Programme Manager

The Human Safety Net Foundation’s mission is that of unlocking the potential of vulnerable people, so that they can transform their lives and those of their families and communities. As the remit and grant-making of the Foundation grows, the team is looking to coopt an experienced and visionary Programme Manager to support strategy design and portfolio management of its For Families Programme.

The Human Safety Net is Generali’s framework initiative for the community, launched in 2017 and now active in 26 countries with a portfolio of more than 80 partners. It is driven by a foundation that acts as a centre of competence and works in cooperation with the Business Units of the Generali Group in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Its programmes’ focus areas are Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Refugee Livelihoods. The Human Safety Net provides grants, technical capacity building and a strong network to advance the impact of its community of social enterprises, NGOs and international organizations. As a movement of people helping people, The Human Safety Net’s ambition is to leverage on Generali’s international network of 72,000 employees, 150,000 agents and 65 million customers towards shared goals, creating a chain of people helping people, moving beyond traditional grant making models. The Human Safety Net is a vital part of Generali’s sustainability strategy and deploys its networks and expertise in the social sector to drive social innovation across all areas of the organisation.

The Human Safety Net is looking for an exceptional professional to join our team as a Programme Manager to manage our projects in the Early Childhood Development space and continue developing and cultivating partnerships in the sector. This is a role for an experienced programme manager and a strategic thinker who is passionate about working for social change, has experience of working with NGOs and social enterprises, has exposure to vulnerable communities and their needs and can leverage on a network of external stakeholders from the third sector.

Strategy development:

- Lead on the development and evolution of the global strategy of the For Families programme.
- Nurture the programme’s identity to make it come alive consistently in all countries within the portfolio, balancing scale and local relevance
- Work closely with the MEL manager to track and effectively express the programme's impact to technical and lay audiences.
- Be connected to trends and innovation in the sector to constantly question and improve our approach.
- Drive cross-country strategic initiatives across the portfolio of countries and partners (eg Financial Education programme)

Programme management:

- Manage a portfolio of grantees within the For Families Programme across a range of geographies, in coordination with other core programme team and with local THSN staff, ensuring programme methodology is effectively deployed; provide guidance to THSN country teams on programme sustainability and expansion; contribute to the deployment of the yearly call for Scaling Proposals, with a focus on For Families NGOs.
- Identify, select and manage portfolio of NGO partners together with the central and local teams in the 26 countries, review of NGO proposals, due diligence and contracts
- Work closely with MEL manager to effectively track and express outcomes and impact. Alert management on issues, along with recommendations, based on due diligence outcomes, or findings from the regular monitoring

Partnership Building:

- Map and track trends and developments in the social sector relevant for the role and build a network of collaborations across public, private, profit and no profit sectors, academia and international organisations
- Design and close new partnerships in the For Families programme, while cultivating existing ones
- Contribute in positioning THSN in the ECD/parenting sector globally, cultivate partnerships with key stakeholders and networks in the ECD sector, including through our role in the ECD Regional Networks Fund

Engagement:

- Identify opportunities for social innovation within the portfolio of partners to support their development, leveraging on the private sector capabilities to amplify social impact
- Design and emded creative and structural skills based volunteering opportunities for colleagues to support the work of the NGOs partners as volunteers
- Design and present programme content for events, conferences, Activity Report, THSN Networks Annual summit, press releases and other publications, in close collaboration with the communications and engagement team

Must have:

- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field
- A minimum of 7 years of work experience in managing projects with NGOs, non-profits or foundations across multiple geographies
- Experience in Early Childhood Development/parenting
- Strategic mindset, cultivated through experience in consulting or similar roles
- Proven track record driving projects - eff