Senior Programme Officer-Humanitarian Pooled Funds and Response

*This position is contingent upon receipt of funding and requires donor approval. Candidates must have the existing right to work in Zimbabwe*

Starting Salary: $44,454 USD

Contract: 1 year renewable

Location: Harare/Zimbabwe

Role Purpose

This is a dynamic role responsible for day-to-day coordination, quality assurance and support on setting and refining the vision and strategy of the CoACT consortium in Zimbabwe and hosted by CAFOD. The Senior Programme Officer (SPO) has full responsibility for leading the design, administration and performance of the ZAHA-hosted pooled funding mechanism (Component 1 of the CoAct programme) and for leading Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) across the programme. Working through consortium partners and local organisations, the SPO ensures pooled funds are accessible to local actors, enable timely and gender-transformative responses, and that evidence and learning systematically inform decision-making, localisation, and accountability to affected populations. The role will also facilitate the overall coordination of the program with a focus on supporting and driving the overall CoAct vision and strategy within a changing humanitarian landscape. 

Accountability

Line management: Reports to the Programme Manager – Resilient Livelihoods.

Budget responsibility: Leads pooled fund allocation cycles and oversees grant performance; supports financial monitoring of partner-led expenditure.

Stakeholder interface: Acts as CAFOD’s technical focal point with ZAHA Secretariat, Steering Committee, government coordination structures, donors and local partners.

Key Responsibilities

Pooled Fund Design, Administration & Governance (35%)

·        Lead the design, roll-out and continuous improvement of the ZAHA-hosted pooled fund, including governance, eligibility, proportional due diligence and accountability safeguards.

·        Manage end-to-end grant cycles: calls for proposals, partner pre-qualification, technical review, Steering Committee submissions, contracting, disbursement and close-out.

·        Maintain accurate grant registers, risk logs and performance dashboards; ensure compliance with CAFOD and donor requirements on finance, safeguarding and risk management.

·        Link pooled funding to preparedness plans, anticipatory triggers and coordination priorities to improve timeliness and coherence of response.

·        Generate and package evidence on pooled fund performance (speed, inclusion, value for money, risk-sharing) to inform adaptation, scale-up and donor engagement.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (25%)

·        Design and implement MEAL frameworks and indicators for CoACT, covering pooled fund performance, coordination effectiveness, anticipatory action and localisation.

·        Lead baselines, outcome monitoring and evaluations using mixed-methods; ensure sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated data and ethical data management.

·        Produce high-quality reports, dashboards and learning briefs to support adaptive management and policy influence.

·        Embed accountability to affected populations, ensuring accessible feedback and complaints mechanisms and timely response and course-correction.

Consortium Coordination & Local Leadership Voice and Agency (25%)

·        Provide support and drive the overall programme vision and strategy including through multi-stakeholder engagements, with donors as well as in key humanitarian fora.

·        Serve as technical focal point for pooled funding and MEAL within ZAHA governance; prepare documentation, track decisions and follow up on actions.

·        Facilitate inclusive working groups and joint reviews; support transition of decision-making and oversight to locally led structures in line with localisation strategy.

·        Advocate for and track power-shift and partner accountability benchmarks across consortium members.

Partner Capacity Strengthening (10%)

·        Provide structured accompaniment to local partners on grant management, MEAL, safeguarding and compliance.

·        Co-develop practical tools and templates (application, reporting, data collection) that are accessible to local and women-led organisations.

·        Coordinate peer learning, simulations and after-action reviews; integrate lessons into subsequent pooled fund rounds.

Programme Administration & Financial Monitoring (5%)

·        Support monitoring of budgets and expenditure for pooled fund grants and consortium activities; flag variances and corrective actions.

·        Ensure timely, accurate inputs to donor and internal reporting; maintain records in CAFOD information management systems.

Safeguarding  

All CAFOD staff share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.  

Person Specification

·        Degree in International Development, Humanitarian Studies, Social Sciences, Finance or related field.

·        Minimum 5 years’ experience in humanitarian programming with at least 2 years in pooled fund/grant management and MEAL ideally in a complex programme/consortium.

·        Demonstrated experience designing and administering pooled funds or multi-partner grant mechanisms and applying proportionate risk management.

·        Strong practical experience in MEAL: frameworks, indicators, data analysis (quantitative and qualitative), dashboards and adaptive management.

·        Excellent coordination and facilitation skills, including experience with multi-actor governance (steering committees, technical working groups).

·        Commitment to localisation and equitable partnerships; experience accompanying local and women-led organisations.

·        Strong communication skills, including remote collaboration and clear report writing.

·        Computer literacy including Excel and data visualisation tools; budget monitoring skills.

Desirable Criteria

·        Experience with anticipatory action/crisis modifier financing and humanitarian coordination structures.

·        Familiarity with protection mainstreaming, Core Humanitarian Standard, gender-transformative programming and accountability to affected populations.

·        Experience influencing humanitarian financing policy and practice.

       CAFOD is a welcoming, supportive workplace committed to a safe, inclusive culture where everyone is respected. CAFOD will make reasonable adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process to ensure candidates with disabilities or individual needs are fully supported.  

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities.

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.