Relationship Manager: West Africa

Relationship Manager: West Africa

Location:  Remote - West Africa

Eligibility: Must be a resident in West Africa

Travel:       40-60 days per year travel across region

About the Role

This is a role for a mature, experienced leader ready to take on meaningful grantmaking responsibility across one of Africa’s most complex and strategically significant regions. The Relationship Manager: West Africa will work alongside Mergon’s growing team presence in the region, bringing depth of experience, relational credibility, and strategic insight to a portfolio that spans Nigeria and the predominantly French-speaking countries of of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.

West Africa, and particularly the Sahel, is a region of extraordinary spiritual dynamism and significant complexity. Many of Mergon’s ministry partners in this region carry remarkable vision but operate with real organisational capacity constraints. This role therefore goes beyond traditional grantmaking: the successful candidate will be someone who can steward funding with excellence, build trusted relationships with senior church leaders and ministry networks, and engage meaningfully in organisational development conversations that help partners grow stronger from the inside.

The role also carries a team coordination dimension, working closely with colleagues in the region to ensure that administrative rhythms remain on track and that the collective West Africa effort is well-aligned, well-supported, and strategically coherent. French fluency and deep familiarity with the Sahel and Francophone African church context are essential requirements for this role.

We are looking for someone who brings demonstrable experience in partnership or relationship management, thinks strategically, and has the maturity and interpersonal depth to represent Mergon well with senior ministry leaders across diverse cultural and religious contexts.

Key Responsibilities

Partner Discernment and Development

• Identify and cultivate a healthy pipeline of ministry partners aligned with Mergon’s West Africa regional strategy.
• Build trusted, long-term relationships with church leaders, ministry networks, and practitioners across West Africa
• Conduct thorough due diligence to assess organisational health, spiritual vitality, leadership quality, governance, and strategic fit.
• Develop clear partnership recommendations, grant motivations, and partner assessments.
• Engage thoughtfully across the region to understand emerging opportunities, challenges, and movements of God.

Relationship Management

• Nurture meaningful, trust-based relationships with partners, marked by humility, respect, and cultural sensitivity.
• Manage partnership rhythms including communication, reporting, renewal processes, and follow-up actions.
• Walk alongside leaders in the region, listening well and discerning how best to support them, not just as funders, but as genuine partners in mission.
• Track partner progress and ensure reporting is meaningful, proportionate, and accurate.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date partner records in Salesforce.

Stewardship and Execution

• Ensure excellence in the governance and tracking of funds entrusted to partners.
• Apply appropriate funding approaches across diverse and sensitive contexts, including restricted environments.
• Identify risks early, communicate them clearly, and remain constructive and solutions-focused.
• Take ownership of processes, manage multiple deadlines and workflows simultaneously.
• Uphold accountability while remaining relational and contextually wise.

Organisational Development and Partner Capacity

• Initiate and facilitate strategic organisational development conversations with partners who have the vision but need support in building organisational infrastructure and capability.
• Identify capacity constraints within partner organisations and help connect them with appropriate development support.
• Contribute to Mergon’s broader thinking on how grantmaking can intentionally strengthen partner organisations over time.

Strategy and Regional Insight

• Contribute meaningfully to the development of Mergon’s West Africa regional strategy, offering contextual insight and strategic input alongside day-to-day execution.
• Offer insight into the cultural, religious, and socio-political dynamics shaping the Church and mission across West Africa and the Sahel.
• Help identify strategic gaps, emerging leaders, and collaboration opportunities within the region.
• Bring a learning posture that translates partner and field insight into better grantmaking practice.

Team Coordination and Culture

• Work closely with the Head: Grantmaking and West Africa colleagues to ensure strong alignment, shared learning, and well-coordinated regional effort.
• Support the coordination of administrative and operational rhythms across the West Africa team.
• Represent Mergon with integrity, professionalism, humility, and warmth in all engagements.
• Contribute to a healthy, faith-filled, collaborative team culture.

Profile of the Ideal Candidate

Qualifications and Experience

• Tertiary qualification in theology, social development, non-profit leadership, organisational development, or a related field.
• 7–10 years’ experience in cross-cultural partnership management, grantmaking, ministry leadership, organisational development, or related roles.
• Demonstrated leadership capability and experience contributing to strategy beyond execution level.
• Strong existing knowledge of and networks within West Africa, and particularly the Francophone and Sahel context.
• A thoughtful understanding of the church and mission landscape in West Africa, including the dynamics of ministry in Muslim-majority environments.
• Proven experience in or understanding of organisational capacity building and development.
• Strong relational intelligence and able to build trust across cultures and engage senior ministry leaders with credibility.
• Excellent administrative discipline, project management capability, and follow-through.
• Primary residence in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana or Senegal preferred.
• Fluent in French and English (both written and spoken) — this is an essential requirement given the Francophone nature of much of the portfolio.
• Proficient in Salesforce (or equivalent CRM), digital collaboration tools, and MS Office.
• Willingness to travel 40–60 days per year across the region.

Faith and Character

• A strong, mature Christian faith with a posture of humility, discernment, prayerfulness, and dependence on God.
• Cultural sensitivity and spiritual maturity across diverse West African contexts, including Muslim-majority and restricted environments.
• High levels of discretion, personal accountability, and integrity.
• A servant-hearted leadership style that enables others to flourish.
• A genuine learning posture — eager to grow, be stretched, and contribute to a high-calibre team.
• A genuine passion for the ministry partners and communities Mergon serves in West Africa.

Invitation to Apply

If you are an experienced leader with depth, strategic instinct, a heart for West Africa’s Church, and the relational credibility to walk alongside partners in some of the region’s most complex contexts we would love to hear from you.

This is an opportunity to join a growing team at a pivotal moment investing for lasting Kingdom impact across one of the world’s most dynamic and strategically significant grantmaking regions.