Director, Entrepreneurship Development

Job title : Director, Entrepreneurship Development

The Director, Entrepreneurship Development is accountable for defining, leading, and executing the Entrepreneurship Development strategy and portfolio for Nigeria, positioning entrepreneurship as a core pathway to dignified and fulfilling work for young women and men. The role is also responsible for cultivating high-trust partnerships and ensuring strong relationship stewardship, as well as operational excellence of the Nigeria entrepreneurship portfolio. The role is also accountable for risk management and fiduciary responsibility, ensuring that resources are used as intended and that portfolio investments comply with Foundation policies and standards.

Reporting to the Country Director, the role provides country-level strategic and portfolio leadership for entrepreneurship development setting the national roadmap, shaping system-level interventions across markets, finance, capacity, and digital solutions, and enabling partners and internal teams to deliver outcomes at scale. The Director operates as a portfolio owner and system enabler, translating Foundation strategy and Board priorities into coherent country investments, strengthening local ecosystem partners, and ensuring the entrepreneurship portfolio delivers measurable results, enterprise growth, and productivity outcomes aligned to the Foundation’s goals.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

Strategy, Portfolio & Delivery Leadership

• Define and own the Nigeria Entrepreneurship Development strategy and multi-year roadmap, aligned to Foundation enterprise priorities and country employment objectives.
• Translate strategy into a coherent, investable country portfolio with clear outcomes, performance indicators, and learning priorities.
• Provide end-to-end leadership of the entrepreneurship portfolio, including prioritisation, sequencing, performance management, and course correction.
• Ensure programs move beyond pilots to scalable models capable of achieving national impact.
• Embed market systems thinking in program design, addressing root causes of entrepreneurial constraints.
• Ensure entrepreneurship programming contributes directly to Country Programs priorities and national delivery objectives.
• Use data, learning, and evidence to inform portfolio decisions, scale effective models, and adapt or discontinue underperforming approaches.

Partner Enablement & Ecosystem Leadership

• Build and steward high-trust, high-impact relationships with ecosystem partners across government, private sector, financial institutions, intermediaries, and support organizations.
• Enable partners to execute effectively and at scale by setting clear strategic direction, performance expectations, and delivery standards.
• Strengthen partner institutional and operational capacity to deliver sustainable outcomes.
• Foster coordination across ecosystem actors to improve coherence and reduce fragmentation.
• Represent the Foundation in high-level forums, convenings, and ecosystem platforms related to entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.
• Position the Foundation as a credible thought partner and convener within the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Markets, Access to Finance & Digital Solutions

• Provide strategic oversight for interventions that expand market access, value-chain participation, and commercial opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
• Guide access-to-finance and financial inclusion strategies that improve affordability, suitability, and reach of financial services.
• Integrate technology and digital solutions as core enablers across the entrepreneurship portfolio to improve efficiency, scale, and impact.

Financial, Risk & Fiduciary Accountability

• Maintain oversight of financial stewardship across the entrepreneurship portfolio, ensuring resources are used efficiently and for intended purposes.
• Proactively identify and manage strategic, operational, and delivery risks.
• Ensure compliance with Foundation financial, legal, and governance requirements across partners and programs.
• Maintain strong accountability for partner performance, delivery quality, and value-for-money.

Culture, People & Leadership

• Establish and lead a high-performing, values-driven Entrepreneurship Development function aligned to country priorities and portfolio needs.
• Build leadership capability, accountability, and a strong culture of performance, learning, and collaboration.

WHO YOU ARE

• Advanced degree in business, economics, finance, entrepreneurship, development studies, or a related field.
• Relevant professional qualifications: membership of a relevant professional body is an advantage.
• Minimum of 15 years’ experience leading strategy and complex programs in entrepreneurship, private sector development, or related fields. Previous experience in leading functions, divisions in an organization is and added advantage.
• At least 8 years in senior leadership roles, with accountability for multi-partner, multi country, multi-year portfolios.
• Demonstrated experience designing and scaling entrepreneurship or market-oriented initiatives in large complex markets.
• Deep expertise in at least two entrepreneurship thematic areas: market opportunities, access to finance, capacity development, technology/digital solutions, or financial inclusion.
• Strong understanding of Nigeria’s enterprise, employment, and innovation landscape.
• Proven ability to engage credibly with senior leaders across government, private sector, financial institutions, and development ecosystems.
• Demonstrated experience in building and leading multi-cultural, high-performing teams.
• Strong systems and market-thinking capability.
• Proven portfolio governance, performance management, and risk oversight skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influence at senior levels.
• Strategic communicator able to operate across executive, technical, and partner environments.
• Ability to lead and enable high-performing, multidisciplinary teams.
• Results-oriented, innovative, and effective in complex and ambiguous environments.
• High professional maturity, cultural sensitivity, and integrity aligned with the Foundation’s values.
• Demonstrated commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s mission and vision.