Regional Portfolio Lead – Africa

Organization

Compassion

Job details

• Job title: Regional Portfolio Lead – Africa
• Locations: Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and Ghana
• Additional locations: The vacancy is available across 10 locations in total
• Employment type: Full-time
• Date posted: Posted yesterday
• Application deadline: August 28, 2026
• Time remaining: Six days left to apply
• Job requisition ID: R8460
• Travel requirement: Up to 30% international travel

Funding notice: This role is supported by grant funding that is currently approved for a one-year period.

Overview

As a Regional Portfolio Lead, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight for a portfolio of emergency response and disaster preparedness programs funded through a US Government grant.

You will ensure high-quality program implementation, effective partner engagement, strong donor compliance, and achievement of portfolio objectives across multiple countries in Africa.

Working collaboratively with regional and global teams, you will strengthen program performance, manage risks, support capacity building, and advance Compassion’s ministry and humanitarian impact among vulnerable children and communities.

Key responsibilities

Christian faith and ministry commitment

• Maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Be a consistent witness for Jesus Christ by maintaining a courteous and Christ-like attitude when dealing with people within and outside Compassion.
• Faithfully uphold Compassion’s ministry in prayer.
• Uphold and engage in Compassion’s core Cultural Behaviors.

Child protection and advocacy

• Act as an advocate to raise awareness of the needs of children.
• Understand Christ’s mandate to protect children.
• Commit to protecting vulnerable populations, particularly by prioritizing child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks, and activities across the ministry.
• Abide by all behavioral expectations in Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct.
• Report any concerns involving the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children through Compassion’s internal reporting process.
• Appropriately support responses to child protection incidents if they occur.

Portfolio leadership and program management

• Provide strategic leadership and management for a regional portfolio of emergency response and disaster preparedness programs across Asia and other areas as needed.
• Serve as the primary regional point of contact for a broad range of partner program planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and performance management activities.
• Lead coordination among consortium members and internal stakeholders, including the RISE PMU, regional donor representatives, and other coordination bodies.
• Ensure that stakeholders remain aligned with program objectives and donor requirements.
• Monitor programmatic progress, deliverables, and key performance indicators to ensure activities are implemented on time and meet the required quality standards.
• Support the design, adaptation, and continuous improvement of emergency preparedness, emergency response, and resilience-building interventions.

Grant compliance and financial oversight

• Ensure compliance with US Government grant regulations, award terms and conditions, organizational policies, and applicable local regulations.
• Partner with finance, compliance, and program teams to oversee:
  • Budget performance
  • Pipeline management
  • Financial forecasts
  • Financial accountability
• Identify and mitigate programmatic, operational, financial, and compliance risks across the portfolio.
• Review and contribute to donor reports, work plans, monitoring frameworks, and other required project documentation.

Learning and capacity development

• Facilitate learning, knowledge sharing, and the adoption of best practices across participating countries and partners.
• Coordinate with and support capacity development colleagues seeking to strengthen partner and staff capacity.
• Provide or support coaching, training, and technical assistance in:
  • Portfolio management
  • Emergency response
  • Donor compliance

Representation and business development

• Represent Compassion in meetings, technical working groups, donor engagements, and regional coordination forums, as appropriate.
• Support business development efforts by contributing to:
  • Proposal development
  • Program design
  • Strategic planning for future humanitarian and resilience funding opportunities
• Travel within the region as needed to support program implementation, monitor progress, and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders.

Education requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields:
  • International Development
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Emergency Management
  • International Relations
  • Public Administration
  • A related field

Experience requirements

• At least 10 years of progressive experience managing complex humanitarian, disaster preparedness, resilience, or international development programs.
• Experience must include managing multi-country portfolios.
• Demonstrated experience managing US Government-funded awards.
• Proven ability to ensure compliance with applicable donor regulations and requirements.
• Proven experience leading and influencing cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders across different countries and cultures.

Knowledge and skills

• Strong knowledge of:
  • Emergency response
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Disaster risk reduction
  • Resilience programming
• Strong portfolio and project management skills, including:
  • Planning
  • Monitoring
  • Budgeting
  • Risk management
  • Performance oversight
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Strong ability in donor reporting, stakeholder engagement, and executive-level presentations.
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally up to 30%, including travel to locations affected by disasters and humanitarian emergencies.

Why work at Compassion?

The mission

Join a team motivated to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Spiritual growth

Participate in regular chapel services, prayer groups, and departmental devotionals.

How to apply

Interested and qualified candidates should submit their applications through Compassion’s official recruitment portal. 

Application deadline

Applications must be submitted by August 28, 2026.
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