Government Affairs Manager, Nigeria

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

Zipline operates an autonomous delivery network that moves essential goods quickly and reliably. In Nigeria, durable government and public-sector relationships are critical to establishing operations, expanding access, and sustaining support across institutions and administrations.

Based in Abuja, you will lead government engagement for Nigeria and coordinate public-sector pathways for market entry and growth. You will build trusted relationships with national and subnational leaders, understand the priorities and decision-making structures that shape our work, and help Zipline navigate policy, partnerships, public-sector opportunities, and non-aviation approvals. You will connect government priorities with the right Zipline teams and help company leaders make informed decisions. Success means decision-ready market-entry pathways, durable stakeholder coverage, clear internal ownership, and credible advocacy on non-aviation issues.

What You'll Do

- Set Zipline’s government engagement strategy in Nigeria, mapping federal, state, and local stakeholders, their priorities, decision rights, and influence on Zipline’s services.

- Build durable relationships across ministries, agencies, legislatures, public-health institutions, and relevant community or traditional leaders.

- Coordinate cross-functional government pathways for market entry and expansion, clarifying agency dependencies, internal owners, decisions, and next steps.

- Monitor non-aviation laws, regulations, budgets, and policy developments; develop evidence-based positions with subject-matter experts and engage responsible officials.

- Assess political and institutional risks affecting facilities, shipments, partners, employees, or service continuity; coordinate relevant government relationships with Security and Operations.

- Prepare stakeholder briefs, meeting objectives, talking points, and follow-up plans that give leaders clear options, likely outcomes, commitments, and open questions.

- Track engagement progress through pathway readiness, stakeholder coverage, resolved dependencies, and advocacy outcomes; maintain accurate records and ensure owners complete commitments.

- Represent Zipline with sound judgment, communicating the company’s goals accurately and maintaining high ethical standards in all interactions with public officials, partners, and community stakeholders.

- Partner with the Commercial Director to move priority state opportunities toward approval and signature.

- Map each state’s decision-makers, funding and procurement route, required approvals, legal reviewers, and authorised signatory.

- Plan Governor-level engagements with a clear decision requested, the right participants, and agreed follow-up actions.

- Track proposal, budget, procurement, legal, and approval milestones; flag blockers and recommend next steps.

- Monitor state policy and process changes that could affect commercial opportunities, and brief the team on their impact.

- Build a stakeholder and commitment tracker with named owners, deadlines and escalation routes.

- Coordinate regular check-ins with federal partners to review progress, resolve dependencies and keep commitments on track.

- Support the Country Director maintain relationships with key sponsors and decision-makers, including preparing for senior-level updates.

- Monitor federal policy, budget and leadership changes that could affect implementation; brief the Country Director on implications and recommended action.

- Surface opportunities to expand or strengthen the partnership, while coordinating with Commercial, Legal and Operations on next steps.

What You'll Bring

- Substantial experience in government affairs, public policy, public-sector partnerships, or a closely related field in Nigeria, with a record of navigating complex government institutions and advancing organizational objectives.

- Strong, credible relationships and connections with senior government leaders and decision-makers in Nigeria, including relevant federal stakeholders and the ability to build effective relationships with state and local leaders. You can open doors while also earning trust through preparation, candor, and reliable follow-through.

- A practical understanding of Nigeria’s political and institutional landscape, including how federal and subnational governments, public agencies, public health systems, community and traditional leaders, and regional institutions influence policy and implementation.

- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute a stakeholder engagement strategy, assess political and institutional dynamics, and adapt as leadership, priorities, or decision-making structures change.

- Experience coordinating across functions to solve market-entry or policy challenges, with the judgment to distinguish coordination from ownership of legal, regulatory, operational, security, or commercial work.

- Strong policy analysis, advocacy, writing, and briefing skills. You can turn complex developments into clear options, recommendations, and next steps for senior leaders.

- Excellent relationship-building, negotiation, and communication skills, including discretion and sound judgment in politically sensitive situations.

- Fluency in English and the ability to travel within Nigeria as business needs require. Fluency in Yoruba, Hausa, or Igbo are an advantage.

- A bachelor’s degree in public policy, political science, law, international relations, communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

- Experience navigating state government approval, budget, procurement, and contract-signing processes.

- Ability to turn senior government access into well-prepared meetings, clear decisions, and reliable follow-through.

- Sound judgment about the distinct roles of Government Affairs, Commercial, Legal, Finance, and Operations.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $250,000.00-$300,000.00. Please note that this is a target starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash payment for this role will depend on various factors, including a specific candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may include equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.