About the Role
Office: anywhere within Hivos's African operational countries where it has a registered office (including Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Hours: full time (37.5 hours/week in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi; 40 hours/week in Kenya). Contract: initial one-year contract, renewable based on performance and funding. Reports to: Head of Programs.
Purpose of the role
The Portfolio Manager — Africa provides strategic leadership to ensure the coherence, quality and impact of Hivos's project portfolio — strengthening programme design, implementation and performance while fostering continuous improvement, accountability and evidence-informed decision-making across assigned countries and initiatives.
Key responsibilities
- Ensure strategic coherence and alignment across the project portfolio.
- Lead project design, ensuring thematically solid propositions in line with Hivos's strategy.
- Generate ideas for proposal development and provide strategic advice for new programmes and projects.
- Analyse and provide strategic recommendations on the political, social and economic context of countries in the portfolio.
- Oversee implementation of improvement processes from portfolio audits and consolidate good practices.
- Design, implement and evaluate advocacy strategies; initiate, facilitate and manage impactful advocacy activities and events.
- Draft project reports and presentations; develop workstream and project plans aligned with frameworks.
- Support risk, issue and dependency tracking and mitigation; coordinate stakeholder engagement.
- Supervise closeout processes; support development of funding proposals.
- Analyse project data and prepare insight reports; support process-improvement initiatives and horizon scanning.
- Supervise local and regional project managers, allocate work and contribute to appraisals.
- Identify and report non-compliance with organizational policies.
Purpose of the role
The Portfolio Manager — Africa provides strategic leadership to ensure the coherence, quality and impact of Hivos's project portfolio — strengthening programme design, implementation and performance while fostering continuous improvement, accountability and evidence-informed decision-making across assigned countries and initiatives.
Key responsibilities
- Ensure strategic coherence and alignment across the project portfolio.
- Lead project design, ensuring thematically solid propositions in line with Hivos's strategy.
- Generate ideas for proposal development and provide strategic advice for new programmes and projects.
- Analyse and provide strategic recommendations on the political, social and economic context of countries in the portfolio.
- Oversee implementation of improvement processes from portfolio audits and consolidate good practices.
- Design, implement and evaluate advocacy strategies; initiate, facilitate and manage impactful advocacy activities and events.
- Draft project reports and presentations; develop workstream and project plans aligned with frameworks.
- Support risk, issue and dependency tracking and mitigation; coordinate stakeholder engagement.
- Supervise closeout processes; support development of funding proposals.
- Analyse project data and prepare insight reports; support process-improvement initiatives and horizon scanning.
- Supervise local and regional project managers, allocate work and contribute to appraisals.
- Identify and report non-compliance with organizational policies.
Requirements
Person specifications
- Master's degree in business, law, development, public administration or an equivalent discipline.
- A seasoned professional with at least 10 years of regional and/or international programme-management experience, with a proven track record in strategic thinking within complex operations and extensive expertise in team leadership and staff supervision.
- Demonstrable project and financial-management skills, including resource mobilisation and the development of large and small funding proposals.
- Project planning, reporting and prioritization; requirements-gathering and change management.
- Experience developing effective advocacy strategies; ability to identify and use advocacy opportunities and link results to wider programme outcomes.
- Understanding of the contexts of Southern, Eastern, Western and Central African countries.
- Data analysis and insight generation; stakeholder engagement and expectation management.
- Ability to manage resistance and handle issues effectively; tech-savvy with modern project tools.
- Strong organizational, problem-solving and communication skills.
- Fluent in English; French is an asset.
How to apply: submit a cover letter (maximum 1 page) and CV (maximum 2 pages) via the Hivos careers portal at https://hivos.bamboohr.com/careers/409. Applications are received until 24 September 2026, midnight CAT. Work authorization: Hivos does not sponsor work permits or international relocation costs — the successful candidate must already possess, or independently secure, the legal right to work in one of the specified duty stations.
- Master's degree in business, law, development, public administration or an equivalent discipline.
- A seasoned professional with at least 10 years of regional and/or international programme-management experience, with a proven track record in strategic thinking within complex operations and extensive expertise in team leadership and staff supervision.
- Demonstrable project and financial-management skills, including resource mobilisation and the development of large and small funding proposals.
- Project planning, reporting and prioritization; requirements-gathering and change management.
- Experience developing effective advocacy strategies; ability to identify and use advocacy opportunities and link results to wider programme outcomes.
- Understanding of the contexts of Southern, Eastern, Western and Central African countries.
- Data analysis and insight generation; stakeholder engagement and expectation management.
- Ability to manage resistance and handle issues effectively; tech-savvy with modern project tools.
- Strong organizational, problem-solving and communication skills.
- Fluent in English; French is an asset.
How to apply: submit a cover letter (maximum 1 page) and CV (maximum 2 pages) via the Hivos careers portal at https://hivos.bamboohr.com/careers/409. Applications are received until 24 September 2026, midnight CAT. Work authorization: Hivos does not sponsor work permits or international relocation costs — the successful candidate must already possess, or independently secure, the legal right to work in one of the specified duty stations.