Programme Development & Funding Officer Job at Catholic Agency For Overseas Development - CAFOD

Job Purpose

To contribute to CAFOD’s involvement in Kenya, Uganda & Eritrea in line with the agreed strategy, by supporting programme development and implementation; including responsibility for securing institutional funding for CAFOD supported programmes and partnerships. The scope of the post falls into the following broad functions:

• Programme development in line with the direction set by the Country/Sub-regional Strategy: in co-operation with partners and programme colleagues, support the design and development of CAFOD supported long-term development programmes;
• Programme funding: lead, facilitate or support the preparation of programme funding applications to institutional donors, in close cooperation with programme colleagues and partners. Includes keeping up to speed with donor strategies and priorities and raising awareness of donor requirements and partner obligations to fulfil these;
• Partner fundraising capacity:  in line with relevant capacity strengthening plans, support partners in strengthening their own capacity to fundraise from institutional donors.
• Internal and external representation: of the Kenya, Uganda & Eritrea programme with donors, in co-ordination with the Country Representative/Programme Manager, as appropriate. Also, to liaise with relevant internal stakeholders on cross-organisational work, particularly with the International Programme Funding Unit on donor strategies;
• Systems and compliance: ensuring the effective use of CAFOD’s systems to share programme knowledge and inform decision making. This includes ensuring compliance with agreements, regulations and requirements attached to our work and donor contracts;
• Donor focus: in coordination with the International Programme Funding Unit, fulfil CAFOD’s needs on specific donor engagement strategies.

Job Scope

The post-holder will be responsible for building effective working relationships with peers across the International Development Group, as well as with colleagues in the Emergency Response and Advocacy Groups, and the International Programme Funding Unit. This is in order to develop and maintain horizontal links between programmes, learning, innovation, good practice, and fundraising within and between regions or areas of work.

The role has also a number of cross-divisional and cross-organisational functions linked to work with CAFOD’s Education, Communities & Supporters, Fundraising, Finance and Media teams. More importantly, while a “country/sub-regional portfolio” may be allocated to the post holder; this portfolio may change/evolve over time to meet CAFOD’s and partners’ needs. Furthermore, it is expected a degree of flexibility as the post-holder may be required to support colleagues with PDFO functions in other country/sub-regional programmes.

The post-holder will be expected to undertake frequent travel (approximately 3 months a year).

Accountability

The post-holder reports to the Country Representative for Kenya & Uganda – Catherine Ogolla. She is not a budget holder but may carry out some supervision tasks for staff members.

Key Responsibilities

Programme development in line with the direction set by the Country/Sub-regional Strategy

• Work with programme staff and partners in the design development of high quality programmes and projects in line with the East Africa (Kenya & Uganda) and Eritrea strategy and programme frameworks;
• Be jointly responsible, with partners and programme staff, for the effective implementation, reporting on, and monitoring, evaluation (including facilitating external evaluations) of institutionally funded programmes, in line with jointly agreed standards (Programme Cycle Management), donor requirements and CAFOD’s value of Stewardship.
• Contribute, where appropriate, and in agreement with partners, to raising the profile of partner advocacy and information work with relevant donors in the region and/or globally;
• On a needs-basis, and to a reasonable extent, support other PDFOs or country programmes in programme development and funding. Furthermore, meaningfully engage, support or lead on regional or joint programme funding opportunities.

Programme funding and partners’ fundraising capacity

• In agreement with partners and programme staff, jointly develop programme and project funding proposals, and assess existing partner capacities and systems to manage and implement the work;
• Depending on the particular situation, lead, co-ordinate or support the preparation of funding applications with donors such as: ECHO, DEC, DfID, EC, UN, Comic Relief, Big Lottery Fund, etc.;
• Contribute to investing in partners’ capacities, by jointly identifying funding needs, developing plans to strengthen capacities, e.g. proposal writing, monitoring & evaluation, etc., identifying sources of support, and allocating resources. This can be through a facilitator or by direct provision of specific capacity strengthening support;
• Support partners in accessing the tools and support required to secure and effectively manage institutional funding;
• Keep up-to-date with donor policy developments and trends, both within the relevant country/sector, and more generally, and represent CAFOD in local funding review groups/networks in the region.

Internal and external representation

• In agreement with the Head of Region/Country Representative/Programme Manager develop, nurture and manage relationships with donor organisations, and create opportunities to share CAFOD’s programme experiences with donor staff;
• Communicate with other teams within CAFOD to ensure that the programme is well understood, and that information is available for fundraising and other communication, including publications, media briefings, education, etc. This may involve participation in sessions/events with supporters, communities of practice, working groups, etc., as agreed with the relevant manager;
• Liaise with the International Programme Funding Unit to ensure a coherent donor engagement strategy is developed and maintained. Work with partners to regularly assess the quality of the relationship, ensuring that effective communication channels are in place, and that any funding related issues are addressed,

Systems and compliance

• Effectively use CAFOD’s programme management information systems to ensure programme and project information is up-to-date. This will include producing management information to support decision making;
• Ensure compliance with agreements, regulations and requirements attached to our work, including donor contract management.

Donor focus

In coordination with the International Programme Funding Unit, fulfil CAFOD’s needs on specific donor engagement strategies and engage in relevant working groups and communities of practice. Furthermore, complement partners’ understanding of selected donors.