Programan Manager Amazon

Position description

The Freedom Fund (www.freedomfund.org) is a leader in the global movement to end modern slavery. The Freedom Fund works to combat many different forms of extreme exploitation, including forced labour, sex trafficking, forced marriage, and the worst forms of child labour.  

In its first ten years, the Freedom Fund has supported over 174 organisations across countries in Africa, South America, South and South-East Asia.

About the position

The Freedom Fund is seeking a Program Manager in Brazil to support the development and implementation of a hotspot to help address the intersections of forced labour and deforestation in parts of the Amazon.

Building on a broad strategy co-created with local stakeholders, The Freedom Fund invested in a year of additional research, and relationship building with local stakeholders in 2023. A small number of one-year grants were made to NGOs in Pará and Amazonas.

This helped the organisation to build on learnings and refine a longer-term strategy to address this issue. As a result, a fuller strategy is now in place for a three-year program clustered in these two states.

This is an exciting and

demanding role for an outstanding individual with experience in setting up and managing international development programs. The successful candidate will oversee a portfolio of the Freedom Fund’s investments and relationships for its new hotspot program to address forced labour in the Brazilian Amazon. The Program Manager will work closely with the Senior Program Manger based in Brazil, and with other Freedom Fund staff based in the UK.

The successful candidate will

have a range of responsibilities including managing grants to local partners working in the region, reporting to relevant donors, monitoring results, reporting on impact, being accountable for internal reporting and processes, conducting site visits, connecting partners to work on international supply chains, building and maintaining relationships with relevant stakeholders in the region, convening meetings and events. The role will include the supervising of two Program Advisors based in the region.

About the program

The use of slave labour to deforest the Amazon is widely documented. Since 1995 more than 56 thousand workers have been rescued from slavery-like conditions in Brazil, nearly half in the Amazon. Deforestation in the region has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Last year alone, the Amazon lost an area of forest equivalent to 1.6 million soccer fields. The deforested areas are often replaced with pasture and farms. But as deforestation increases, suggesting a parallel increase in slave labour, there have been major setbacks to the institutions working for human rights and environmental protection in the region. The change in government may bring about a reversal of those setbacks, but the challenges and scale of exploitation in the region remain enormous.

The Freedom Fund has funded scoping studies and solicited input from experts, indigenous communities, and frontline organisations, which have resulted in the identification of two broad goals for this hotspot:

·  Increasing capacity and collaboration among public agents, CSOs and Amazonian communities to

address slave labour associated with deforestation;

·   Curbing commercialisation of products derived from slave labour in the supply chains of timber and livestock in the Amazon.

Responsabilities

Program Strategy and Delivery

•   Oversee Freedom Fund investments in the program in Brazil.

•   Analyse political, policy and sectoral developments in Brazil to support hotspot strategy development.

•   Work with the Senior Program Manager to set and periodically review hotspot strategies.

•   Ensure and enable quality delivery of the program in Brazil.

•   Draft internal and external reports using partners’ progress reports and data.

•   Commission/manage technical experts and consultants as relevant and needed.

•   Support and contribute as needed to new program initiatives, such as Freedom Rising.

Support and Manage Program Advisors

•   Manage Program Advisors for the hotspot.

•   Support the Program Advisors to address and trouble shoot challenges as they arise.

•   Support the Program Advisors to manage relationships with relevant local partners.

Data and Reporting

•   Draft internal and external reports using partners’ progress reports and data.

•   Monitor program performance against objectives, using agreed indicators and the M&E system.

•   Provide research, M&E and other support as required and requested.

Grant management

•   Review monthly management accounts for the program.

•   Ensure payments to partners and service providers are made in a timely manner.

•   Ensure appropriate grant management processes are followed by the Program Advisors.

•   Act as a central point of contact with other Freedom Fund teams in relation to grant management processes that may require their involvement or input.

•   Inform and draft responses to external or donor queries about the Freedom Fund grant management processes.

•   Run periodic audits of grant management processes implementation.

•   Ensure hotspot compliance with the Freedom Fund’s grant management systems and donor rules.

 In-country representation

•   Represent the Freedom Fund and the hotspot programs in networks, with the government and in CSO forums in the Brazilian Amazon and other areas of Brazil as required.

• Support the Senior Program Manager in evolving the trategy of the hotspot, identifying opportunities to strengthen the work and liaise with in-country networks to promote learnings from the Freedom Fund’s work.

Qualifications

The Freedom Fund seeks an

energetic, thoughtful, and committed candidate, capable of operating with a high level of professionalism in a range of global settings. The successful candidate will have experience working with poor and marginalised communities and a track record of implementing development programs with a strong monitoring and evaluation component. This role is located in Brazil.

 Essential

•   At least five years’ of directly relevant experience, with significant time in a developing country

•   Knowledge of or experience working in the Amazon region and its articular issues

•   Direct experience of working with marginalised communities

•   Experience employing rigorous monitoring and evaluation techniques and clear understanding of possibilities and limits of M&E in development

•   Experience working with private and public donors

•   Experience preparing and managing budgets

•   Bachelor’s degree

•   Fluente in English and Portuguese

 Desirable

•   Advanced degree

•   Experience in the anti-slavery sector and/or in countries with a high incidence of slavery and/or in the field of sexual violence against or gender equality.

 •   Understanding of forced labour in the Brazilian Amazon

•   Experience in grant-making

 Personal attributes

 Essential

•   Team player committed to the Freedom Fund’s values and passionate about human rights issues.

•   Ability to build relationships with a wide range of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

•   Ability to work independently, displaying strong initiative in solving day-to-day problems with limited direction.

•   Sound English communication skills and ability to present information in compelling ways.

•   Willingness and ability to travel, sometimes to remote communities, as required.

Compensation

 • BRL 20,236 (permonth).

• Medical insurance and meal vouchers.

• Provisions under CLT such as severance pay, vacation bonus and 13th month salary.

• Working model : Hybrid

• Local de trabalho : Belém ( PA)

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net