Programme Development and Design Team Lead

Contract Type: Permanent Contract

Full / Part Time: Full time (flexible working options available)

Salary Range: £46,750 -55,000

The job of a Save the Children’s UK Programme Development & Design Team Lead is strategic and fulfilling.

• Do you have a proven track record of business/philanthropic partnership development, proposal development and income generation, including development of multi stakeholder partnerships?
• Do you have proven track experience of developing successful high value proposals, for complex multi-thematic projects and experience of leading programmatic co-design with business partners?
• Are you an experienced programme development professional with expertise in business partnerships and project design within developing and fragile contexts ideally, and the ability to lead a successful team?
• Are you motivated by our vision of creating a world where every child doesn’t just survive, but thrives, and can go on to change the world?

If the answers to these questions are yes, we would love to hear from you!

Pleas Note: To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications. Interviews are likely to take place w/c June 20th.

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

Job Purpose

Save the Children UK has a renewed focus within our 2022-24 strategy in the following areas:

– Attracting new funding for our programmes (restricted income)

– Amplifying impact for children through new partnerships and collaborations

This role sits within the Business Programmes Hub. The Hub is responsible for building transformational partnerships with the private sector and philanthropists in collaboration with Save the Children UK’s Partnerships and Philanthropy department, Advocacy and Technical teams.

You will play a pivotal role with the Business Programme Hub and lead a team of Programme Development Specialists, responsible for developing impactful/transformational projects and partnerships which endorse Save the Children’s global goals. It is these partnerships which will work to achieve transformational change for children in line with our organisational strategic priorities.

You will strengthen and optimise the project design process and organisational ways of working. You will also capacity strengthen colleagues in regional/country offices in the design and development of impactful NGO-business partnerships/multi stakeholder partnerships.

We are seeking an experienced programme development professional with expertise in business partnerships and project design within developing and fragile contexts to lead this team. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker and influencer. You will ensure programmes in partnership with businesses are impactful for children and communities, value for money and leverage the core assets and technical expertise of our partners.

Main Accountabilities

Design and development of high-quality impactful partnership programmes with businesses and philanthropists

• Lead the design and development of complex/transformational/high value partnership proposals/budgets, manage cross departmental/multi stakeholder teams throughout the partnership development process
• Produce/support your team to produce high quality, compelling programme information, concept notes, and proposals
• Collaborate with the Partnership Development and Business Development teams on multi stakeholder partnership opportunities that engage businesses and philanthropists as well as with Institutional Donors
• Provide oversight and approval of all propositions, ensuring high quality and relevance to our partners and adherence to organisational project development quality standards
• Drive best practices in delivery of business programmes through collaboration with Programme Management teams to share lessons learned from current programmes and ensure learnings are drawn into new concept notes and proposals, creatively identifying opportunities, and mitigating against future programme delivery risks
• Work with the Senior Impact and Learning Advisor and other Impact and Learning colleagues to effectively embed strategic learning and evaluation processes into new concept notes/proposals/partnerships
• Proactively lead and contribute to strategic dialogue across Save the Children UK and globally to share best practice, fostering a learning environment to support the global development of sector-leading programmes with business and philanthropy partners more widely

Optimise, strengthen and oversee programme and partnership development practices

• Develop and lead effective ways of working with key senior stakeholders across Save the Children teams, including Fundraising, Programme Policy, and Quality, designing, and promoting agreed cross-team ways of working to ensure effective programme design and development
• Work directly with country programmes, regional offices, and wider Save the Children International teams to drive improvements in proposal development, co creation, project design, partner engagement, managing and mitigating risks, and taking a solution focused approach to resolving issues as they arise
• Maintain a strong understanding and overview of key organisational strategic priorities to ensure a streamlined and effective approach to managing and sharing programme information and consistent communication on our strategic priorities
• Lead the development and effective implementation of effective internal knowledge management processes and systems to continuously improve efficiency, adhere to organisational processes, and ensure the team’s ability to contribute to departmental and organisational targets
• Maintain an external lens, ensuring proposition development remains relevant to external market conditions, with strong awareness of developments in the sector and ensuring we are adapting and responding accordingly
• Act as the organisational lead for match funding, provide updates on funding liabilities oversee and optimise brokerage processes and ensure funding materials are available to support match funding proposals

Develop and manage a high performing Programme Development team

• Ensure the Business Programmes Hub is sharing lessons learned across the organisation, to continuously improve and drive best practice for how we develop and deliver high quality and innovative business partnerships
• Line manage and motivating the Programme Development team to ensure staff are engaged, set up to succeed and feel supported to meet their professional development objectives
• Effectively manage team capacity and workload to ensure effective prioritisation and the efficient delivery of agreed work outputs against deadlines
• Build team capacity where necessary and identify learning and development opportunities
• Facilitate team training sessions on business partnerships to deepen the team’s knowledge of how to develop and deliver sector leading business partnerships
• Develop and oversee a business partnerships capacity strengthening plan for country office stake holders in collaboration with regional office colleagues

Person Profile

Skills and Experience

• Proven track record of business/philanthropic partnership development, proposal development and income generation, including development of multi stakeholder partnerships
• An in-depth understanding of motivating factors for business/philanthropists to partner with NGOs, including an advanced understanding of sequencing required to develop Transformational Partnerships and Multi Stakeholder Partnerships
• A proven track record in developing successful high value proposals, for complex multi-thematic projects and experience of leading programmatic co-design with business partners.
• Expert knowledge of programme design processes/practices and quality principles
• Knowledge of technical areas such as climate change mitigation and adaption, livelihoods/adolescent pathways, using tech for development, and/or child rights and business practices within value chains and /or Save the Children’s four Global Strategic Goals
• Excellent verbal and written communication and an ability to tailor communications/engagement to support partner interests
• Excellent influencing skills that demonstrate an ability to create acceptance and support for ideas
• Excellent multi-tasking skills and ability to lead the project design project confidently and effectively

Abilities

• Ability to present complex financial information clearly and effectivelyand understanding of value for money concepts
• Ability to lead, collaborate, take direction and work effectively within multi-disciplinary teams and at a matrix level
• A proven ability to build and maintain positive relationships and demonstrate that you value the opinion of others
• Outstanding ability to plan, organise and deliver work tasks to meet individual, team, and departmental objectives
• Willingness and ability to travel overseas for project design/co creation workshops

Aptitude

• A demonstrable commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion and their practical application and integration in the work environment
• A commitment to Save the Children UK’s aims and core values of accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity, and integrity

Remote Working:

The majority of SCUK employees are currently working remotely within the UK in line with UK Government guidance. Commencing July 2021 we will transition to flexible and hybrid ways of working (i.e. a mixture of remote/home and office-based working) as social distancing restrictions ease.

We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview**.**

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

Save the Children UK is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work both external and internal. We strive to be an inclusive employer and particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, and from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.