Director of Programmes and Partnerships – The international PRIDE Centre At International Council of Voluntary Agencies

Job Title: Director of Programmes and Partnerships – The International PRIDE Centre

Organisation: The International PRIDE Centre, hosted by ICVA

Location and Duration: Global (remote) and 2 years with possibility of renewal – contingent upon project financing

Reporting to: Executive Director

1. About The International PRIDE Centre

The International PRIDE Centre (IPC): Protection, Rights, and Inclusion in Displacement and Emergencies is a new initiative which is working to ensure that the urgent, critical needs of people and communities with non-traditional Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) in Africa are included in emergency responses to natural disasters, refugee displacement, and climate-driven displacement.

Laws and regulations prohibiting and criminalising SOGIE individuals, organisations, and those that assist them are rapidly expanding throughout the world. The International PRIDE Centre is developing resources, tools, and inclusion training for emergency and humanitarian actors, alongside advocacy to donors and UN agencies to ensure that the unique and specific needs of persons from sexual and gender minority communities are identified, included, and responded-to with empathy, safety, and urgency by response agencies during emergencies.

The International PRIDE Centre will focus on six pilot countries in Africa with a planned Phase 2 scale-up.

The International PRIDE Centre is an independent secretariat hosted by ICVA, established in 2024. Governed by a Strategic Advisory Board, the Centre is an initial team of four, working with local partners.

2. About ICVA

Established in 1962, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) comprises a worldwide network of more than 160 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in activities across 160 countries. Operating at global, regional, national, and local tiers, ICVA is dedicated to enhancing the principled and effective nature of humanitarian action. Through collaborative and independent efforts, the organization strives to influence policies and practices, fostering a collective impact on the humanitarian landscape.

The ICVA 2030 Strategy adopted by the ICVA’s General Assembly in 2021 sets the framework for the direction and focus of ICVA’s work from 2022-2030, as we evolve and transform our network. Rooting us more deeply in our mission of principled and effective humanitarian action, this strategy sets our collective values, our ways of working and our aspirational transformations.

We work on focus areas (Forced Migration, Humanitarian Coordination and Humanitarian Financing) to best serve our members and the sector as a whole.

ICVA’s distinctive strengths are embedded in our operational methodologies, which encompass analysis and explanation, convening, connecting, influencing and advocating, supporting, and collaborating. With a historical foundation in Geneva, the ICVA Secretariat extends its reach across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

3. Summary of Role

The Director of Programmes and Partnerships will be responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating programmes that support the mission of the IPC and managing relationships with implementing and strategic partners. They will cultivate strategic partnerships with local and international organizations, donors, and stakeholders to ensure effective and inclusive programming for LGBTQI+ communities in emergency contexts. Working closely with the Executive Director and other team members, the Director will align IPC’s programmes with its strategic goals while enhancing its capacity and reach. Most importantly, the Director of Programmes and Partnerships willwork to further the mission and vision of the International PRIDE Centre in building inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons and communities in humanitarian responses.

4. Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Programme Development and Implementation

• Lead the development and execution of programmes focused on the protection and inclusion of SOGIE individuals in humanitarian, emergency and development responses across Africa.
• Ensure programmes are aligned with IPC’s strategic objectives and respond to the unique needs of diverse LGBTQI+ communities.
• Monitor programme implementation and adapt strategies as needed to achieve desired outcomes.
• Oversee the development of the Centre’s training and workshop activities.
• Develop tools and resources to support capacity building among partners and stakeholders.

Supervision and Management

• Line manage the Legal and Policy Advisor and additional programme staff if and as they are added to the team.

Partnerships and Collaboration

• Oversee relationships with implementing partners and ensure partnerships are equitable and collaborative while ensuring the timely delivery of programme outcomes.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with local civil society organizations (CSOs), international NGOs, UN agencies, and donors to strengthen IPC’s network.
• Foster collaboration with LGBTQI+ community leaders and activists to ensure their voices and expertise inform IPC’s programming.

Fundraising and Resource Development

• Business development, donor engagement, and fund management.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with donors, foundations, and government agencies.
• Help to develop funding stability and sustainability through diversified funding sources.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Design and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure programme outputs, impact and ensure accountability.
• Report regularly on programme progress and outcomes to donors, stakeholders, and the Strategic Advisory Board.
• Document learning with a view to informing programme and quality improvements.
• Utilize internal and external data and analysis to refine and improve IPC’s interventions and strategies.

Funding Oversight and Risk Management

• Oversee programme budgets, ensuring effective allocation and management of resources.
• Identify potential risks related to programme activities and develop strategies to mitigate them.
• Ensure programmatic compliance with organisational and donor policies and legal regulations in all aspects of programme implementation.

Governance and Advocacy

• With the Executive Director, report on programme outputs and deliverables to the Strategic Advisory Board.
• Assist with external advocacy and representation in support of the goals, objectives and values of the International PRIDE Centre.

5. Requirements

Education

• Master’s degree or higher in international development, humanitarian studies, human rights law, or a related discipline.
• Relevant training and experience with principles of diversity and inclusion, in particular with regards to LGBTQI+ communities.

Experience

• At least 10 years field experience working in humanitarian and emergency response contexts, ideally including experience in Africa.
• At least 10 years working with humanitarian response NGOs in a programme implementation capacity.
• Knowledge of and experience with UN agencies at country and headquarters leves.
• Knowledge and experience of humanitarian policy development.
• Experience managing teams in a remote environment.
• Experience working with local NGOs and civil society.
• Experience creating innovative, successful project proposals with a range of institutional, private and philanthropic donors.
• Experience designing, implementing, and overseeing MEAL systems.
• Experience living and working as a member of an LGBTQI+ community in the global south is a significant asset.

Values

• Demonstrable experience working within and promoting core humanitarian values, including the ICRC’s Fundamental Principles, anti-racism and aid decolonisation.
• Knowledge of and experience living and working with SOGIE individuals and communities in all their diversity.

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent communication, writing, presentation and representational skills appropriate for different audiences, including the ability to influence people.
• Understanding of the broader humanitarian sector and its current challenges, architecture, and of existing coordination platforms.
• Proven ability as a connector and able to foster partnerships and collaboration.
• Ability to work with cross cultural and diverse SOGIE environments.

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Proficiency in written and spoken French.

The Strategic Advisory Board will review this Job Description on an annual basis and amend if required.

The PRIDE Centre is rooted in a foundation of anti-racism and aid decolonisation across all outputs and operations. We embrace SOGIE communities in all their diversity, inclusive of indigenous understandings of non-CIS sexual identity and gender expression and identity.

The International PRIDE Centre’s Commitment on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The International PRIDE Centre, its staff and board, are committed to a world that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that every individual—regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic background—deserves dignity, safety, a livelihood, and a sense of belonging.

We champion the rights of LGBTQI+ communities globally, with particular emphasis on the unique challenges, strengths, and experience of those in the Global South. We acknowledge the intersectionality of oppression and empowerment, understanding that experiences of discrimination are shaped by colonial histories, economic disparities, religion, and cultural contexts.

This commitment extends across all our work, outputs, activities, and our advocacy and external representation.