Programme Impact & Portfolio Management Advisor in Edinburgh

Permanent, Full time, Hybrid working (minimum of 2 days per week in the office)

Location: This role can also be based in one of our UK offices (Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Warrington)

Salary - £45,732 per annum (plus London allowance if applicable)

If we receive a high volume of applications, we reserve the right to close the advert before the scheduled closing date. Therefore, we encourage interested applicants to apply at their earliest convenience.

About us

Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart. We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues.

About the role

Reporting in to the Global Programme & Partnership Lead, the Programme Impact & Portfolio Management Advisor plays a pivotal role in supporting the effective implementation of Christian Aid’s unrestricted funded projects and programmes, valued at over £10 million, including signature programmes and other incubative funding mechanisms under Christian Aid’s unrestricted portfolio. The post-holder will provide comprehensive support across all stages of our ‘signature’ programmes and programmes under unrestricted portfolio, bringing deep global and regional experience to lift programme portfolio management across the organization. The role supports the global programme and partnership lead in managing the full programme cycle from design to closure, ensuring compliance with internal and external standards and policies, ensuring consistency and coherence. The role also involves supporting capacity building for our Multi Country Cluster (MCC) and global staff, contributing to programme information management systems, and engaging in cross-organisational initiatives to enhance programme quality and excellence. The role supports the global programme and partnership lead in coordinating cross-functional teams across MCC and global enabling functions, ensuring coherent and quality programme delivery across the unrestricted portfolio to achieve the greatest impact under the new strategy.

Some of the main areas of responsibility for the Programme Impact & Portfolio Management Advisor include:

• Support MCCs to ensure effective programme cycle implementation from design, inception, delivery to close-out, with a focus on signature programmes and other programmes under the unrestricted portfolio, aligned with internal standards, organizational values and goals, and external commitments such as the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS).
• Support the global programme and partnership lead in ensuring effective and impactful programme impact and portfolio management across the full unrestricted portfolio- from design and planning through implementation, review, and closure – drawing on substantive regional experience to ensure quality, coherence, and learning embedded at every stage.
• Collaborate with Impact Department colleagues to develop policies and enhance programme, project and partnership cycles, collaborating to drive meaningful change.
• Support delivery of capacity-building initiatives through training and resource navigation support for unrestricted funding projects to maximize income.
• Collaborate with the MEL Advisor and Income & Public Engagement Department to strengthen communications and reporting for internal and external stakeholders, building relationships based on trust and openness.
• Support programme and finance teams in monitoring expenditure and resource allocation within agreed.

About you

Who we are looking for:

Essential:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Significant hands-on experience in leading and supporting programme portfolio management across the full cycle of programme cycle management (PCM)-design, planning, implementation, review, and closure- including in the context of unrestricted (code 1) funded programmes.
• Substantive regional and global experience (Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America) that can be applied to lift the quality and ambition of signature programme and other programmes under unrestricted portfolio.
• Demonstrated ability to provide global support in anchoring and coordinating cross-functional teams – including MCC and global enabling functions – to achieve joined-up, quality programme delivery.
• Significant experience working on global programme portfolio management.
• Significant experience in coordinating with cross-functional and cross-cultural teams.
• Highly developed in MS Office applications (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel) and web/intranet-based systems for financial management.
• Significant experience and acumen of budget monitoring, financial analysis using spreadsheets and producing reports for donors.
• Demonstrable experience working with diverse cultures in contexts across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America through a partnership approach.
• Developed problem-solving skills with the ability to manage complex issues independently.
• Highly developed communication skills for convening meetings and taking clear minutes.
• Fluency in English.

Desirable:

• Developed ability in French or Spanish (written or spoken).
• Demonstrable experience working with external stakeholders.
• Understanding of humanitarian principles and international standards such as SPHERE.

Further information

At Christian Aid we strive to be an inclusive and diverse employer and recognise the value that this brings in helping to build strong, creative and high performing teams. We are actively encouraging racialised minorities, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people with caring responsibilities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, women, and older workers to apply. This is because these groups are under-represented within our teams, especially at senior level, and we recognise and value the contributions members of these groups make to strong, creative and high performing teams. We have a strong Christian ethos and we encourage applications from all faiths. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and sympathy with Christian Aid’s faith identity. All successful candidates will require a DBS/police check appropriate to the role and location and a Counter Terrorism Sanction check as part of your clearance for commencing your role with us. We also participate in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information as part of the referencing process from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures. This role requires applicants to have the right to live and work in the country where this position is based and undertake the role that you have been offered. If you are successful and we make you an offer for the role, we will be required to conduct a right to work check on your immigration status in the UK. We will contact you regarding the documentation you will need to provide to evidence this.