Please note this is a hybrid role based on the successful candidate working at least two days a week in our London office. Remote contracts would not be considered for this role. 

​​Comic Relief reserves the right to close the role early if a large number of applications are received.

Purpose of job: 

Over the past 18 months, Comic Relief has stood up a new programme of grant making focused on Climate Justice in the Global South.  This work aligns with our long-standing existing work on poverty, recognising that the impacts of climate change are making it even harder for vulnerable communities to build resilience and take advantage of economic opportunities.   

We are now looking to expand our team with a new Portfolio Manager.  This is an opportunity for someone with an entrepreneurial bent to join a growing programme that is working to centre communities, justice, and development within the climate debate through its grant making and advocacy.   

With direct responsibility for new Comic Relief grant making around Climate Justice internationally, and ongoing grant management, this role will be hands on.  Working directly with grantees to ensure not only that the grants are as impactful as possible, you’ll also work to build ecosystems and bring new partners and collaborators along in our efforts to build long-term resilience in communities on the front lines of climate impacts.  

This role is also an opportunity to work collaboratively and in partnership with teams across Comic Relief, across our fundraising, partnerships, operational and storytelling teams to to help shape how we lift the voices of and help tell the stories of those we work with, and support Comic Relief’s wider income generating objectives. 

Key responsibilities: 

Strategic Engagement 

• Identify new grant making opportunities within Comic Relief’s Climate Justice strategy 

• Develop a good understanding of areas of social change within assigned funding portfolios and areas of new grant making to be able to represent Comic Relief’s funding and priorities to internal and external stakeholders 

• Stay on top of major international economic, social, political and development trends 

• Represent Comic Relief at sectoral webinars, meetings and gatherings related to Comic Relief’s Climate Justice strategy 

Grant making and ongoing grant management  

• Manage new grant making, including working with colleagues to design funding opportunities, assessing potential funded partners, establishing MEL requirements, and ensuring that funded partners are supported throughout their journey with Comic Relief 

• Manage assigned funding portfolios and relationships with funded partners, ensuring that the portfolio is managed in a timely and responsive way, using Comic Relief’s (CR’s) systems and processes.  

• Coordinate with other colleagues across the different teams in the funding department to ensure effective and efficient ways of working, and fruitful collaboration and learning across different funded issues and areas.  

• Collaboratively manage all ongoing requirements, such as narrative, financial and risk reporting as related to our funded partners 

• Work with the Assurance and Finance teams to ensure ongoing compliance across the portfolio with legal requirements, our grant conditions, reporting requirements and best practice.      

• Collaborate with Partnerships colleagues to manage donor reporting and other information needs for external and internal use, such as information about our funded work and our partners. 

Cross organisation collaboration   

• Support resource mobilisation partnerships through collaborative and supportive working with Comic Relief’s communications, fundraising and partnership teams.  

• Work with the Partnerships Team to support strong relationships with existing and potential co-funding partners, including corporates and/or trusts, foundations and institutions, and support proposal development, reporting and other requirements. 

• Work collaboratively across CR to support storytelling around CR’s impact.  

• Contribute to internal communications regarding the work of the Climate Justice team and the wider Funding Team.  

General 

• Manage the work of consultants and other contractors as required. 

• Communicate in an open, honest and transparent way with funding applicants, funded partners and funding partners.  

• Ensure that, when applicable, people with lived or learned experience are actively engaged with our work, contributing to the design and decision-making process of our funding portfolios. 

Note: Some international travel may be required for this role. 

Person Specification

Essential criteria 

• An entrepreneurial approach, with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, take advantage of new opportunities to create impact and identify emerging trends and best practices. 

• The ability to synthesize significant amounts of information in order to pull out the key issues and learnings to make Comic Relief’s grant making more impactful 

• A strong communicator, both written and in person, with the ability to represent Comic Relief at international meetings. 

• Operationally strong, able to manage projects and grant making within Comic Relief’s systems, with an eye for detail. 

• Significant understanding/experience of the systems and structures that perpetuate social and/or economic injustice and keep people trapped in poverty, and the ability to use this big picture knowledge to make effective decisions that will have significant impact in the areas we work in.   

• Personal and effective relationship builder with the ability to network and work with a variety of different stakeholder types both internally and externally. An understanding or lived experience of social and/or economic injustice, and proven track record of working in alignment with Comic Relief’s commitment to social justice, anti-racism, diversity, inclusion and equity.  A belief that philanthropy is meant to be at the service of those we fund, and that our role is to empower those on the front line of climate action to have the largest impact 

Desirable  

• Experience or knowledge climate change (does not need to be gained from the philanthropic sector) .  We are particularly open to those who come from different sectors, whether it’s the NGO, government, volunteer or business sectors and who may bring different approaches and ways to tackling challenges. 

• Experience of working with stakeholders in the Global South 

• Experience and knowledge of grant making and programme design, including developing, implementing and evaluating programmes, and managing grants within a donor and / or implementing organisation. 

• Experience of managing restricted donor funding and supporting ongoing donor management (e.g. government funding and/or funding from other institutions, trusts foundations or corporate entities)  

• Understanding of, and commitment to, the use of storytelling to engage the public in programmatic work 

• Experience of budget management  

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why work at Comic Relief

There are lots of good reasons to join us at Comic Relief. You can read more about our employee benefits, such as our commitment to flexible and hybrid working. We ask staff to come to the office twice a week, normally on agreed team days, so that we can do all those things that are difficult to do online. Our office is based in Whitechapel, London, There are lots of opportunities to develop your skills and experience at Comic Relief, including opportunities to become a Mental Health First Aider or to participate in our Employee Network Groups that focus on making Comic Relief a more inclusive place to work

Disability Confident employer

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we take positive action by providing first-round interviews to candidates who have a registered disability, provided they meet the minimum criteria for the role, as demonstrated on their CV or application scores. We ask that candidates that wish to be considered for this scheme email

Recruitment@comicrelief.com to discuss further. Please do not email CV's/cover letters.