UN Grants Program Manager

Title

UN GRANTS PM Location

NORTH DARFUR (For the time being, Port Sudan/Gedaref and later North Darfur when the security situation improves)
Travel

NA Job Family and Level

Technical Family T6 Pre hire checks

This role is classified as requiring standard pre-employment checks / enhanced due-diligence

1. Scope
Responsibility

country level Department

Programs/Implementation Reporting to

DCD Programs Direct reports

Budget responsibility

NA Relationship management

Rest of program managers and technical coordinators

2. 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 4500 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 (RI) works with communities affected by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build resilience, and promote long-term well-being. In Sudan, RI implements multi-sectoral programs including Health, Nutrition, WASH, Protection, and Livelihoods.

Sudan faces a compounding food security crisis, with rising conflict, inflation, and climate shocks. RI’s Food Security and Livelihoods portfolio responds through market-based programming, emergency food assistance, agricultural recovery, and resilience building. 1. Job Profile

As the UN Grants Program Manager, you will be responsible for the effective planning, implementation, and coordination of Relief International’s portfolio of UN-funded projects in Sudan, including grants from UNICEF, WFP, and UNOCHA/SHF. You will lead project start-up and close-out processes, ensure adherence to donor and internal compliance standards, oversee budget utilization, and drive high-quality, timely delivery of results across multiple sectors.

Your key responsibilities will include:

· Leading overall program implementation across sectors (e.g., health, nutrition, WASH, FSL, protection), ensuring alignment with grant objectives, workplans, and timelines.

· Ensuring donor compliance, including financial oversight, procurement planning, and narrative and financial reporting in coordination with grants, MEAL and operations and finance teams.

· Work with MEAL team to strengthen monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) frameworks across all UN-funded projects to improve evidence-based decision-making and adaptive programming.

· Managing partnerships with local and national actors, including oversight of sub-grants, capacity strengthening, and partner compliance monitoring.

· Ensuring integration of cross-cutting themes such as safeguarding, gender equity, inclusion, and community accountability throughout the project lifecycle.

· Supporting staff performance and team cohesion, including mentoring, performance management, and contribution to the overall leadership of the Sudan country program.

Autonomy and Complexity:
You will work with considerable autonomy to shape and lead the implementation of UN Grants. You will navigate a complex humanitarian environment that requires adaptation to political instability, climate risk, and diverse regional needs. You will coordinate across departments and partners to ensure programs are effective, safe, and accountable to communities. 2. Key Responsibilities Program Implementation and Coordination

· Lead the end-to-end implementation of UN-funded programs, ensuring alignment with project objectives, work plans, and timelines.

· Coordinate with sector leads (Health, Nutrition, FSL, WASH, Protection, etc.) to ensure timely activity rollout and synergy across interventions.

· Monitor implementation progress against log frames, flag bottlenecks early, and lead course correction with support from technical and operational teams.

· Oversee start-up and close-out processes, including kick-off meetings, work plan finalization, and project learning reviews.

2. Budget and Grants Compliance

· Ensure adherence to donor rules and internal policies across program expenditures, procurement, and reporting.

· Lead the development and monitoring of budget vs. actuals (BVAs), working closely with Finance to track spending and reforecast where necessary.

· Support preparation of high-quality donor reports, including narrative and financial components.

· Coordinate timely submission of budget modifications, no-cost extensions, and realignment requests as needed. 3. Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

· Ensure robust MEAL systems are in place for all UN-funded projects to measure progress and results.

· Lead on setting clear output, outcome, and impact indicators in collaboration with MEAL and technical teams.

· Facilitate data-driven program reviews, learning events, and documentation of best practices and lessons learned.

· Support accountability mechanisms including community feedback and complaints response systems.

4. Safeguarding, Gender, and Inclusion

· Ensure safeguarding policies are fully integrated and operationalized in all UN-funded activities.

· Promote gender-sensitive and inclusive programming, ensuring interventions meet the needs of marginalized groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities.

· Monitor implementation environments for risks to beneficiaries and staff and take appropriate actions where safeguarding issues arise.

· Train field staff and partners on safeguarding and ensure compliance reporting pathways are well understood and functional.

5. Local Partner Management

· Oversee partnerships with local/national NGOs including sub-grant management, compliance monitoring, and capacity strengthening.

· Facilitate partner assessments, develop improvement plans, and ensure partner budgets and activities are on track.

· Ensure partners share reports on time and that they implement activities on time

6. Team Leadership and Capacity Building

· Provide direct supervision to UN grants implementing teams

· Foster a positive team environment that promotes collaboration, performance, and accountability.

· Identify training and development needs of program staff and organize relevant capacity-building sessions.

· Ensure adherence to RI HR policies and support performance management processes.

Person Specification Essential Criteria

· Advanced degree in International Development, Project Management, Humanitarian Affairs, Social Sciences, or a related field.

· Minimum of 5 years of progressive program management experience in humanitarian or development settings, with at least 2 years in a context similar to Sudan managing multi-sector grants.

· Proven experience managing UN-funded programs (e.g., UNICEF, WFP, UNOCHA/SHF) with demonstrated success in compliance, budgeting, and timely delivery.

· Demonstrated ability to manage complex programs in fragile, conflict-affected, or protracted crisis settings for at least two years.

· Solid understanding of MEAL systems and integration of learning into adaptive program implementation.

· Demonstrated capacity in team leadership, coordination with multi-disciplinary teams, and remote supervision.

· Experience working with or managing local partners, including due diligence, capacity strengthening, and oversight.

· Strong analytical, communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills.

· Fluency in English (both spoken and written). Desirable Criteria

· Previous experience working in Sudan or a comparable humanitarian operating environment

· Proficiency in Arabic.

· Familiarity with digital tools for project management, remote monitoring, and data collection in insecure contexts.

RI Values

Relief International upholds the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence and affirms its commitment to engaging with the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability