Programme Coordinator

Olive & March Partners Limited is a communications and public relations consultancy. We are currently delivering a strategic PR mandate for a major, multilaterally financed national programme — covering government relations, stakeholder engagement, partnership development, crisis communications, and programme visibility across a 12-month (renewable) engagement.

We are looking for a Programme Coordinator to run the operational side of this work. Not the strategy. The engine room — timelines, deliverables, reports, coordination, follow-through.

If you are someone who notices when things are slipping before anyone else does, who follows up without being asked, and who finds genuine satisfaction in making a complex operation run cleanly — this role is for you.

THE ROLE

You will serve as the day-to-day operational lead for the engagement. Your job is to ensure that work gets done, on time, to standard, and with the right people involved. You will report to senior leadership and act as the coordination link between the client, the Olive & March team, and all active workstreams.

Delivery & timeline management

You own the master delivery plan. Every contractual deadline — monthly reports, quarterly reports, annual reports, event milestones, one-off deliverables — sits on a tracker you maintain and update. You ensure each deliverable is assigned to someone with an internal deadline that leaves room for review. You follow up. You flag risk early.

Report writing & compilation

You lead the production of all reports: monthly, quarterly, annual, post-event, and the crisis management plan. You gather inputs from the team’s consultants and specialists, draft and compile, route for sign-off, and submit. You maintain a record of all submissions, client feedback, and revisions.

Events coordination

You plan and execute the logistics for a programme of stakeholder engagement events across the contract period — covering a range of audiences including government, civil society, academia, private sector, and programme beneficiaries. For each event you handle the concept note, venue, catering, invitations, speaker briefs, and the post-event summary.

Team coordination

You are the coordination point for all consultants on the engagement. You know what each person is working on, what they owe, and when their input is needed on something else. You issue internal briefs. You escalate resource conflicts. You make sure senior leadership is briefed, prepped, and in the right room at the right time.

Client liaison

You are the primary operational contact for the client on day-to-day matters. You log all feedback and instructions, ensure they are acted on within agreed timelines, prepare briefing notes and meeting agendas, and maintain the formal correspondence register.

Monitoring & risk

You maintain a risk log. You track KPIs and communications outcomes against the strategic plan and feed the data into quarterly and annual reporting. You keep the engagement log — government touchpoints, stakeholder briefings, partnership activities — current and accurate. If a deadline is at risk, you raise it two weeks out, with a resolution plan.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

You have 2 to 4 years of experience in a programme coordination, project management, or operations role within a donor-funded project, development programme, or social impact organisation. You have worked directly with or within international development institutions — the UN, ECOWAS, GIZ, World Bank, USAID, EU, DFID/FCDO, AfDB, or comparable organisations.

Beyond that, what matters most is how you work:

• You are organised to a degree that other people find reassuring.
• You write well — clearly, efficiently, without needing to be asked twice to tighten something up.
• You do not wait to be told that something is behind schedule. You already know, and you have already sent the follow-up.
• You are comfortable working alongside and briefing senior professionals.
• You are proficient in at least one project management tool — Notion, Asana, Trello, Microsoft Project, Google Sheets, or similar.
• You are familiar with donor reporting conventions and how development sector documentation works.

Education

A bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent) is an advantage, not a requirement.

You will stand out if:

• You have coordinated communications or visibility work on a development programme and understand what donor visibility requirements actually involve.
• You have experience engaging Nigerian government institutions or MDAs.
• You are based in Abuja or ready to relocate — the role involves regular in-person engagement.

ONE THING TO BE CLEAR ABOUT

This is not a communications role. You will not be developing PR strategy, writing press releases, or managing media relationships. Those responsibilities belong to the firm’s senior consultants. Your job is to make sure the right person is doing the right thing at the right time — and that nothing is missed.

The engagement has a dense deliverable schedule: multiple recurring report cycles, a full calendar of events, an active government and partnership pipeline, and a client who expects structured, timely outputs. The person who thrives here runs toward that complexity, not away from it.

WHAT WE OFFER

• 12-month contract (renewable), ₦400,000–₦550,000 per month depending on experience.
• Direct exposure to a high-profile, multilaterally financed national programme.
• Close working relationship with senior communications professionals across public sector, government, and development sector contexts.
• Clear scope, clear expectations, and direct feedback.
• A platform to build a serious foundation in donor-funded programme management.

HOW TO APPLY

Fill this google form: Apply Here

Applications close: 20th July, 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.