The Senior Government Funded Portfolio Manager will oversee all government funded accounts under their direct and indirect responsibility, to ensure the effective management and delivery of co-funded initiatives with government funding partners and the grants within them. They will support those that they manage to ensure delivery of all commitments in line with partnership agreements. With the support of the Head of Government Partnerships, they will ensure that funding is progressive, impactful and communicable.

They will work with the Head of Government Partnerships to identify and leverage new partnership funding opportunities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Oversee the delivery of government funded accounts (FCDO, DCMS or others) managed by you and by direct reports, ensuring impact, learning and delivery are in line with partner commitments and Comic Relief’s strategic goals.

• Support direct reports to lead on grant making and management, reporting, risk, partnership management and budget management for their respective government funded initiatives.

• Respond to risks or concerns escalated by direct reports as required, further escalating these as appropriate.

• Work with Assurance, Finance and Fund Design teams to ensure ongoing compliance across the portfolio with legal requirements, our grant conditions, partner reporting requirements and best practice in international development and social change.

• Personally manage and take responsibility for co-funded initiatives as required, and for the grants within these initiatives. Proactively manage these partnership accounts including taking the lead on grant making and management, reporting, risk, partnership management and budget management.

• Identify and internally champion stories of change and key learning points from your portfolio of grants, working with Evaluation & Learning colleagues and Communications teams to contribute to our internal and external communications.

• Working with Evaluation & Learning colleagues, ensure learning plans for partner-funded initiatives are designed and delivered, and support direct reports to share learning from the portfolio across Comic Relief’s wider grant and investment portfolio.

• Be an ambassador for collaborative cross-functional working both within the Impact and Investment department and across the wider organisation.

• Represent and positively promote Comic Relief in appropriate fora, networks and consortia.

• Support, lead and manage direct reports through regular one-to-one’s and clear performance objectives and KPI’s whilst ensuring consistency of approach across a disparate portfolio.

• Work with the Head of Government Partnerships to build a supportive team culture, ensuring learning and best practice is shared across accounts, filling in where necessary to lead team meetings.

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

• Ensure that people with lived or learnt experience are actively engaged within the way we design our funding calls and manage our funding portfolios

• Within the ways we design our funding calls and manage our funding portfolios, creatively find ways to unlock the inherent power of communities and organisations in determining their own development course

• Up to 10% of the role should be spent on identifying, developing and maintaining relationships with Trusts, Foundations and public sector funders in line with our Social Change Strategy and supporting. Travel (including international travel) may be required within this role.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

• Significant experience of making and/or managing large or complex grants.

• Excellent understanding of best practice and effective grant management.

• Track record of managing high performing teams and individuals.

• Excellent understanding of monitoring, evaluation and learning, with a commitment to applying what we learn to improve practice.

• Excellent financial awareness and budget management skills.

• Strategic thinker that can create, evaluate and develop ambitions into success.

• Effective relationship builder with strong emotional intelligence and political awareness to proactively challenge and persuade senior stakeholders and partners.

• Dynamic, confident and fun professional that can effectively lead and foster teams through collaborative and cross-functional working.

• Decisive problem solver with high resilience and a positive and solution orientated approach.

• Strong communicator with a flexible, engaging and inspirational style.

Inclusivity at Comic Relief

We recognise diversity and inclusion are a source of strength in achieving our mission. We therefore welcome everyone, trusting what makes us different brings creativity, styles and experiences to help us collectively do our best work. That’s regardless of your gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural identity. We especially welcome those from under-represented groups in modern grant-making and fundraising. We are on a journey, but if you join our team you will be part of a community that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where we want you to:

• Be valued for being yourself

• Do your best work, and be supported to break down barriers so you can succeed

• Be heard, respected, and treated as an equal, whatever your level, experience or background

• Be part of a team that is committed to making this happen – with our colleagues, partners, and contributors.

Comic Relief is committed to preventing and protecting all people from harm in their interactions with us. We expect all those that act in our name to uphold our approach to doing no harm.