The Program Manager will be responsible for day-to-day liaison and coordination with grantee and partner organizations. The Program Manager will play a critical role with implementing the opportunity, which may use a variety of OSF’s strategic capabilities, including advocacy, impact investing, strategic litigation, in addition to grant making. The expectation is that the Program Manager is a subject matter expert in the specific opportunity.

Key responsibilities

• Support the Director of Programs to deliver on the opportunity’s outcomes with professionalism
• Deliver on day-to-day liaison with grantees to ensure the opportunity is designed, launched, implemented, and exited according to the outcomes defined
• Work collaboratively with other members within the opportunity team and with colleagues across OSF to ensure the opportunity is effectively leveraging OSF’s capabilities to reach the agreed outcome
• Effectively manage the grant-making process by communicating with grantees for proposal submission, assisting in grant record preparation, grants processing, payments, reporting, and other related processes
• Build a strong understanding of the field and partnerships, in developing and designing the grant selection processes
• Manage relationships with partners, in close coordination with Geographic Policy Groups as relevant, and work with them to achieve OSF’s strategic objective through the opportunity
• Work collaboratively in developing, assessing, and revising program strategies
• Work with leadership to maintain grant-making practice aligned with OSF’s approach to grant-making and in compliance with organizational and external standards and regulations
• Assist in the construction, maintenance, and assessment of grant making portfolio(s), sharing responsibility for strategy design with manager
• Contribute to larger opportunity strategy
• Process and oversee progress of consultant contracts
• Monitor progress implementation, project risks, and other relevant status updates and communicate to Director of Programs regularly

Key internal relationships

• Director, Programs; Managing Director Programs; Core Partners, Special Advisors, Grants Management, Operations

Key external relationships

• External Partners

The ideal candidate

• Educated to a degree-level (or equivalent)
• Post-graduate education relevant to the types of Opportunities that Open Society Foundations will invest in.
• Multiple years’ experience (in one or multiple organisations) where proficiency in the specific field or subject area has been comprehensively developed
• Extensive expertise in the specific topic area as set out in the “Opportunity Description” above. Experience with access to justice in mining and the impact of of resource extraction in communities.
• Specific technical strength and knowledge of critical minerals management and metals policy.
• An understanding of the critical minerals value chains and financing
• Prior working experience of operating within the non-profit community (for example multi-lateral, NGO, foundation or ambassadorial working environments)
• Fluent in local language where the role is based. Proficiency in Portuguese and or French is an added advantage
• Demonstrable expertise on Africa, global critical minerals landscape and the associated developmental and governance strategic opportunities for the continent. In addition, practical experience doing high level work in critical minerals rich African countries highly desired.