Position Title: Program Coordinator

Location: Flexible, assuming availability for regular communication and collaboration with colleagues in GMT/CET time zones

Reports to: Director, Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End to Violence Against Girls and Boys

Hours per week (average): 40

Overtime Status: Exempt

Annual Salary: Commensurate with experience, location, etc.

Background and Position Summary

Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End to Violence Against Girls and Boys is a donor collaborative fund that supports the field working collectively to stop violence against girls and boys. It does this by convening donors and practitioners and providing resources to jumpstart and scale ground-breaking efforts. Ignite Philanthropy resolves challenges that catalyze positive change so that children no longer suffer violence in their lives. Illustrative examples of Ignite Philanthropy initiatives are described below.  

The Program Coordinator will lead effective coordination and administration across all Ignite Philanthropy initiatives as necessary; partner with and support the four other full-time Ignite team members who oversee those initiatives; and contribute strategically to Ignite’s work. The post-holder will also collaborate with Ignite donors, consultants, and grantee and other colleagues in order to maximize operational efficiency. The role does not entail direct report supervision responsibilities.

Ignite staff work remotely in their respective countries of residence, typically from home offices. Ignite Philanthropy welcomes and encourages candidates from low- and middle-income countries to apply for this role and join its team.

Illustrative examples of Ignite Philanthropy initiatives include the following:

End Violence Investors Forum

Increasing donor collaboration and investment are critical elements to achieving greater impact for children afflicted by violence. The Investors Forum is a collaboration platform of 14 major, international, public and private, source donors with the aim of better aligning and increasing funding and action aimed at ending violence against children. The group regularly meets to share knowledge, experiences and strengthen collaboration. Its members currently focus their funding on online child sexual exploitation and school violence.

Strategic Networks  

Recognizing that networks play an important role in strengthening the movement to end child sexual abuse and other forms of violence against children, the Strategic Networks initiative supports key networks to become stronger, more effective, sustainable and more connected across the broader sector. Ignite does this through the provision of multi-year, flexible funding and tailored capacity building support, as well as targeted efforts to build greater connectivity and collective leadership across the cohort of Strategic Networks partners.

‘Out of the Shadows’ Advocacy Fund

Out of the Shadows: Shining light on the response to child sexual abuse and exploitation is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research programme based on a country-level benchmarking Index, evaluating how stakeholders are responding to the ubiquitous scourge of child sexual abuse and exploitation. Ignite Philanthropy commissioned the EIU to increase Index coverage to countries reflecting 85% of the world’s children, and the Out of the Shadows Advocacy Fund is an Ignite initiative to support advocacy to translate the Index and its recommendations into action.

Roles and Responsibilities  

Grantmaking, Grants Management and Operations (60%)

● Grantmaking and contracting: Support all grantmaking and contracting processes, including but not limited to liaising with grantee partners and contractors/consultants as needed for due diligence review, and facilitate grants/contracts/payments as needed

● Grants management and reporting: Lead in overseeing grant/contract reporting processes, conducting review of all narrative/budget reporting, etc.

● Grant proposals and reporting (for grants to Ignite): Lead on the coordination and development of Ignite Philanthropy proposals and grant reporting

● Financial management: Assist in reviewing and reconciling monthly management accounts, and in supporting budget development processes

● Fiscal sponsor coordination: Lead day-to-day collaboration with Ignite Philanthropy’s fiscal sponsor, New Venture Fund, across the preceding four bullet points

Research, Communications and Events (25%)

● Monitoring and research: Keep up to date with key developments in the violence prevention field, including (but not limited to) emerging research and media coverage of issues relevant to online child sexual exploitation and violence against children in school, including managing the production of a monthly media bulletin aimed at Investors Forum members

● Donor research: Support the identification of potential donors to support the field in collaboration with the Investors Forum, conduct research on prospects, maintain a contact database and provide written information and briefs for outreach activities

● Meeting and event management: Lead on the effective management of virtual and in-person meetings and events with a range of stakeholders, e.g. donor roundtables, grantee learning convenings, and strategy development meetings. This will involve all aspects of event planning, including logistics, travel, preparation of meeting agendas, other meeting materials and reports, etc.

● Communications support: Management or production of presentations, factsheets and visuals for programmatic activities and events

● For the right candidate, the opportunity to work with the Strategic Advisor, Investors Forum as a thought-partner on the development of the Forum

● Other initiative-level support, from time to time, as deemed necessary for the effective running of each programmatic initiative

Administrative and Team support (15%)

● Provide administrative and programmatic assistance as needed to the Director, including occasional scheduling, travel support, expense reconciliation, etc.

● Proactively support the Ignite team around virtual and in-person team and Advisory Board meetings /event planning, including logistics, preparation of meeting agendas, other meeting materials and reports

● Streamline and manage programmatic files, work plans, and calendars

● Manage all licenses, subscriptions and other remote-working infrastructure

● Manage a range of contractors providing external support, e.g., IT support, communications/design, translation services, and legal counsel

● Coordinate team learning and professional development opportunities

Required Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

● Minimum 3-5 years professional experience excelling in the roles and responsibilities required for the Program Coordinator

● Significant experience of working independently, without close supervision, and related experience of remote-working and supporting remote teams

● Experience in and/or knowledge of relevant issues and topics, such as child protection, human rights, gender-based violence, etc. (desirable)

● Professional experience in low- and/or middle-income countries (desirable)

● Bachelors’ degree in a relevant field

● Native or near-native English fluency; working proficiency in French (desirable)

● Proficiency with Microsoft Office and OneDrive, Zoom or other virtual meeting platforms, and project management software

● Model reliability, organizational skills, and attention to detail

● Mission-driven professionalism, adaptability and flexibility

● Excellent fit with Ignite Philanthropy’s ethos and approach, including working team values of being collaborative, curious, respectful, equitable, and relevant

● Demonstrated cultural awareness and sensitivity to the diversity of values, views and approaches to issues relevant to Ignite Philanthropy allies and partners everywhere

● Exemplary interpersonal skills, very collegial demeanor, and ability to build relationships and communicate effectively and professionally with diverse partners

● Ability to take creative initiative and contribute ideas for enhancing impact

● Superb writing, analytical, and oral communication skills including the ability to collect, review, synthesize, and present information

● Ability to undertake periodic international travel

To Apply

To apply for this post, please send a letter of application stating the skills and approach that you would bring to the role along with your CV/resume (no photos) to [email protected]. Please note in the letter where you learned about the post. The deadline for applications is Sunday, July 12, 2020, and first-round video interviews will take place July 23-24.

Hiring Statement

Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End to Violence Against Girls and Boys is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a U.S. 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. NVF is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. NVF’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.