Programme Funding and Contracts Manager

Reports to: Head of Programme Funding

Job Location: London, UK. Office based, but with the option to work up to 40% at home

Duration: Permanent. Full Time (37.5hrs per week)

Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: £36,774-£39,326

For 40 years, across nearly 50 countries, Action Against Hunger has led the global fight against hunger. We save the lives of malnourished children. We ensure everyone can access clean water, food, training and healthcare. We enable entire communities to be free from hunger. In 2020, Action Against Hunger reached over 25 million people through interventions in nutrition and health; water, sanitation and hygiene; food security and livelihoods; mental health and care practices and; disaster risk management.

Action Against Hunger UK, as part of Action Against Hunger’s global humanitarian Network, supports our international programmes by raising funds, providing Nutrition, Climate and MEAL expertise,campaigning for changeand raising awareness of child hunger.

The Programme Funding and Contracts Manager will work within the small, but dynamic, Programme Funding Team to help develop and manage our funding portfolio with the UK Government and other UK-managed donors. They will play a key role in supporting Action Against Hunger’s country, regional, global and UK programmes to increase its UK Government and other UK-managed donor programme funding portfolio, including strategic positioning for new grant and commercial contract opportunities, consortia development and facilitating, leading and ensuring quality bid submissions. The post holder will support and ensure Action Against Hunger manages and delivers on its grant/contract requirements, liaising closely with the Network teams, partners and donors throughout. The post holder will also work with colleagues to raise Action Against Hunger’s profile and engagement with the UK Government and UK sector, to inform, influence and collaborate on key areas of importance for Action Against Hunger’s mandate. The post holder will support Action Against Hunger in responding to crises through our memberships of the Start Network and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). The post-holder may be given specific country/regional responsibility for overall strategic funding and sector positioning engagement, but work flexibly as part of the Programme Funding team.

In line with Action Against Hunger’s International and UK Strategic Plans, and maximising the linkages between the UK Government’s international agenda and Action Against Hunger’s global priorities, the Programme Funding and Contracts Manager will work closely with our Network HQs and country teams, to develop opportunities and increase the level of new grants and commercial contracts, and ensure effective delivery on our rapidly growing portfolio of UK Government related grants/contracts, as well as funding from the Start Network and DEC. As part of a growing team, the Manager will ensure delivery on funding targets and contract/grant requirements, furthering engagement with the UK Government and UK sector at UK, regional and country-levels and contribute to the team’s and wider Action Against Hunger Network strategic work. The Manager will coordinate with Action Against Hunger’s International Donor Relations Unit to increase overall institutional donor funding, compliance and engagement.

The post holder will be expected to adhere to the terms of the Action Against Hunger International Code of Conduct and associated policies, as a condition of their employment. All employees have particular responsibility for understanding and following protocols in relation to safeguarding (children and vulnerable adults), and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). Those in management positions are also responsible for ensuring that staff, volunteers, consultants and other key stakeholders are made aware of and supported in implementing these measures.

key duties and responsibilities

1. Enable the timely identification and response to funding opportunities from the UK Government and related institutional donors, including grants and commercial contracts. The post-holder will support the Network to identify and position for funding opportunities. The post-holder will coordinate with relevant Action Against Hunger Network counterparts and lead and facilitate processes to ensure a strategic approach in responding to opportunities.
2. Support the Network to be well positioned to bid/apply for contracts and grants, including in consortia either as prime or sub. This includes identification of, and effective engagement with, an increased and more diversified number of UK sector actors.
3. Support Network technical teams and country staff throughout the bid development process (level of support provided will vary). This includes support with consortia building and negotiation, bid development facilitation and writing, reviewing and submission of bids, to ensure high quality proposals to achieve high success rates.
4. Action Against Hunger UK, as signatory to all the Network’s UK Government related funding grants and contracts, has overall responsibility to ensure high quality delivery and compliance on each grant/contract. The post-holder will support improvements in HQs and country teams’ ability to deliver on the UK Government and related grants and contracts. This includes support with contract negotiation, grant/contract management, due diligence compliance and reporting processes (reviewing, editing, submission). The post-holder will be expected to work closely with Finance teams, Legal, Risk and Compliance Counsel, and other staff across the Network, to ensure timely and effective compliance with UK donor reporting requirements.
5. Be a programme contact for the DEC and Start on emergencies, programmatic issues, appeals and potential funding allocations relating to specific countries/regions. This may require working outside of normal office hours or at the weekends in response to a new or emerging crisis.
6. Represent Action Against Hunger at relevant meetings, events or forums with the UK Government and UK sector on particular thematic/country/regional issues, in coordination with UK Advocacy colleagues. The role-holder will be expected to liaise with Advocacy and country/technical colleagues and across the Network, to increase Action Against Hunger’s visibility within the sector and position Action Against Hunger as the ‘go to experts’ on hunger and nutrition and associated WASH, food security and livelihoods, health and, disaster response and resilience.
7. Pro-actively contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of our Programme Funding team’s UK Aid Engagement Strategy and Annual Plans. This includes working with the team and wider Network to develop the skills, tools, materials and processes to deliver the Strategy’s objectives effectively and successfully. The role-holder will be expected to take the lead on developing and delivering on specific initiatives as part of this
8. The post-holder will be required to undertake any other duties as reasonably required. This includes supporting and contributing to the UK Operations Department and engagement/support to Action Against Hunger UK and the wider Network.
9. The postholder will be expected to adhere to the terms of the Action Against Hunger International Code of Conduct and associated policies, as a condition of their employment. All employees have particular responsibility for understanding and following protocols in relation to safeguarding (children and vulnerable adults), and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). Those in management positions are also responsible for ensuring that staff, volunteers, consultants and other key stakeholders are made aware of and supported in implementing these measures

Decisions and judgement

• Responsible for identifying and ensuring response to specific UK Government and related donor grants and contracts (country, regional, global, UK, as required); and ensuring, leading and facilitating effective management, delivery and compliance of bids, grants/contracts, liaising with donors, consortia partners, Programme Funding team and the wider Action Against Hunger Network, as required.
• Strong collaboration with Action Against Hunger UK’s Operations department (advocacy, technical Nutrition, Climate and MEAL teams) and, Finance, Compliance, fundraising, communication teams.
• Effective relationships and regular communication with other Action Against Hunger Network HQs and country and regional offices.
• Working within broad practice, policy and guidelines and using discretion and initiative over a broad area of activity
• Subject to managerial direction
• The work may involve international travel and, where essential, working outside usual office hours

Person specification

Essential

Educated to undergraduate or Master degree in a field related to international development or social sciences and/or equivalent experience gained

Experience required

Essential

• Demonstrative experience of working in the humanitarian and/or development sector.
• Good understanding of humanitarian principles and current sectoral issues.
• Significant, proven experience of successfully securing and managing donor funding, including: identification and response to opportunities for funding; leading/facilitating project development; bid/proposal development; consortia positioning; grant/contract negotiations and; grant/contact management including delivery, compliance, reporting; developing and maintaining systems, processes, procedures for bid and contract management.
• Strong knowledge of the UK sector and experience of engaging with sector actors and networks.
• Knowledge and experience of UK Government funding.
• Demonstrable skills and experience in creating, establishing and negotiating relationships with various stakeholders.
• An understanding of policy development.
• Good level of interpersonal skills.
• Ability to write clearly and succinctly, for a range of audiences. High level of English written and oral communication levels.
• IT literate.
• Able to manage and prioritise diverse, demanding workload and work on own initiative.
• A demonstrable personal and professional commitment to uphold the principles and practices in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Desirable

• French and Spanish language – written and oral

Competencies required

• Self Confidence: Holds themselves accountable for meeting their objectives. Leads positively and with self-confidence while maintaining listening, understanding and responding.
• Achievement drive: Sets priorities, identifies needs and plans what must be done.
• Initiative/Innovativeness: Seeks out fresh ideas from a wide variety of sources and revises own views when presented with new information. Anticipates outcomes of situations and acts to steer them in the desired direction.
• Decision making: Gathers relevant information before making decisions and takes responsibilities for the associated outcomes of decisions.
• Influencing/persuasive: Obtains agreement through collaboration and effectively selects the appropriate style in any situation. Leads on decisions when collaboration is not possible or necessary. Works flexibly showing a ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Planning, organising and coordination: Strives to work to the highest quality in all situations and produce the highest quality outputs, through attention to detail and thoroughness.
• Comfortable with change: adapts well and suggests areas for change.
• Quality: Strives to work to the highest quality in all situations and produce the highest quality outputs, through attention to detail and thoroughness
• Communication: Is clear and coherent in both writing and verbal skills.
• Analytical and critical thinking: Probes information and assumptions to establish facts and identifies common themes. Is logical in approaching issues.