Sheila Ojei is a strategist and driver of cross-sector partnerships, with expertise in impact communications, stakeholder engagement, fundraising, and business development. Her career spans the corporate, public, and development sectors, and she is passionate about unlocking local and global capital while building communities committed to sustainable impact.

Sheila currently serves as the Director of Philanthropy at Plan International Nigeria, where she leads strategic fundraising and resource mobilisation efforts to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. In this role, she focuses on building transformative partnerships, expanding donor engagement, and mobilising funding to drive lasting social impact.

Before joining Plan International, she was the Country Manager for the African Management Institute (AMI) in Nigeria, where she led the organisation’s market entry, drove national growth, and built strategic partnerships to scale access to workplace learning and business development services.

Prior to that, Sheila served as the Director of Strategy, Partnerships, and Stakeholder Management at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). There, she led high-impact initiatives that supported over 10,000 MSMEs, expanded youth employment, and strengthened the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lagos State.

Earlier in her career, she worked in investment banking and manufacturing, gaining hands-on experience in business operations and financial management. She later transitioned to Jobberman Nigeria, a leading technology recruitment platform, where she led brand and communications strategy. There, she oversaw the rollout of the Young Africa Works communications strategy in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, a bold initiative aimed at training 5 million young Nigerians and placing 3 million in dignified work.

Beyond her professional achievements, Sheila is an accomplished spoken word artist and storyteller, using her creativity to inspire change and amplify African narratives. She serves on United Way Greater Nigeria and the BusinessDay Foundation boards, mentors young adults in purpose discovery, and holds an MBA from Trinity College Dublin, an MA from Regent’s University London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from St. John’s University, New York.