Programme Design Advisor

About us

Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues and the option of being a homeworker for most of our roles too.

Role purpose

The postholder will lead strategic cross-organisational work to drive operational excellence and innovation in programme design. S/he will draw out the thematic expertise, building on identified good practice, bringing together donor intelligence with country-level analysis to enable a One Christian Aid approach to the stabilisation and development of institutional funding.

The role integrates cross-organisational thought leadership with in-depth country analysis, leading to innovative, sector-leading programme design that aligns with our strategy. The postholder will also be responsible for coordinating Communities of Practice (COP) that consolidate knowledge from various departments, including Programme Quality & Operations, Programme Policy Research & Learning, and Philanthropy and Partnerships Team.

This role involves working closely with Programme Funding Development Managers and Donor Leads to develop winning bids.

About you

You are passionate about high quality programming and have experience in working in a development context with institutional and/or major donors, communities and/or partner organisations. You have a strong understanding of how programmes are designed and are you committed to inclusive programming. You will have a proven track record of delivering donor funded programmes and ensuring compliance across multiple areas of specialism. You have strong communication skills and are able to work collaboratively and innovatively. You possess well-developed facilitation and training skills, networking skills and problem-solving skills.

Key outcomes

• Cross-organisational thought leadership is integrated with in-depth country analysis, leading to innovative sector leading programme design for effective proposal development which reflects Christian Aid’s strategy
• Working with Programme Funding and Development Managers and Donor Leads, the postholder will develop processes which enhance and standardise operating procedures to drive quality and coherence.
• Development of an information sharing platform which draws together knowledge from PQOD, PPRL, PPT to share thematic expertise, donor intelligence and country analysis. The platform will help embed a whole organisation engagement in programme design and enable the implementation of programme quality standards to improve the quality of proposals.
• The development of tools and advisory support to enable country teams to translate their business planning/ country strategies into ideas pipelines and Theories of Change.
• Senior member of high profile programme design and bid teams in agreement with senior managers.