Centre for Disaster Protection - Project Manager

Development Alternatives Inc.; London; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization focused on disaster risk finance is seeking a Project Manager to support their operations team. This role involves managing project portfolios and ensuring effective operational systems to deliver impactful client outcomes. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, a proactive approach, and a passion for making a difference in disaster risk management.

Qualifications

• Experience managing multiple small projects and initiatives concurrently.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills with strong attention to detail.
• Proficiency in English; French and/or Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Supporting project management for the Centre’s Advisory and Training Portfolios.
• Building workplans and managing stakeholder relationships.
• Supporting compliance processes and financial reporting.

Skills

Communication

Project Management

Problem-solving

Organizational Skills

Education

Degree in relevant field

Job description

Project Manager

Background

About the Centre

The Centre for Disaster Protectionworks to prevent disasters devastating lives, by helping people, countries, and organisations change how they plan and pay for disasters. We focus on disaster risk financing to help ensure that money and plans are in place before a disaster strikes, so that the poorest and most vulnerable people are better protected. We are committed to work in partnerships across sectors and geographies to drive more impactful and more equitable disaster risk finance that leaves no one behind. Specifically, through a focus on:

·Delivering excellent client outcomes and promoting lasting disaster risk finance expertise.We provide clients with impartial and evidence-based advice, quality assurance and training that meets their needs and drives more effective disaster risk finance.

·Quality evidence and learning.We work to strengthen the evidence base for prearranged financing and document and share what shows the greatest potential to achieve system change.

·Impactful communications and global policy engagement.We seek to engage and influence through evidence-led policy and inclusive policy dialogue that bridges both ‘local to global’ and the humanitarian development climate nexus, targeting the bottlenecks key to effect transformative change of the international crisis financing architecture.

Additionally, we are focused on building effective systems and processes for people and operations that support the Centre to rapidly, yet strategically, scale and grow in a way that supports our people to do their best work through safe challenge, promoting and integrating diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Centre is funded with UK aid through the UK government. Read more about us in our updated strategy(2022-2025) and find out more at www.disasterprotection.org.

About DAI

DAI was appointed as the Managing Agent for the Centre from July 2021 to June 2029 under contract to FCDO. The Centre is supported by DAI’s Evidence, Learning and Technical Assistance Facilities Team (ELTAF). This team manages rapid response services for the UK Government and other donors, that provide technical assistance (TA), research and evidence, and evaluation teams and experts to clients worldwide. Working on diverse development and humanitarian challenges and needs, at fast pace, together we deliver portfolios of short to medium term assignments in support of improving security, resilience, and opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, and we analyse, synthesise and share learning and evidence from this portfolio with key stakeholders and policy and research communities.

The role

This role is part of the Centre’s Operations Team, supporting full-time on:

·Project management support for the Centre’s work, focusing on supporting the Advisory Portfolio

·Project management support for the Centre’s work, focusing on supporting the Training Portfolio

This role acts as a central point of coordination as it sits within the Centre but involves close collaboration with DAI and its related team, ELTAF, that offers the operational systems on which the Centre runs.

While the role is currently assigned to a specific function, the postholder may be required to work across other functions within the Centre and, where operational needs require, may be reassigned to a different function or project area. This flexibility is essential to ensuring the Centre can respond effectively to evolving priorities.

Responsibilities

Duties may be flexible, and the following list is not exhaustive:

·Responding to new requests for support from the Centre’s clients and helping define and operationalise projects. This includes:

oworking through the project lifecycle with clients and partners

obuilding workplans and approaches for successful delivery.

osupporting procurement and recruitment activities, finding the right expertise and partner teams

omanaging stakeholders and relationships through effective communication

ocoordinating internal teams and external partners

opreparing and maintaining costs, budgets, forecasting and financial reporting (internal and external)

oassisting in completing important compliance and vetting processes to ensure we engage only fully qualified and eligible experts and partners in the work we do.

·Contractual, budget and project management of the portfolio. This may include support on:

oset-up of new projects in company financial and project management systems

oinitiating request to our Commercial Team to issue contracts for team members and partners

omanaging suppliers including negotiation, and performance monitoring to meet project objectives, budget, and quality standards

oliaise with relevant stakeholders and coordinate activities to ensure effective implementation and alignment with project objectives

omonitoring progress against plans, working with Project Leads to ensure timely progress.

oassessing and reporting delivery risks

ofinancial checks, reviewing invoices from teams, partners, and monitoring spend against budget.

oreviewing reports and other outputs produced by teams on assignment, and assistance with formatting, copy edit and presentation.

oaccurate forecasting of expenditure on live and anticipated projects, to support client reporting and financial management.

osupporting technical activities such as workshops or small research tasks.

otravel bookings and planning for the Centre’s team.

·Applying Centre and corporate systems to the projects under the post holders care, keeping relevant registers and databases, and programme specific management information systems up to date (NB, this is with respect to content/data maintenance rather than technology/IT maintenance)

·Engagement in Centre and ELTAF team learning and development activities, where we draw together technical and process learning from delivery of the multiple assignments and services to help us improve and share with other DAI colleagues or wider audiences.

Across both aspects of the role, the postholder will be responsible for applying ELTAF and corporate systems to the Centre projects and activities under their care, keeping relevant registers and databases, and programme specific management information systems up to date (NB, this is with respect to content/data maintenance rather than technology/IT maintenance).

Skills and experience

·A key feature of the role will be managing multiple small projects and initiatives in parallel, and so excellent organisational and planning skills with ability to delegate effectively, multi-task efficiently, and prioritise workloads will be required.

·It will also require problem-solving abilities, including working independently, with high attention to detail.

·Excellent written and oral communication skills in English with the ability to tailor communications to a range of audiences.

·Preference for additional language skills in French and/or Spanish.

·Ability to take initiative and work proactively and effectively as part of a dynamic, multidisciplinary team in a hybrid working environment.

·Ability to work enthusiastically as a valued team member across multiple client teams in parallel. The role would therefore require demonstrated experience of communicating and interacting with different types of stakeholders.

·Ability to engage with senior management, providing relevant insights and facilitating discussions to help clarify and shape ideas, ensuring alignment with project objectives and priorities.

·Ability to manage activities through from design to delivery, including overseeing logistical, event and administrative elements to ensure smooth implementation.

·Experience in designing, planning, and supporting the organisation and delivery of events.

·Commitment to ongoing learning, including technical and non-technical skills.

The offer

This role is expected to be offered on a fixed term contract basis, starting in July 2025 and running to June 2029, including an initial probation period of up to 4 months. The role will be contracted by DAI Global UK (or local partner/representative), who are the Centre’s managing agent.

Additional travel may also be needed, for example for Advisory events or meetings with clients or partners. Flexible and part-time working arrangements will be considered. Applicants for the role must already have the right to work in the UK. Applicants must be willing to undertake some international travel as required.

The position is offered in the UK. Regular visits to the Centre’s office in the City of London will be required and preference will be for candidates who can commit to working from the London office at least eight days a month.

A competitive salary and benefits package will be offered depending on experience (indicative gross salary range between £33,000 and £40,000 per annum where the role is based in the UK). The proposed salary will be confirmed at the offer stage.

The Centre is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and so we particularly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds that are typically under-represented in this sector and from citizens of countries affected by disasters.

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the USA, the UK, the EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine, and project operations worldwide. DAI tackles fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability; it works on the frontlines of global development, transforming ideas into action—action into impact. DAI is committed to shaping a more liveable world.

Application process

Interested applicants should apply via DAI’s recruitment portal, including a concise CV and a supporting statement (no more than 500 words) outlining your motivation for applying (250 words max) and the key qualities you would bring to the role (250 words max).

If you do not receive further communication from us for this opportunity, please understand that, regrettably, you were not selected for this position. Please keep an eye out for future roster opportunities.

Any reasonable adjustment requests or questions about the role or the recruitment process should be sent to: [e-mail] (please do not send applications to this email address).

The deadline for receiving applications is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Tuesday 22^nd of June, 2025

Please note that your data will be stored confidentially on DAI’s corporate database, which has restricted access for necessary DAI corporate staff only. DAI takes your privacy seriously. If you choose to, you may opt out of inclusion in our database at any point in time by sending an email [e-mail]. See our Privacy Policy for details. Your data may be held outside of the EU and/or UK by one of the other DAI group companies with sufficient safeguards in place regarding security and use.