Program Manager
The Program Manager has a deep understanding of climate justice and a grounded political analysis of global systems and the role of movements in transforming them, and a deep understanding of philanthropy, grantmaking, and movement accompaniment. They have a commitment to climate, environmental, and social justice and feminist grassroots movements and an understanding of their importance in shifting social, political, and economic systems from ones that are vulnerable, unsustainable, and unjust, to ones that are resilient, sustainable, and equitable.
Main Responsibilities
GGFs program strategy
- Facilitate the work of the Advisory Networks, and support implementation of the Program Team and wider organisation’s systems to ensure they are enabling the team and organization to deliver on its work and meet its accountabilities while staying true to its principles and values.
- Lead in the development of systems and procedures to operationalize the team and organizational work plans in alignment with the overall organizational strategic vision and priorities and the needs of the regional and global network.
- Lead in the development of systems to develop, track, and operationalize the program team's annual budgets in alignment with the overall organizational strategic vision and priorities and the needs of the regional and global network.
- Manage all aspects of the program function workflows to ensure that GGF’s programmatic work substantively and effectively advances strategic goals, is highly relevant and responsive to the context of environmental and social justice movements - with a focus on the impact areas, and is aligned with organizational priorities and values.
- Contribute to the analysis and sensemaking of regional and global political context and philanthropic trends, surfacing implications for resourcing and accompanying movements and informing strategy implementation.
- Facilitate the operationalization of work under GGF’s Impact Areas to ensure achievement of organizational outcomes.
- Contribute to program strategy evolution, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning for GGF’s program work.
- Contribute to relevant research, design, implementation, and dissemination (including in partnerships with relevant research organizations) to advance programmatic strategic objectives.
- Contribute in designing and deploying various organizational learning and development programs, tools, and change processes that facilitate improved organizational performance and strengthen GGF’s practices as an intersectional grantmaking organization.
- Contribute to an organizational culture of high accountability and continuous improvement that values learning.
Program Coordination, Information and Communications
- Coordinate the development of annual workplans and budgets for the program function, and guide course corrections from mid-year and year-end team reflections.
- Coordinate the development of the annual organizational budgeting process and ensure strong alignment with annual planning and GGF’s defined strategic goals; specifically, contribute to developing organisational grant and non-grantmaking budgets and analysis of the absorption capacity of the Advisory Boards and partners.
- Manage strategy and support in the planning and coordination of programmatic activities under Impact Areas, ensuring that GGF is tracking and responding to thematic trends and addressing the priorities and needs of the Network.
- Design and implement systematic and operational improvements to ensure high standards of donor compliance and budget and funding management across GGF, in partnership with the global Operations, Grants Management, Finance and Philanthropic Partnerships teams and GGF UK.
- Monitor and manage expenditure under program budgets and activities in order to support the successful implementation of programmatic activities.
- Coordinate and collaborate with Grants Management, Philanthropic Partnerships and Finance teams including to develop and monitor project budgets for donor-funded activities, including grantmaking and other programmatic commitments in line with impact area programmatic goals and objectives.
- Provide timely, accurate information on funded activities to support the completion of high-quality donor proposals and reports as required.
- In collaboration with GGF staff teams and Advisory Board Coordinators and Advisors, support timely and robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning under the impact areas and documentation of effective and innovative grantmaking and movement strengthening strategies.
- In collaboration with the MEI Manager and relevant impact area Clusters, coordinate the development of in-depth, high-quality analysis of the approaches, results, and impact of GGF’s grantmaking and movement strengthening and the work of our Network and grantees under the impact areas.
- Support learning and communicating with the External Relations team, the organization’s leadership, Advisory Boards, Network, Board, and funders to ensure they are kept updated on the impact, effective approaches to challenges, and opportunities under GGF’s impact area and programmatic work
- Facilitate and lead collaboration with fundraising and development teams to ensure coordination with impact area programmatic goals and objectives.
Relationship building
- Build, manage, and maintain relationships with the global network of advisors, movement actors, and relevant peer organizations who are working within the GGF ecosystem, to connect with and listen to the voices of the advisory network in guiding our programmatic vision in alignment with GGF's overarching strategy.
- Advance GGF’s strategic objectives by networking and sharing information with relevant external stakeholders (including grantees, coordinators and advisors, and donors, feminist, environmental and social justice and/or human rights organizations and other social justice actors) in different select spaces and regions of the world.
- Work to identify opportunities and build collaborations and partnerships to strengthen GGF’s model of a learning organization.
- Maintain active and broad external engagement to ensure awareness of social and environmental movement needs and opportunities, as well as a broad understanding of trends and needs in the GGF network of grantees, environmental justice and philanthropic ecosystems.
- Represent GGF and participate in donor meetings, conferences, Advisory Board meetings, and special events as necessary, and prepare and deliver public presentations, articles and/or other media products as required to convey highlights coming out from the program work, in line with the strategic objectives for external audiences.
Organizational processes.
- Contribute to ensuring the programs team as a whole can meet their day-to-day needs to reach their goals.
- Contribute to GGF as a thriving learning organization with an enabling work environment, grounded in intersectional feminist principles, shared leadership practices that facilitates high-quality, impactful work.
- Participate actively in GGF-wide organizational meetings and initiatives as relevant;
- Contribute to developing and maintaining ways of working that facilitate strong cross-team collaboration and interaction within the organization and the global GGF network.
- Build, maintain and, as needed, adapt the tools, processes, and mindsets that help the team work in collaborative, inclusive, and effective ways.
- Coordinate the US program team and, as appropriate, with the UK organization to integrate collaborations in programs and exchange of information and other relevant activities.
- Adhere to approved budget and all internal financial policies and procedures, including coordinating timely submission of quarterly and annual budget and variance information.
Position Specifications
Essential Values and Competencies
- Commitment to the guiding principles, mission and values of Global Greengrants Fund;
- Commitment to a value-based intersectional framework and its implications for organizational practices and principles of anti-oppression.
- Transparency and Accountability
- Critical thinking and analysis
- Strategic risk management
- Build strong interpersonal relations from the role - across both the US and UK organizations (up, down and across and externally)
- Influencing & resolving differences across boundaries
- Self-awareness and insight
Essential Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Experience:
- Significant relevant experience working in justice-centred organisations that directly support local organisations and movements, including non-profit social/environmental justice, feminist, gender, human rights organization, philanthropy, movement building, grantmaking and/or funding organization.
- Proven experience in project and program planning, coordination and implementation, operationalizing strategies to achieve priorities and goals.
- Excellent organization skills and demonstrable ability to develop, monitor and evaluate an operational plan with multiple projects, multiple deliverables and deadlines; ability to plan, organize, coordinate and lead the implementation of plans and processes across a team.
- Strong financial management acumen and skills, including budgeting and expenditure tracking and analysis
- Demonstrated capacity to think strategically, innovatively, and analytically, with expertise in complex problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking skills, and displays good judgment.
- Excellent interpersonal understanding, relationship building, and interpersonal skills to build strong alliances with diverse constituencies and manage complex politics, positioning, and relationships.
- Experience working with diverse communities from multiple identities across the globe, in a virtual environment and to engage virtually across time zones.
- Fluency in English; proficiency in other languages preferred.
- Ability to work effectively in a fully remote, tech-forward environment, using digital tools to communicate, collaborate, and manage work. Strong expertise in the use of various software and a high level of computer literacy (MS Office Suite, Google Apps, instant messaging and virtual team collaboration software such as Trello, Zoom, Slack and Asana
- Ability to travel within the US and the rest of the world (approx. 4-8 weeks per year).
Desirable Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Experience
- Experience strengthening growing organizations.
- Experience of collaborative ways of working.
- Courses or certificates in program and/or project management, design and evaluation.
IMPORTANT - the posted salary range is specific to the US only - unless otherwise indicated. Shortlisted candidates who are invited to interviews that are not based in the US will be provided applicable salary ranges.