Creative Futures Portfolio Lead

Role Overview

• The Creative Futures Portfolio Lead will design, deliver and grow the Creative Futures portfolio. You will own the full annual cycle, from Open Mic events and Lab recruitment to capstone grants and the Annual Showcase, and you will make sure every step is measured and learned from. You will lead a small delivery team, manage facilitators and mentors, build partnerships across Africa, and help raise the funds that make the portfolio possible. The ideal candidate combines strong programme management with a real feel for the creative sector, and can turn a clear strategy into excellent, well-run delivery on a lean budget.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Leadership and Programme Design

• Lead the design and quality of the Creative Futures portfolio in line with COAL's 2026 to 2030 Strategic Plan and the portfolio's theory of change. Turn the portfolio design into annual workplans, calendars and budgets, and make sure each programme has clear entry rules, outputs and outcomes.
• Finalise the Lab curriculum across its four modules craft; performance and audience; creative business; voice for change, the recorded Lab Prep module, the Open Mic craft clinic series, and the capstone guidelines. Set the annual advocacy theme with the Executive Director and partners.
• Use evidence from Monitoring Evaluation and Learning MEL and from participants to adapt the portfolio each year, and prepare recommendations for the 2028 midterm review on whether the Lab is ready to grow.

Creative Futures Lab and Capstone Delivery

• Run the annual Lab cycle end to end: the call for applications, fair and transparent selection against the portfolio's targets for women and for creatives outside Nigeria, onboarding, the 16-week programme, critique circles, mentoring and the mid-point residency in Jos.
• Recruit, brief and manage facilitators and mentors, and hold them to clear quality standards. Match mentors to participants by discipline and check that mentoring happens on schedule.
• Manage the capstone process, including proposals, pitches, production allowances and the selection of lead grants by a panel. Coach the Creative Advocacy Fellows and connect them to the annual campaign.

Open Mic, Showcase and Community Engagement

• Oversee six Open Mic events a year, in Jos and online, each with a craft clinic, featured slots, and make sure every event offers a clear route into the Lab.
• Lead the Annual Showcase each December, where capstones are presented, the year's library entries are launched, and buyers, commissioners and funders are invited.
• Build and sustain an active alumni network, including an alumni advisory panel that reviews each cycle, and create paid roles for alumni as facilitators, mentors and reviewers.

Paid Pathways, Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation

• Set up and grow the commissioning desk, matching briefs from NGOs, campaigns and events to alumni, and track the number and value of commissions. Develop the fair-rate guide and monthly application clinics with the team.
• Build and manage partnerships, including the Avoidable Deaths Network and University of Leicester, SEVHAGE, peer programmes such as the LIPFest Craft and Development Lab, and one or two partner organisations elsewhere in Africa.
• Lead fundraising for the portfolio with the Executive Director, including proposals, donor reports and the pooled Creative Futures Fund for capstone grants. Identify earned-income opportunities through commissions, showcase ticketing and bookstore sales of cohort publications.

Creative Futures Library and Pan-African Reach

• Oversee the Creative Futures Library on coalng.org, so that every capstone and Lab output is catalogued, tagged and findable, and rights agreements are signed and stored for every work.
• Lead COAL's pan-African reach for the portfolio, including the annual campaign call across Sub-Saharan Africa, reserved Lab places, co-hosted virtual Open Mics and cross-border capstones. Work with partners to manage local payments and safeguarding.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Own the portfolio's MEL framework: the participant register, skills self-assessment, craft rubric, 3- and 12-month tracer, and library log. Make sure data is accurate, timely and used to make decisions.
• Produce two-page quarterly reports, cohort summaries and an annual learning review. Support the 2028 midterm review and the 2030 independent evaluation.

Team, Budget and Safeguarding

• Work with the team, setting clear objectives and supporting their development. Manage the portfolio budget, including grant disbursements, and ensure value for money and accurate financial records.
• Act as safeguarding focal point for the portfolio. Ensure consent is collected, guardian consent is in place for anyone under 18, personal data is handled in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and every cohort has a named safeguarding lead.

Key Performance Expectations First 6 to 12 Months

• Portfolio systems in place: participant register, craft rubric, rights agreement, Library page and the recorded Lab Prep module.
• A strong first Lab cohort of 20, selected from 60 or more applications, with at least half women and at least a quarter from outside Nigeria.
• At least 80% of Lab participants complete the programme, and every participant delivers a capstone presented at the Annual Showcase.
• Six Open Mic events delivered on schedule, each with a craft clinic and paid featured slots.
• The commissioning desk launched, with first commissions brokered for alumni.
• At least one partnership agreement with an organisation elsewhere in Africa, and funding secured for the year's capstone grants.
• Quarterly reports delivered on time, with accurate data.

Eligibility Criteria

• A bachelor's degree in the arts, humanities, development studies, education or a related field.
• At least five years of programme management experience in the creative arts, youth development or the nonprofit sector, including at least two years leading a cohort-based training, fellowship or incubation programme.
• Proven experience managing budgets, grants and small teams.
• A track record of building partnerships and contributing to successful funding proposals.
• Excellent spoken and written English, with strong reporting skills.
• Based in Jos or willing to relocate, and able to travel within Nigeria
• Confident with digital tools, including Google Workspace or Microsoft Office and online meeting platforms.

Desirable Experience

• Experience as a practising creative, or strong networks in the Nigerian and African creative sector.
• Experience designing curricula, mentoring schemes or creative workshops.
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation, such as rubrics, tracer surveys or value for money
• Knowledge of the creative economy, including commissioning, publishing, rights and pricing.
• Experience running advocacy or social impact campaigns through the arts.
• Experience working with partners in other African countries.
• Knowledge of safeguarding practice with young people.

Personal Attributes

• A clear thinker who turns plans into well-run delivery.
• Passionate about young creatives and committed to their growth.
• Organised, reliable and calm under pressure.
• A confident communicator and relationship builder.
• Comfortable working in a small team with clear accountability.
• Curious, open to feedback and driven by evidence.

Method of Application

Interested and qualified? Go to Custodians of African Literature (COAL) on script.google.com to apply