Program Manager
Position Summary
The Program Manager is a key international programs role responsible for supporting high-quality program management, grant management, institutional donor compliance, and country office coordination across Operation Eyesight’s international portfolio. Based in Canada, the role works closely with country offices, partners, the Director of International Programs, finance, MEAL, institutional funding, advancement, and technical colleagues to ensure projects are well designed, properly budgeted, effectively implemented, monitored, forecasted, reported, and closed in line with donor requirements and organizational standards.
This position supports the full project cycle, from donor opportunity tracking, proposal development, theories of change, logframes, performance measurement frameworks, budgets, workplans, and donor submissions through project start-up, implementation oversight, financial monitoring, risk management, adaptive management, reporting, and close-out. The Program Manager helps ensure that projects funded by Global Affairs Canada and other institutional donors are managed with strong results-based management, clear accountabilities, realistic budgets, accurate forecasts, sound documentation, and consistent communication between Canada and country offices.
The Program Manager will strengthen OE’s ability to manage a credible, donor-ready, and impact-focused international program portfolio by developing and maintaining practical systems, tools, templates, calendars, trackers, budget monitoring processes, reporting routines, and coordination mechanisms that support country offices and partners. The role contributes directly to donor credibility, financial stewardship, implementation quality, organizational learning, and sustainable eye health impact.
Key Responsibilities
A. Institutional Funding, Proposal Development and Donor Positioning
· Support the identification, tracking, assessment, and prioritization of institutional funding opportunities, including Global Affairs Canada, the European Union, FCDO, UN agencies, multilateral organizations, foundations, and other bilateral or institutional donors.
· Coordinate proposal development processes with clear timelines, roles, responsibilities, document control, internal review steps, and decision points for proposals developed in Canada and by country offices.
· Contribute to concept notes, full proposals, theories of change, logic models, logframes, performance measurement frameworks, workplans, risk matrices, budgets, budget narratives, implementation plans, and supporting annexes.
· Ensure proposals are grounded in strong program logic, realistic implementation capacity, credible partner roles, accurate country office inputs, feasible budgets, and donor-specific requirements.
· Work with finance, MEAL, country offices, partners, and technical colleagues to ensure activities, staffing, monitoring systems, gender equality commitments, evaluation requirements, procurement needs, and operational costs are fully reflected in budgets and implementation plans.
· Maintain proposal calendars, donor opportunity trackers, pipeline tools, records of submissions, donor correspondence, and lessons learned from proposal processes.
B. GAC, RBM, Logframes and Results-Based Project Design
· Provide hands-on support to ensure Global Affairs Canada proposals, reports, and project management systems are aligned with GAC results-based management expectations, including theories of change, logic models, outcome and output statements, indicators, baselines, targets, assumptions, risks, and performance measurement frameworks.
· Coordinate the development and review of logframes and results frameworks to ensure clear results chains, realistic activities, measurable outputs, credible outcomes, appropriate indicators, and alignment between narrative, budget, workplan, MEAL plan, and reporting requirements.
· Work with the Advisor, MEAL, Impact and Gender Equality to ensure monitoring systems, data collection plans, reporting templates, and evaluation plans are practical for country offices, partners, health facilities, community teams, and Ministries of Health where relevant.
· Support the integration of gender equality, disability inclusion, safeguarding, environmental considerations, localization, sustainability, and risk mitigation into project design and donor documentation.
· Review project design documents to identify inconsistencies, gaps, unrealistic assumptions, budget omissions, weak implementation arrangements, unclear roles, or reporting risks before submission or approval.
· Ensure approved project documents, donor agreements, logframes, PMFs, budgets, workplans, reporting schedules, and compliance obligations are properly filed, communicated, and translated into implementation tools after award.
C. Country Office Project Oversight and Implementation Management
· Provide day-to-day management support and oversight for assigned institutional donor-funded projects implemented by OE country offices, local partners, hospitals, community structures, schools, and other implementation stakeholders.
· Coordinate project start-up processes, including inception planning, internal kick-off meetings, partner orientation, workplan finalization, budget phasing, reporting calendars, procurement planning, risk registers, communications protocols, and donor compliance briefings.
· Monitor implementation progress against approved workplans, budgets, deliverables, indicators, contractual obligations, and donor reporting schedules.
· Work closely with country offices to identify implementation delays, budget variances, staffing gaps, procurement challenges, partner performance issues, safeguarding concerns, quality risks, or donor compliance issues, and support timely corrective action.
· Facilitate regular project review meetings with country offices, finance, MEAL, advancement, and technical colleagues to assess progress, address bottlenecks, update forecasts, review risks, and agree follow-up actions.
· Support country offices to prepare realistic annual plans, quarterly plans, monthly implementation updates, procurement plans, travel plans, training plans, partner plans, and project close-out plans.
D. Budget Monitoring, Forecasting and Financial Coordination
· Work closely with finance and country offices to monitor project budgets, monthly expenditure, burn rates, forecasts, budget variances, cost allocations, donor restrictions, match requirements where applicable, and overall financial performance.
· Review budget versus actual reports with finance and country offices, identify underspending or overspending risks, and support corrective action plans that are realistic and documented.
· Support the preparation and review of project forecasts, cash flow requests, budget reforecasts, donor budget revisions, no-cost extension requests, and budget realignment justifications.
· Ensure country offices understand approved budget lines, eligible costs, procurement requirements, financial documentation standards, reporting timelines, and donor approval thresholds.
· Coordinate with finance to ensure narrative reports and financial reports tell one consistent story and that reported activities, results, expenditure, forecasts, and variances are aligned.
· Support the development of practical budget monitoring tools, monthly review templates, budget notes, transaction explanation formats, and country office guidance for donor-funded projects.
E. Donor Compliance, Grant Management and Risk Management
· Maintain a clear understanding of donor agreements, contribution agreements, grant conditions, reporting schedules, procurement rules, branding and visibility requirements, environmental and gender commitments, safeguarding expectations, audit requirements, and close-out obligations.
· Develop and maintain grant management tools, compliance checklists, project filing structures, reporting calendars, donor approval trackers, risk registers, and action trackers for assigned projects.
· Coordinate internal review and quality assurance of donor reports, ensuring narrative content is evidence-based, financially consistent, results-focused, and aligned with approved logframes, PMFs, workplans, budgets, and donor requirements.
· Support timely preparation of donor amendments, budget revisions, extension requests, implementation updates, management responses, and other donor communications as required.
· Ensure partner agreements, scopes of work, workplans, reporting obligations, budget responsibilities, and deliverables are clear, realistic, monitored, and documented.
· Contribute to audit readiness by ensuring project records, approvals, reports, budgets, forecasts, procurement documentation, partner files, and decision records are complete and accessible.
F. Reporting, Quality Assurance and Organizational Learning
· Coordinate the preparation, review, consolidation, and submission of high-quality donor reports, internal management updates, country office reports, project dashboards, briefing notes, and Board or senior management inputs as required.
· Review project, partner, and country office reports to ensure they are accurate, coherent, evidence-based, results-focused, financially aligned, and written to a standard suitable for institutional donors.
· Work with the Advisor, MEAL, Impact and Gender Equality to ensure reported results are supported by credible data, indicator tracking, verification processes, success stories, case studies, lessons learned, and analysis of progress against expected outcomes.
· Ensure reports explain activities completed, progress toward results, implementation challenges, adaptive management decisions, budget implications, risk mitigation, and sustainability considerations.
· Contribute to standard reporting templates, country office update formats, monthly project review formats, lessons learned tools, and project close-out templates.
· Support communications, advancement, and donor stewardship teams with verified project information, approved results language, impact summaries, implementation updates, and evidence for external use.
G. Country Office, Partner and Cross-Functional Coordination
· Act as a key coordination point between OE Canada and country offices for assigned projects, ensuring timely communication, clear follow-up, practical problem solving, and consistent understanding of donor and organizational requirements.
· Collaborate closely with country directors, program staff, finance staff, MEAL colleagues, partners, consultants, technical advisors, advancement, communications, and institutional funding colleagues.
· Support country offices and partners to strengthen project management practices, donor compliance, budget monitoring, forecasting, reporting, documentation, and adaptive management.
· Facilitate regular cross-functional coordination meetings and ensure decisions, risks, responsibilities, and deadlines are clearly documented and followed up.
· Support partner engagement, consortium coordination, consultant management, and external stakeholder communication where relevant.
· Represent OE in donor, partner, consortium, working group, or sector discussions as appropriate and in coordination with senior leadership.
H. Systems, Tools, Templates and Process Improvement
· Develop and maintain practical systems and tools for project cycle management, including project trackers, workplan templates, budget monitoring tools, forecasting templates, donor reporting calendars, risk registers, grant files, compliance checklists, and action trackers.
· Identify gaps in current program management processes and recommend simple, usable improvements that strengthen consistency, accountability, quality, and coordination across OE Canada and country offices.
· Support the standardization of project start-up, implementation monitoring, budget review, reporting, partner management, risk management, and project close-out processes.
· Contribute to improved internal documentation, file management, handover notes, institutional memory, and audit readiness for donor-funded projects.
· Support training, coaching, and capacity strengthening for country office staff and partners on project management, donor compliance, budget monitoring, forecasting, reporting, and documentation.
· Promote fit-for-purpose tools that reduce confusion, avoid duplication, and help country offices manage projects effectively without unnecessary administrative burden.
Qualifications and Experience
· Bachelor’s degree in international development, public health, global health, business administration, project management, social sciences, or a related field. A master’s degree or relevant professional certification is considered an asset.
· Minimum 5 to 7 years of progressively responsible experience in international development, NGO program management, institutional donor project management, grant management, or a related role.
· Demonstrated experience managing or supporting multi-country programs implemented through country offices, local partners, health systems, community structures, or Ministries of Health.
· Strong experience with Global Affairs Canada requirements, including results-based management, theories of change, logic models, PMFs, gender equality integration, budgets, reporting, compliance, contribution agreements, and donor communication.
· Experience with other institutional donors such as the European Union, FCDO, UN agencies, multilateral organizations, foundations, and other bilateral donors.
· Strong understanding of project cycle management, including project design, start-up, implementation planning, budget monitoring, forecasting, risk management, reporting, adaptive management, and close-out.
· Demonstrated experience developing or reviewing concept notes, proposals, logframes, workplans, budgets, budget narratives, donor reports, risk matrices, and implementation plans.
· Strong budget management skills, including the ability to review budget versus actual reports, monitor burn rates, prepare forecasts, identify variances, and work with finance teams on corrective action.
· Excellent written communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, donor-ready reports, proposal sections, briefing notes, meeting records, and management updates.
· Experience strengthening systems, tools, templates, trackers, reporting processes, and documentation practices for international programs.
· Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and related collaboration or project tracking tools.
· Knowledge of eye health, public health, health systems strengthening, disability inclusion, community health, education, or international health programming is considered a strong asset.
Core Competencies
· Program and grant management expertise, with the ability to connect design, implementation, budgets, compliance, reporting, and results.
· GAC and institutional donor fluency, including practical understanding of RBM, logframes, PMFs, budgets, contribution agreements, reporting, and donor compliance.
· International operational judgement, grounded in experience working with country offices, partners, health systems, community-level implementation, and cross-cultural teams.
· Budget monitoring and forecasting discipline, with the ability to identify financial risks early and work constructively with finance and country teams to resolve them.
· Systems thinking and practical process improvement, including the ability to improve tools and workflows without creating unnecessary complexity for staff or partners.
· Capacity building and service orientation, with the ability to support country offices and partners while maintaining strong quality and compliance standards.
· Clear communication, diplomacy, discretion, and accountability in working with internal teams, partners, donors, and senior leadership.
Working Conditions and Job Requirements
· Canada-based role, with hybrid or remote work arrangements depending on organizational needs.
· Domestic and international travel may be required to support country offices, partners, donors, project monitoring, training, proposal development, and implementation oversight.
· Ability to work across multiple time zones and with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders in different countries.
· Occasional evening or weekend work may be required to support international operations, donor deadlines, urgent implementation issues, reporting, or proposal development.
· Ability to manage periods of high workload during proposal submissions, donor reporting cycles, audits, project start-up, and project close-out.
· Acts as an ambassador of Operation Eyesight Canada and operates effectively in multicultural, multi-country, and cross-functional settings.
Values
The Program Manager is expected to model Operation Eyesight’s values in all aspects of program management, country office support, donor accountability, partner collaboration, and international operations:
· Equity
· Innovation
· Citizenship
· Compassion
· Excellence