Portfolio Manager - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

​​ This role is offered on a hybrid contract giving you the opportunity to also work from home three days a week.

Comic Relief reserves the right to close the role early if a large number of applications are received.

Purpose of job:  

The Portfolio Manager will play a key role in the success of the team responsible for Comic Relief’s funding programme focused on tackling the effects of poverty.   

The Portfolio Manager will hold direct responsibility for a number of investments with Funded Partners, both in the UK and internationally, ensuring excellent grant making practice, and be responsible for managing funding calls.   

The Portfolio Manager will regularly collaborate within the team and across the organisation to support Comic Relief’s overall objectives. 

Key responsibilities: 

Funding management and relationships 

• Manage assigned funding portfolios and relationships with funded partners, ensuring that the portfolio is managed in a timely and responsive way, using Comic Relief's (CR's) systems and processes.  

• Manage all requirements, such as narrative, financial and risk reporting, collaborating across the funding team and wider Comic Relief as appropriate.  

• Work with the Assurance and Finance teams to ensure ongoing compliance across the portfolio with legal requirements, our grant conditions, reporting requirements and best practice.  

• Ensure or contribute to donor reporting and other information needs for external and internal use, such as information about our funded work and our partners. 

Cross team/organization/sector collaboration  

• Coordinate with other funding team colleagues, including supporting other funding programmes when needed.  

• Work with the Partnerships Team to support strong relationships with existing and potential co-funding partners, including corporates and/or trusts, foundations and institutions, and support proposal development, reporting and other requirements. 

• Work collaboratively across CR to support storytelling around CR's impact.  

• Contribute to internal communications regarding the work of the Effects of Poverty team and the wider Funding Team.  

• Represent CR with strategic partners and co-funders, in relevant networks, and at external events. 

General 

• Develop a basic understanding of all areas of social change that are prioritised by CR.  

• Manage the work of consultants and other contractors as required. 

• Communicate in an open, honest and transparent way with funding applicants, funded partners and funding partners.  

• Ensure that, when applicable, people with lived or learned experience are actively engaged with our work, contributing to the design and decision-making process of our funding portfolios. 

• Embed effective ways of working that contribute to the de-colonization of philanthropy.  

Some travel (including some international) will be required in this role. 

Person specification 

Essential criteria 

• Experience and knowledge working closely with funder partners and donors for social change.  

• Experience of managing large or complex grants, within a donor and / or an implementing organisation. 

• Experience of managing donor reporting. 

• A good understanding of developing, implementing and evaluating programmes.  

• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and a strong planner, with flexibility to navigate the unexpected.  

• An understanding or lived experience of social injustice, and commitment to EDI and tackling social injustice and prejudice. 

• Personal and effective relationship builder with ability to nurture trust and respect in relationships, and cross-functional / collaborative working 

• Analytical thinker with the ability to see the bigger picture and make appropriate and effective decisions.   

Desirable Criteria 

• Experience of managing restricted donor income (e.g. from government or other institutions, trusts or foundations). 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why work at Comic Relief

There are lots of good reasons to join us at Comic Relief. You can read more about our employee benefits, such as our commitment to flexible and hybrid working. We ask staff to come to the office twice a week, normally on agreed team days, so that we can do all those things that are difficult to do online. Our office is based in Whitechapel, London, There are lots of opportunities to develop your skills and experience at Comic Relief, including opportunities to become a Mental Health First Aider or to participate in our Employee Network Groups that focus on making Comic Relief a more inclusive place to work

Disability Confident employer

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we take positive action by providing first-round interviews to candidates who have a registered disability, provided they meet the minimum criteria for the role, as demonstrated on their CV or application scores. We ask that candidates that wish to be considered for this scheme email

[email removed - click apply for more details] to discuss further. Please do not email CV's/cover letters.