Position Title: Director of Program Portfolio Management
Nairobi
Job Title: Director of Program Portfolio Management
Department: Program Management Department (PMD), Programs Division
Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $50 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $29 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 46 countries.
The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting.
The Role: Under the supervision of the Deputy Director, Programs Division, and working closely with other relevant senior management in the Programs Division and across the Center, the Director-Program Portfolio Management will provide leadership, standard setting and quality assurance towards ensuring high quality design, planning, budgeting, delivery and reporting of programs across the Center measured against globally recognized standards towards the realization of the Center’s strategic objectives. The role holder shall also carry out supervisory responsibilities of assigned staff within the PMD including overseeing their recruitment, onboarding, performance management and professional development.
Primary Responsibilities:
Programs Resources Development and Stewardship:
- Working closely with the Development, Compliance, Finance and other relevant teams, ensure quality and functional systems, controls, tools, policies, guidelines, and processes for successful grants cycle management, from the pre-award to the closure phase, across all programs, including in internal and external program/project design, budgeting, internal approvals within the Programs Division, implementation, monitoring, reporting and learning.
- Working closely with the Associate Director-Program Business Development and Innovation (PMD) as well as the Development Department, oversee programs resources development (fundraising and pipelines) including research (including on funding opportunities, comparative systems/approaches), agreeing to funding thresholds, new compliance and accountability policies or standards and supporting regions to meet these standards or policies through, among others, capacity development support, internal reviews and feedback processes.
- Working closely with the Senior Programs Budget Manager (PMD) and other relevant staff/teams within and outside the Programs Division, ensure internal and external compliance and accountability for the Programs Division including functional and clear systems, tools and timelines and decision-making structures for program financial fiduciary management, reporting and compliance (such as Center/donor compliance and lobbying compliance).
- In close coordination with the Development Team and respective Program Departments, support the Program Division’s quality donor engagement and reporting including by systematizing, supporting, and coordinating quality narrative reporting to donors and other development partners, ensuring clear documentation of results for strategic communication to donors and other strategic partners.
Global Programs operations Strategy development and implementation oversight:
- Lead in the design, definition, and implementation of the inaugural CRR programs operations and administrations strategy, standards, protocols, and tactical plans across the Programs Division and within the Center, including ensuring functional communication, workflows, timelines, responsibilities, and decision authority.
- Provide guidance and quality assurance to all program departments in developing and implementing annual plans in support of the Center’s strategic objectives and priorities.
- Manage Programs financial fiduciary processes for both internal and external processes within the Programs Division (including iterative prioritization, and regular planning, budgeting, reprojections and program financial risk management).
- Support the Deputy Director-Program Division in ensuring a functional and cohesive Program Management Department (PMD) team working under a clear structure and guided by workplans aligned to the Center’s strategies and document the PMD’s results/progress against targets including through effective supervision of all assigned PMD staff.
- Coordinating with the Office of Strategy and Operations in ensuring human resource capacity, optimization and safety and security across the Programs Division.
Program Integration and Impact Reporting
- Oversee the Program Division’s translation of the technical results from all programs work into impactful case studies/stories for internal program reporting, including to the Executive Team and the Board, including ensuring appropriate and timely internal program reporting.
- Support efforts to ensure alignment between the Regions and the Center’s Strategy and support the integration of the Center’s programmatic strategies, systems, processes, and tactical plans to maximize impact.
Any other roles as may be assigned including in cross-organizational or cross-functional initiatives under the Global Operating Model (GOM) critical to the Programs Division.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in relevant social sciences including law, public health, Management, or a related field required. Post-graduate qualifications such as master’s degree in relevant disciplines relating to law, international human rights, SRHR, international development and/or program management will be a significant advantage.
- 12-15 years of professional experience, with a significant part being in program portfolio management for international non-profit organizations, particularly in the SRHR or the broader human rights sector.
- Demonstrated experience in program and project management, donor relations, report writing, strategy development and program risk management including highly developed experience in designing and managing complex programs.
- Demonstrated experience in program/project planning, budgeting, and reporting.
- Experience in organizational development and/or system/process improvement.
- Excellent writing and verbal communications skills including ability to present issues clearly, concisely and logically and communicate information, however complex, to non-experts.
- Professional language proficiency in English. Proficiency in Spanish and/or French would be an added advantage;
- Experience effectively managing and/or collaborating across teams working in different geographies in a global organization.
- Excellent IT skills.
- Demonstrated ability to adapt to change and manage and prioritize a diverse workload;
- Solutions-oriented approach with strong analytical/reasoning skills;
- Must be able to work proactively and independently, multi-task, and work under tight deadlines; and,
- Dependability, diplomacy, strong organizational skills, and a sense of humor are necessary.
- Strong commitment to the Center's mission, purpose, and values;
Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Leadership Competencies:
- Leading the Work (Strategy & Implementation): Generates new ideas, develops long-term objectives and strategies that align with institutional priorities, and translates them into actionable plans.
- Leading Others: Inspires commitment; develops and empowers staff; identifies and mentors the next generation of organization leaders; establishes results-oriented culture in teams.
- Leading by Personal Example: Models organizational values; takes action and is courageous; projects confidence and steadiness; learns from experience and is self-aware.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Attracts, develops and retains a diverse team; recognizes the many dimensions of diversity and the particular harms of anti-Black racism and colonialism; considers equity in decisions and processes internally and externally; demonstrates inclusive leadership behaviors.
Compensation: The annual salary for this position is 14,900,000 KES. This salary is reflective of a position based in Nairobi. This salary will be subject to a locality adjustment, if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting. Note that most of the salaries listed on our job postings reflect New York, NY salaries, where our National offices are headquartered.
Benefits:
- Health: The Center pays up to 95%* of the premium for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. (* % may differ in various countries)
- Flexibility: The Center currently operates in a hybrid model, allowing staff to work 3 days in the office and work 2 days from home
- Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical and community well-being. The Center offers generous leave including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are also closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend time with their loved ones.
- Growth: You will be working with and learning from some of the top legal and operational minds, all passionate about the mission of advancing reproductive rights around the world. You will also be eligible for a stipend to use towards professional growth.
- Global: You will get a front-row seat to update on the fight for reproductive rights in the global space. You will also have access to Employee Resource Groups to connect to colleagues that share similar interests/backgrounds/views.
- Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (* only applicable in US and Kenya)
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.
Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting talent@reprorights.org. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you.
To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights
Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to www.reproductiverights.org
How to apply
How to Apply: Click Join Us! Job Opportunities - Apply - Center for Reproductive Rights - Careers to apply. A cover letter and resume must be included in your application. Please include these application materials as attachments.
Please note that all genuine Center openings must be applied through the Center website. The Center does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process (application, interviews, or selection). Nor does it request any medical examinations or bank account inform as part of this process. If someone contacts, you on behalf of the Center requesting payment for your application please notify talent@reprorights.org before taking any further action.
Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting talent@reprorights.org. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you.
Deadline for applications: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible.