Regional Program Portfolio Manager (RPPM)

1. Context

Relief International (RI) is an international non-profit organization that partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Our team of more than 7,000 staff and local volunteers work in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing Health and Nutrition, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Education and Livelihoods programming that creates the foundation for community resilience.

We do this by working with local actors to develop safe and inclusive local programming that is evidence based, conflict sensitive, climate smart, and reaches those in need.

Relief International is an alliance of four organizations with one shared mission, comprised of Relief International, Inc., Relief International-France, Relief International-UK and Relief International-Europe, which operate under a one-team concept under a single senior leadership team.

2. Job Profile

The Regional Program Portfolio Manager (RPPM) is a key position within the Global Support Team. Dedicated to cover the countries in Africa and Asia (namely South Sudan, Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Philippines and Myanmar) the RPPM supports the RI Support Office and the Country Offices in developing and accessing new funding opportunities, as well as the overall grant management across the Africa & Asia region. The RPPM works closely with the Regional Program Director (RPD), Regional Director, Business Development and Support functions (i.e. awards management unit, finance, etc.) to ensure adequate support is provided to all country offices across the development of new funding opportunities and grants/program management.

The RPPM will undertake key tasks for the Africa & Asia program portfolio, currently consisting of humanitarian and development programs, as assigned to by the RPD and/or the Regional Director. Field travel will be expected to provide direct support, gap filling, capacity building, monitoring and serve as surge support in response to humanitarian crises.

This role merges functions traditionally divided between program development and grants/program management, ensuring continuity from design through delivery across the Africa & Asia portfolio.

This position demands a highly dynamic, proactive, autonomous, and flexible individual with solid experience in program design and development as project cycle and grants management who is ready to provide substantive contributions and explore advancing their leadership capacity for achieving results in a demanding and fast-paced environment. An excellent communicator and team player with fluency in English and who is at ease working in a highly diverse team, capable of adapting communication styles to different audiences.

3. Key Responsibilities

Accountability and Complexity

• Work closely with the RI Support team and country teams to ensure the highest quality of program development, implementation and reporting.
• Coordinate with key internal and external stakeholders
• Identify and raise risks on program design and implementation.

  Program Development:

  • Foster a culture for evidence-based design and support COs with design workshops for standard proposals.
  • Contribute to program design, for solicited and unsolicited programs, and for pilot and full-scale programs, as well as cost and program modifications/extensions.
  • Manage/coordinate the preparation of funding proposals, including leading proposal writing and costing efforts across a broad range of donors and award amounts, and submitting them via the appropriate donor portals after approvals are secured.
  • Ensure package is compliant with donor regulations and requirements and that all internal processes/policies have been adhered to i.e. partnership, due diligence, etc.
  • Work with country teams to develop work plan for priority proposals, ensuring time is built in for robust and participatory program design workshops.
  • Coordinate with relevant Support Team’s members for the proposal development and/or review
  • Support the monitoring and identification of funding opportunities in coordination with RPDO.
  • Support effective Go-No-Go review and decisions in line with organizational processes.
  • Track country and regional proposal efforts and report to RPD on status
  • In collaboration with country and Support Team, ensure Africa & Asia proposal development pipeline is accurate and up-to-date.

    Program and Grants Management Support:

    • Work with the Regional Awards Manager to facilitate initial compliance and close-out calls with country offices, engage country teams in delivering mandatory mobilization and close-out tools, and flagging relevant reporting information to country teams.
    • Provide comprehensive in-person and remote guidance and support with the implementation of sound project cycle management in accordance with RI’s Program Management Framework (PMF).
    • Participate in project review meetings with relevant CO team members for ongoing projects and provide regular project progress updates.
    • Support and ensure that the program teams regularly update, share and follow project management tools, such as detailed implementation plans, spending projections, procurement plans, and M&E plan as set out in RI’s Mobilization Tool.
    • Work with the Regional Senior Awards and Reporting Officer, Awards Managers, and Programs Director to ensure the quality and timeliness of all donor reports.
    • Ensure high-quality content and compliance with guidelines and requirements for donor reports. Provide final copy edit and/or support in writing assigned sections, upon request. Ensure submission under certain donors’ dedicated platforms in coordination with country offices. When needed, deploy to country programs to assist in writing reports.
    • Ensure regional grants and reporting trackers as well as online grant folders are updated regularly in coordination with Regional Senior Awards and Reporting Officer and Regional Awards Manager as necessary.
    • Lead on overall coordination of grant modifications between COs and Support team offices, facilitating reviews/input from regional and global departments as needed.
    • Provide other grant management and compliance tasks as needed and in coordination with Regional Awards Manager.
    • Actively support the constant improvement of program quality and management efficiency through contributions to country, regional and global initiatives, such as SOP/tool/template development/refinement.

      Risk Management

      • Work closely with Support Team and COs on anticipating and mitigating programmatic and organizational risks related to program development and design of new projects
      • Ensure partnerships with other organizations within proposals follow RI’s procedures, including teaming agreements and due diligence requirements are met prior to submission
      • Support understanding of risks associated with taking on new donors, including ensuring appropriate understanding around donor compliance
      • Ensure cost-share/ contribution identification for proposals is clear and reasonable and follow RI’s processes
      • Work with country teams and Regional Finance Manager to ensure proposals align with under RI's Common Cost Allocation Policy.
      • Actively participate in monthly Portfolio/Project Risk reviews meetings with RSO and country teams, ensuring documentation of program implementation status, challenges, achievements, and risks and follow-up on action items in a timely fashion, flagging risks and issues for under or overspending of budgets, under-achievements, and other implementation challenges. Liaise with country teams on issues that need support from GSO or RSO units (HR, Ops, Security, AMU, Finance, etc.).

        Communication and Representation Support:

        • In collaboration with the RPD, serve as a focal point with donors (i.e. USAID, BHA, PRM, and ECHO), coordinating with appropriate RI colleagues to ensure accurate and timely communication. Actively participate on program related meetings and calls with donors, providing program updates and facilitating information sharing between country program teams and donors.
        • Attend and participate in external meetings, workshops, conferences etc. and brief the Africa & Asia team as needed.
        • Coordinate and participate in regular management meetings with field, RSO and GSO colleagues, including the documentation and sharing of the minutes and action items, encourage overall program cohesion through coordination and information sharing with and between program teams, RSO and GSO.
        • Produce and update regular programmatic updates/briefing materials/capacity statements/country profiles for business development purposes.
        • Ensure Africa & Asia Intranet is up to date on a regular basis and liaises with country offices and RI’s global Communications & Development Team to gather content and stories for use on RI’s website, social media, and other channels.

          People Management

          • Responsible for day-to-day management of RI’s Regional Program Officer based on internal HR processes to ensure successful project’s implementation.
          • Provide mentorship /coaching to direct staff as well as other key program teams.
          • Strengthen champion for stronger teamwork and collaboration among program and other relevant departments.

            Behavior and conduct

            • Ensures that behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies.
            • Acts with integrity and holds themselves accountable for being respectful, inclusive and professional.
            • Reports any concerns.

              Management and leadership

              • Ensure the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies.
              • Be a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members.
              • Embrace diversity, and model inclusive and equitable behaviour.
              • Ensure own actions and the actions of the teams’ members they manage do not adversely impact the safety of the RI team and the vulnerable communities we serve.
              • Ensure donors, partners and communities are aware of RI conduct and reporting mechanisms.
              • Ensure safeguarding is embedded in all the work we do.
              • Be responsible for ensuring a culture and systems in place for reporting.
              • Report any concerns.

                Person Specification

                Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role.

                • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in International Development, Humanitarian Studies, Management, or a related field.
                • Over 5 years of progressive experience in program/proposal development and grants management.
                • Proven experience with major donors like USAID-BHA, USDOS-PRM, ECHO, UN agencies; experience with EC and development donors is a plus.
                • Strong skills in the full program cycle, from design to evaluation.
                • Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication; skilled in building consensus.
                • Ability to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and handle high-pressure environments.
                • Logical thinking, comfort with complex budgets, and high attention to detail.
                • Works well independently and within teams; open to feedback and collaboration.
                • Advanced skills in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint).
                • Willing and able to travel internationally to support field operations.

                  RI Values

                  Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

                  • Integrity
                  • Adaptability
                  • Collaboration
                  • Inclusivity

                    Sustainability