Portfolio Manager
- Full-time
Company Description
IDEO.org is a nonprofit design and innovation organization focused on solving poverty-related challenges and spreading human-centered design through the social sector. Human-centered design enables organizations to create and deliver innovative solutions to pressing challenges that are rooted in the needs of people. IDEO.org works directly with organizations across a wide range of focus areas related to poverty, including health, financial services, gender equity, water and sanitation, community development and agriculture.
Job Description
IDEO.org is seeking a Portfolio Manager to support the Amplify program, a partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) that aims to transform international development using human-centered design and an open and collaborative approach to grant funding. Through a series of ten innovation challenges, the program is identifying and supporting emerging, community-based solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges.
Individuals who will flourish in the Portfolio Manager role are self-starters possessing deep skills in client and / or portfolio management across a diverse range of cultures and geographies, rockstar project management experience, and a strong understanding of scoping projects and applying human-centered design to developing world poverty alleviation challenges.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
The Portfolio Manager will be responsible for driving the impact of ideas emerging from the Amplify program via the following job responsibilities:
• Managing strategic relationships with Amplify grantees located in the 28 DFID priority countries (mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia).
• Working closely with the Amplify design team to scope and manage design support provided to the Amplify portfolio of ideas, which (so far) are related to women’s safety in urban environments, early childhood development, and education in conflict settings.
• Designing and overseeing the due diligence process for top ideas that emerge from
Amplify challenges.
• Monitoring, quantifying and effectively communicating the impact that emerges from the Amplify portfolio, taking into account both the impact from specific ideas receiving grant funding and design support, as well as the impact from the Amplify program more generally .
• Managing the strategic relationship with the external evaluation team for the Amplify program.
• Collaborating with the Amplify Challenge Manager to develop criteria for identifying and vetting winning ideas as part of individual Amplify challenges.
• Working with the Amplify Program Operations Manager to ensure efficient administration and distribution of grant funding and design support to the Amplify portfolio.
• Supporting the Amplify Director in building strategic relationships with outside partners to create pathways to scale and follow-on funding for ideas that emerge from the Amplify program.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree.
• 5+ years of experience in international development, with a background that reflects a healthy balance of direct experience in implementation and formal education in the sector.
• Design sensitivities and stong working knowledge of human-centered design, particularly as applied in international development contexts.
• Business development and / or portfolio management experience.
• Strong writing and direct communication skills for multiple audiences.
• Extensive experience with quantitate and qualitative impact analysis.
• Ability to work and collaborate with cross-cutting teams across multiple organizations.
• Experience working with internal or external monitoring and evaluation teams is a plus.
Additional Information
How To Apply:
Please upload work samples, resume and a few paragraphs about yourself.