Access to Market Lead

Job Title : Access to Market Lead
Project : NiWEMA Scale-Up Programme
Organisation : Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Pan-Atlantic University
Grade / Level : Senior Level
Reporting To : Project Director
Work Location : Enterprise Development Centre, Lagos (with travel to field locations as required)
Contract Type : Fixed-term contract (5 years), renewable annually subject to satisfactory performance and continued project funding
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Access to Market Lead designs and manages all market access interventions within NiWEMA, to strengthen the capacity, market access resilience and growth potential female-led micro and small enterprises across Nigeria, while contributing to the creation of 975,000 jobs nationwide over five years. The role operates across two participation models: individual business participants and sector-based clusters in fashion, food, agriculture, and other industries. The cluster model creates distinct opportunities including collective procurement, group market certification, shared supply chain linkages, and sector-specific buyer relationships that require a differentiated strategy from individual market access pathways.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
● Design and lead a dual-pathway market access strategy that addresses both individual business participants and sector-based clusters, developing tailored approaches for each.
● Develop collective market access pathways for sector clusters including group supply agreements, cooperative selling arrangements, shared logistics, and cluster-level buyer negotiations in fashion, food, agriculture, and other sectors.
● Build and manage relationships with market actors, corporate buyers, e-commerce platforms, retail chains, food processors, fashion aggregators, agricultural off-takers, trade associations, and government procurement bodies, relevant to both individual and cluster participants.
● Design and deliver market access content for both the LMS-based online curriculum and physical training sessions, ensuring relevance to participants' specific sectors.
● Lead the organisation of market linkage events, trade fairs, buyer-seller sessions, and sector-specific market exposure activities for both individual and cluster participants.
● Supervise and provide technical guidance to the Access to Market Support Officer.
● Monitor and report on market access outcomes, disaggregated by delivery modality, participation model, and sector cluster.
● Identify and address systemic market access barriers facing young women entrepreneurs in target sectors, integrating practical solutions into programme delivery.
● Collaborate with the Gender Lead to ensure market access strategies are gender-responsive and account for the specific power dynamics women face in sector markets.
● Contribute to programme reports, case studies, and impact documentation related to market access outcomes.
● Any other related task on the engagement

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
● Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Economics, Marketing, Development Studies, or a related field. Master's degree is an added advantage.
● Minimum of 8 years' experience in market development, enterprise support, value chain development, or private sector development with a focus on micro and small enterprises.
● Demonstrated experience working with sector-based clusters or value chains in at least one of the following: fashion/textiles, food processing/agri-food, or agriculture.
● Experience designing market access training for both online and in-person delivery.
● Strong network of market actors, buyers, and commercial partners across relevant sectors.
● Prior experience on women's economic empowerment programmes is strongly preferred.
KEY COMPETENCIES
● Sector-based value chain and market systems analysis
● Cluster and collective market access strategy
● Buyer and commercial partner relationship management
● Dual-modality training design and facilitation
● Gender-responsive market development

To apply:
Please submit a cover letter and your CV to gn.ude.uap%40tcejorpamewin using the subject line " Access to Market Lead "
Application Deadline : August 28th, 2026