership Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salary: ₦1,000,000 – ₦1,500,000 Monthly Net, depending on experience and qualifications Experience: Minimum of 10–15 years' relevant professional experience, including significant experience as a Chief Operating Officer, Project Director, Programme Director, Operations Director, or equivalent senior leadership role
ABOUT THE ROLE
Our client is seeking an accomplished and highly strategic Chief Operating Officer (COO) with strong Project Director / Programme Director experience to provide executive leadership across operations, programme delivery and organisational execution.
The successful candidate will be responsible for translating organisational strategy, contractual commitments, partnerships and business objectives into structured, measurable and sustainable operational outcomes.
The COO will work closely with the CEO and senior leadership team, providing oversight of programme delivery, project execution, budgets, timelines, operational systems, people, vendors, risk, compliance and performance management.
This role requires a hands-on strategic operator who can move seamlessly between executive-level decision-making and complex field/project execution. The ideal candidate must have a proven track record of managing large-scale projects or programmes, building operational systems and leading multidisciplinary teams across multiple locations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Programme, Project & Operational Delivery
- Provide executive oversight for the end-to-end delivery of major projects and programmes, ensuring adherence to scope, budget, timelines, quality and contractual requirements.
- Lead and coordinate multiple project workstreams, ensuring effective collaboration across technical, programme, finance, operations, technology and administrative functions.
- Apply strong Project Director-level oversight to project planning, resource allocation, risk management, stakeholder coordination and delivery performance.
- Develop and implement scalable project and operational frameworks that support consistent execution across multiple locations.
- Establish project milestones, KPIs, reporting structures and accountability mechanisms.
- Monitor project performance and intervene promptly where delivery, cost, quality or timeline risks emerge.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement practical corrective actions to maintain delivery momentum.
2. Operations & Institutional Systems
- Design, implement and continuously improve the organisation's operating model, policies and procedures.
- Strengthen systems covering procurement, administration, human resources, vendor management, finance-operations coordination and data management.
- Develop robust operational controls that promote efficiency, transparency, accountability and business continuity.
- Establish processes capable of supporting organisational growth and increasingly complex projects and partnerships.
- Ensure operational systems are sufficiently robust to withstand institutional, donor, government and partner due diligence.
3. Project Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Establish strong project governance structures, ensuring clear ownership, reporting lines, escalation procedures and decision-making protocols.
- Develop and maintain an enterprise-wide operational risk management framework.
- Identify and mitigate financial, operational, regulatory, contractual and project delivery risks.
- Ensure compliance with relevant procurement, safeguarding, data protection, financial control and regulatory requirements.
- Establish appropriate controls for projects involving government institutions, development partners and public or donor funding.
4. Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
- Oversee the development of effective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and project reporting systems.
- Ensure project activities, outputs, outcomes and performance indicators are accurately documented and reported.
- Establish reliable management information systems that provide leadership with timely visibility into project and operational performance.
- Ensure programme and project reports meet the expectations of clients, government stakeholders, donors and development partners.
- Use performance data to drive operational improvements and management decisions.
5. Organisational Development & People Leadership
- Build and lead a high-performing operations and programme delivery function.
- Develop workforce plans aligned with the organisation's growth strategy and project pipeline.
- Establish appropriate organisational structures, reporting lines, performance standards and accountability mechanisms.
- Recruit, develop, mentor and retain high-performing project and operational teams.
- Build a culture of execution, ownership, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Lead organisational change initiatives required to support growth and operational maturity.
6. Stakeholder & Executive Management
- Represent the organisation in high-level engagements with government institutions, donors, development partners, regulatory agencies, commercial partners and other strategic stakeholders.
- Participate in strategic planning, partnership development and project negotiations.
- Provide executive-level operational input into new projects, partnerships and business opportunities.
- Work closely with the CEO and senior leadership team to translate strategy into executable plans.
- Provide realistic assessments of project timelines, resource requirements, budgets and implementation risks.
- Challenge unrealistic delivery expectations where necessary and recommend practical alternatives.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & CORE COMPETENCIES
Project & Programme Leadership
- Minimum of 10–15 years of progressive professional experience, with substantial experience in senior project, programme or operations leadership.
- Proven experience as a Project Director, Programme Director, Operations Director, COO or equivalent senior leadership position.
- Demonstrated responsibility for the successful delivery of large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects or programmes.
- Experience managing multiple projects or workstreams simultaneously, preferably across multiple states, regions or operational locations.
- Strong understanding of project lifecycle management, including planning, budgeting, resource mobilisation, implementation, monitoring, risk management and close-out.
Field Operations & Scale
- Demonstrated experience managing multi-site operations, infrastructure deployment, healthcare programmes, development programmes, logistics or comparable large-scale field operations.
- Experience managing operations across at least five states/regions or 200+ sites concurrently is highly desirable.
- Strong ability to coordinate geographically dispersed teams, vendors, contractors and project stakeholders.
Government & Regulatory Engagement
- Demonstrated experience engaging with ministries, government agencies, regulatory bodies or public-sector institutions.
- Strong understanding of government procurement processes, regulatory requirements, approvals and public-sector project cycles.
- Ability to effectively manage complex institutional and stakeholder relationships.
Donor & Development Sector Experience
- Experience managing projects funded by or implemented in partnership with international development organisations, donor agencies, NGOs, philanthropic foundations or Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
- Practical understanding of donor compliance, programme reporting, MEL frameworks, financial controls and accountability requirements.
- Experience with organisations such as USAID, United Nations agencies or similar development partners is highly advantageous.
Organisational Development
- Proven experience building and strengthening teams, systems, policies, processes and operational structures within a growing organisation.
- Demonstrated ability to transition an organisation from an early-stage or informal operating structure into a more structured and scalable institution.
- Experience managing significant organisational growth, workforce expansion or operational transformation.
Financial & Commercial Acumen
- Strong understanding of project budgeting, cost control, financial forecasting and resource allocation.
- Ability to evaluate project economics and operational trade-offs.
- Exposure to asset financing, receivables financing, inventory financing or other structured-finance models is an advantage.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, Public Administration, Engineering, Economics, Public Health, Development Studies or a related discipline.
- A Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Public Health (MPH), Public Administration (MPA), Project Management or a related field is preferred.
- PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent project/programme management certification is an added advantage.
- Candidates with exceptional senior-level operational and project leadership experience may be considered where formal qualifications differ from the above.
KEY LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Proven ability to translate strategy into execution.
- Strong Project Director-level leadership and delivery discipline.
- Excellent executive presence and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong commercial, financial and operational judgement.
- Ability to manage complex, high-value and multi-stakeholder projects.
- Demonstrated experience building operational systems and high-performing teams.
- Strong analytical, decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.
- Ability to operate effectively at both boardroom and field-operations levels.
- High standards of governance, accountability and ethical leadership.
- Ability to challenge unrealistic timelines, budgets and resource assumptions constructively.
- Strong resilience and ability to operate effectively in complex and rapidly changing environments.
- Results-oriented mindset with a strong focus on measurable outcomes.
KEY PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
The successful COO will be expected to:
- Establish a scalable and disciplined operating model.
- Deliver major projects and programmes within agreed scope, budget, timelines and quality standards.
- Strengthen project governance, risk management and operational controls.
- Build and lead a high-performing operations and programme delivery team.
- Establish reliable MEL, reporting and performance management systems.
- Improve operational efficiency, accountability and organisational visibility.
- Strengthen institutional readiness for government, donor and commercial engagements.
- Drive a culture of execution excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.
HOW TO APPLY
Qualified and interested candidates should send their updated CV to:
Please use Chief Operating Officer (COO) as the subject of the email.
Only candidates who meet the required senior-level project, programme and operational leadership criteria will be shortlisted.
