Project Manager

About Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN)

ENN is a well-established and highly respected UK-based charity working to reduce malnutrition globally. ENN strives to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition policy and programming by improving knowledge, stimulating learning and building evidence. We are passionate about being field driven and are globally recognised as thought leaders and conveners in nutrition.

Our vision is that every individual caught up in a nutritional emergency, or suffering from malnutrition anywhere in the world, gets the most effective help possible.

We undertake knowledge management, research and advocacy to support national governments, civil society, UN, donor and academic organisations. Through these collaborations we support agencies to implement evidence-based nutrition programming, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries. ENN is governed by a Board of Trustees and has its head office in Kidlington, UK.

ENN is financially supported by a range of institutional donors (including the Irish and US governments), charitable foundations (including the Eleanor Crook Foundation and the Waterloo Foundation), as well as UN agencies and INGOs. For more information about ENN see our website: www.ennonline.net

Why work for ENN?

This is an exciting opportunity to join the growing ENN team a Project Manager (PM). The role provides the opportunity to work across the spectrum of ENN’s projects, as part of a motivated and dynamic Operations team. You will also support the development of ENN’s next strategy. ENN’s portfolio includes projects specialising in Infant Feeding in Emergencies, Wasting and Stunting, Adolescent Nutrition and MAMI, as well as our highly regarded International Publications. We are also actively engaged in the global nutrition and development community in support of the COVID-19 response. You will be based in our headquarters and work with all of the ENN staff to enable our projects to deliver effectively. We’re proud that in our 2021 Employee Engagement Survey over 95 percent of our staff agreed that they are treated with fairness and respect at work and that they trust and respect their manager.

About You

You will be a highly motivated, adaptable and skilled project manager with relevant third sector experience. You will be comfortable supporting complex projects with dispersed technical teams whilst ensuring donor compliance and reporting requirements are met. A sound knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methods would be advantageous. Fundamentally, you will have a keen interest in what we do and be ready to contribute to making a positive change.

Terms and Conditions

Hours of work: Full time (37.5 hours per week) – part time may be considered

Type of contract: 12 months fixed term (with the possibility to extend)

Location: ENN’s Head Office in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 (Note: In line with ENN’s current policy regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and the associated UK government advice, you may be asked to work from home up to two days per week until ENN’s Headquarters fully reopens.)

Holidays: 25 days plus UK bank holidays increasing by one day p.a. after two complete years of service to a maximum of 27 days p.a. (pro rata) Paid office closure days between Christmas and New Year

Pension: Auto-Enrolment to ENN scheme with a generous Employer contribution of 5% Salary: £36,000 to £42,000 per annum depending on experience (pro rata)

Purpose of the role

The Project Manager will be a key member of ENN’s Operations Team, working closely with the Projects Team (currently one other PM and two Project Officers), Finance Manager and Operations and Finance Director (OFD) as well as ENN’s Technical Directors and Project Technical Leads. The PM will oversee a portfolio of projects each of which are assigned a Project Technical Lead. The PM will work alongside project leads to develop and map key activity for the project, track milestones and deliverables, develop project and donor finance and narrative reports, and ensure compliance and adherence to governance requirements. In addition the PM will contribute to the development of new funding proposals.

Key Responsibilities

Project Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with all donor grant agreements relevant to the PM’s portfolio of projects

• Develop and monitor project work plans and budgets in collaboration with project leads and Operations and Finance Team colleagues

• Manage project budgets: monitor spend against budget including approval within set thresholds, carry out forecasting and re forecasting exercises and regularly update project leads and the Senior Management team on spend

• Work closely with project leads to ensure project deliverables are clear, appropriately planned and delivered to deadline.

• Coordinate closely with relevant ENN colleagues and third parties to ensure delivery to deadline across a range of activities (e.g. international and UK meetings and conferences, technical publications - print and online, translations and design services, international field trips, technical webinars and briefings)

• Support project leads to develop and maintain project risk registers

• Convene regular meetings with the project team to keep a broad overview of project delivery in relation to the project grant, managing and enabling grant amendments/extensions etc

• Lead on both project narrative and financial reporting liaising with both internal and external stakeholders as required.

• Ensure effective communications with Donors during the project lifecycle

• Work with project leads to identify the need for additional capacity (staff/technical associates), aligning the project budget as required and ensuring due diligence requirements are met

Fundraising and business development

• Input into and support the development and delivery of ENN’s fundraising strategy

• Provide support to the development and maintenance of ENN’s funding pipeline and cash flow forecasting, and identification of potential shortfalls, linking with ENN’s Finance Manager and OFD

• Input into ENN database for major donors

• Coordinate the development and submission of proposals for new grants, carrying out due diligence, developing budgets and workplans.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Work with the Operations team to develop ENN wide quarterly and annual reporting

• Support the development of and measurement against KPIs and metrics

• Work with colleagues across the organisation in developing annual project plans including relevance performance indicators

• Work with the technical teams in identifying appropriate indicators and means of verification as part of project designs and proposals development.

• Maintain the ENN Results Framework and use data from the Framework and quarterly reports in preparing quarterly internal updates for the Management Team on project progress and results and in preparing reports to external donors.

General Responsibilities

• Support the OFD in the project management of a number of Core projects

• Support the OFD and Finance Manager with ENN wide management information.

• Line manage the Project Officer(s) if required

• Actively promote adherence to ENN’s procurement policy particularly with regard to the contracting of technical associates

• Contribute to internal and external communications and website development in relation to the PM’s portfolio of projects

• Contribute to the development and dissemination of relevant processes and policies

• Producing regular management information reports working with FM

Person Specification

Essential

• Previous experience of project management in the third sector

• Experience working on donor / grant funded projects and ability to navigate and communicate compliance requirements

• Experience in line managing a team including performance management, staff engagement and development, and effective coordination of team workload

• Experience in developing funding opportunities with a variety of donors

• Experience in developing, monitoring, and reporting against budgets

• Excellent communication and written skills, including previous experience of writing and collating detailed donor reports

• Able to work with and influence colleagues, often remotely, to achieve a shared outcome

• Ability to manage a diverse and busy workload, prioritising effectively, and able to work both autonomously and as a member of a dispersed and diverse team

• Flexibility and willingness to take on new areas of work and responsibilities

• Strong interpersonal skills, able to work with a wide range and varying levels of stakeholders

• Motivated, takes initiative, innovates and delivers to deadlines

• Excellent attention to detail

• Able to diagnose situations and constraints, comfortable when to progress independently and when to escalate

• Proficient user of Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook

• Good cross-cultural awareness

• Ability to demonstrate discretion, diplomacy, and patience

• Fluent in English

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent), or able to demonstrate a relevant and equivalent level of experience

Desirable

• Project Management Qualification

• Specific experience in any of the following institutional donors would be an advantage: USAID, FCDO (DFID) and Irish Aid

• Experience of managing procurement activities

• Experience of evaluations: analysing, collating and reviewing data related to grant and programme effectiveness

• Previous experience of arranging international business travel, ideally to developing countries

• Experience working within a humanitarian, nutrition or international development context

• French speaking

• Experience of using Finance, HR and/or Project Management systems

Reporting Lines

The Project Manager will report to the Operations and Finance Director and will have line management responsibility for a small team.

Eligibility to work

Must be entitled to work in the UK at the time of application. No relocation package is offered for this role. ENN is committed to diversity and inclusion, and to building a culture where every staff member and volunteer is recognised and valued as an individual. We actively encourage applications from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds.

Application Process

Please submit a Cover Letter (no more than 1 page) and CV to recruitment@ennonline.net no later than Sunday 21st November 2021. You can do this by clicking on the Apply button below.

Early applications are advised as we reserve the right to conclude the process before the closing date if a suitable candidate is identified. Please include your preferred working pattern details in your application, if not full time