Senior Programs Manager

Company Description

About Free the Slaves 

Founded in 2000, Free the Slaves (FTS) is a pioneer and leader in the global effort to eradicate slavery. Our mission is to liberate those in slavery and to change the conditions that allow slavery to persist. Free the Slaves works at the grassroots level, with and through local partners, to empower vulnerable individuals and communities to achieve freedom from, and develop resistance to, slavery and trafficking, and to build national capacity to combat slavery and trafficking.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., FTS has programs in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. 

For more information, see: www.freetheslaves.net.

Job Description

The Senior Programs Manager is responsible for leading successful planning and implementation of Free the Slaves’ strategy at regional and global levels through the strategy pillars including community engagement, policy and advocacy, movement building, and learning initiatives. Specifically, the senior programs manager will ensure the strategic implementation of FTS regional and global programs, including partnerships and services, research, policy and advocacy, capacity building and training, and movement building. This role includes an important focus on MLE (monitoring, learning and evaluation), research, and the Community Liberation Toolkit (CLT). The Senior Programs Manager will report to the Executive Director, who will assign duties in support of regional and global programs. The senior programs manager will develop effective, collegial relations with regional offices and headquarters staff, as well as with communications, advocacy, research, development, operations, training, monitoring, learning & evaluation, and other team members. This is an exciting position to support growth in Free the Slaves programs.

We are looking for a colleague committed to advancing our mission with energy, commitment, and passion for what they do. As part of these efforts, you will be a key relationship manager, who owns the strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs overall. A successful candidate will be able to make strategic recommendations for new strategy implementation that will advance FTS mission. The senior programs manager will work collaboratively with external stakeholders including partners, allies, donors and thought leaders.

Responsibilities

• Programs oversight and technical assistance
• Lead and provide strategic orientation for programs, working closely with program leads in the regions and at headquarters
• Manage programs budget, working closely with the finance and program teams
• Actively promote collaboration and collective action among team members, allies and supporters
• Lead program planning process for identifying strategic activities that contribute to the FTS strategic plan
• Provide intellectual leadership to strategy implementation by the FTS programs team
• Guide and contribute to the preparation of grant reports, concept notes, proposals for funding, and contracts for approved activities
• Manage grants and closely monitor their implementation and related guidelines
• Lead the monitoring, learning and evaluation at FTS
• Oversee and contribute to the preparation of financial reports and financial projections related to project implementation
• Represent FTS in multiple contexts and with a wide variety of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, governments, and multilateral institutions, as a thought leader in the field of modern slavery eradication
• Manage the programs team and program consultants
• Contribute to the recruitment of staff and consultants
• Contribute to organization-wide strategic thinking and overall programs
• Serve as a member of the senior management team and contribute to the organization’s strategy and success
• Work closely with the development team to fundraise, conduct donor reporting and donor research
• Work closely with the communications team to implement the communications strategy and to oversee the development, management, and timely updating of program content in FTS communications channels including website, digital communications, social media, op-eds, stories, etc.
• Lead program related meetings and participate in organization-wide governance and planning meetings and periodic assessments of FTS progress and performance, present the work of FTS programs

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Strong background in modern slavery, including human trafficking, forced labor, child labor, etc.
• 5-10 years professional experience in programs management
• Demonstrated ability to initiate and coordinate programs without intensive supervision
• Background in resea