This role is offered on a hybrid contract giving you the opportunity to also work from home 3 days a week.

Purpose of job:

This Senior Portfolio Manager will play a key role in the success of the team responsible for Comic Relief’s funding programme focused on tackling the effects of poverty. 

The Senior Portfolio Manager will hold direct responsibility for a number of investments with Funded Partners, both in the UK and internationally, ensuring excellent grant making practice, and be responsible for managing funding calls.  The Senior Portfolio Manager will also work with colleagues from the Partnerships and Fundraising teams to assist with the mobilization of resources.

Working with the Head of Programme, the postholder will provide management support in the team, working with colleagues on specific team initiatives and cross-team collaborations, holding relationships with strategic importance, developing new areas of work, and other specific initiatives contributing to the team’s overall operational success.

Key responsibilities:

Management support

• Manage specific cross-team collaborations, taking on link roles with other teams as required, including the development and delivery of fundraising and income partnerships and campaigns.

• Lead, contribute to and/or coordinate the development of proposals and plans, including the start-up phase of new projects and partnerships.

• Take responsibility for higher profile or more complex funded partner relationships/fundraising initiatives / partnerships.

• Contribute to the team’s portfolio management, budget management, and operational functioning, including the development and use of funding team’s processes, systems and policies.

Funding management and relationships

• 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 funding team colleagues, including supporting other funding programmes when needed.

• Manage all requirements, such as narrative, financial and risk reporting, collaborating across the funding team and wider Comic Relief as appropriate.

• 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.

• Ensure or contribute to donor reporting and other information needs for external and internal use, such as information about our funded work and our partners.

Cross team/organization/sector collaboration

• Support the development of 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 Effects of Poverty team and the wider Funding Team.

• Represent CR with strategic partners and co-funders, in relevant networks, and at external events.

General

• Develop a basic understanding of all areas of social change that are prioritised by CR.

• 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.

• Embed effective ways of working that contribute to the de-colonization of philanthropy.

Some travel (including some international) will be required in this role.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Experience of working closely with funded partners and donors for social change.

• Significant knowledge and experience of grant making, programme design, and managing large or complex grants within a donor or an implementing organization working in the UK or internationally.

• A good understanding of developing, implementing and evaluating programmes.

• Self-motivated and enthusiastic, with flexibility to navigate the unexpected, be aware of wider strategic contexts, and make appropriate and effective decisions.

• An understanding or lived experience of social injustice, and proven track record of working in alignment with Comic Relief’s commitment to social justice, anti-racism, diversity, inclusion and equity.

• Personal and effective relationship builder with experience of working in collaborative, multicultural and cross sector environments alongside individuals and organisations with diverse perspectives.  

• Some management experience (for example, managing cross team or organization projects or initiatives)

• Experience of developing and sustaining fundraising partnerships

• Understanding of, and commitment to, the use of storytelling to engage the public.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of developing proposals and plans for new income (e.g. developing funding programmes in partnerships with large donors)

• Experience of managing restricted donor funding (e.g. government funding and/or funding from other institutions, trusts or foundations.

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 anyway. 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.

We ask that candidates that wish to be considered for this scheme email j.scott@comicrelief.com to discuss further. Please do not email CV's/cover letters.