Senior Program Manager – Sustainable Development Finance

Center for Global Development; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 76,000 - 86,000; Full time

Job summary

Center for Global Development seeks a Senior Program Manager to lead SDF operations in DC and London. You will coordinate budgets, grants, and administration, mentoring staff and ensuring timely delivery across a portfolio of projects with external partners.

Based in Washington, DC, this role requires strong judgment, strategic thinking, and excellent communication while maintaining autonomy and cross-team collaboration in a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree required; a relevant Master’s degree is desired.
• Experience managing administrative and operational functions of a small team.
• Strong budget and grant management experience.
• Excellent oral and written communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational processes across multiple projects and ensure timely delivery.
• Maintain portfolio trackers with timelines, deliverables, owners, and risks.
• Oversee budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting for SDF projects.
• Support recruitment, onboarding and staff development, ensuring smooth operations.

Skills

Project management

Budget management

Grants management

Operations leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Mentoring junior staff

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Project management tools

Job description

The Center for Global Development (CGD) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit policy research organization in Washington, DC and London, UK that focuses on the issues and institutions that are critical to inclusive development.

Through rigorous empirical research and active engagement with the global policy community, we focus on the policy intersections of low- and middle-income countries and the governments, institutions, and corporations that can be partners in delivering greater progress.

The Sustainable Development Finance (SDF) team undertakes research, policy analysis and recommendations, and public and private convenings to advance evidence-based proposals and policies for the effective and efficient use of development finance to support sustainable growth and poverty reduction. The focus is on low-income and lower-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs).

The work spans a wide range of topics, including: reforms to strengthen the performance of multilateral development banks, the IMF, and bilateral development finance institutions; debt solutions for LICs and LMICs; new approaches to mobilizing and catalyzing private finance for development; better impact measurement and reporting systems; local capital market development; innovations in development finance instruments and systems; better use of grants and other concessional development finance; and expanded and better allocated climate adaptation finance.

Job Summary

The Senior Program Manager is SDF’s operational and administrative lead, reporting to, and supporting, the Director. You will be responsible for keeping our people, projects, and budgets on track. Working across our DC and London office, you will build systems that help the team deliver consistently with external partners, while also overseeing core finance, grant fundraising and administration, and day-to-day operations. Working with a high degree of autonomy, you will coordinate across the full portfolio—from planning and resourcing to tracking deliverables and supporting convenings and special initiatives. The SDF Senior Program Manager is also a key point person in engaging with other parts of CGD. This role is central to how SDF operates and requires excellent judgment and skills in management, communications, and interpersonal relations. The role is highly collaborative and well-suited to someone who enjoys bringing structure, mentorship, and momentum to a high-functioning team.

This position is based in Washington, DC, which is where most of the team is based.

Responsibilities include

A) People & project delivery (core) (~40%)

• Run operational processes: work prioritization and planning, and follow-through across multiple concurrent projects.
• Maintain a portfolio tracker (timelines, deliverables, owners, risks) and proactively identify bottlenecks; surface tradeoffs and decisions as needed.
• Develop tools for assessing and tracking SDF impact, for use with internal and external partners.
• Engage and collaborate with other CGD teams, especially communications, finance, and institutional advancement staff.
• Support and mentor junior staff to strengthen operational and administrative performance (meeting organization and prep, follow-up, and deliverable management), helping to build confidence and consistency.

B) Budget, grants, and contracting (core) (~30%)

• Oversee financial operations for SDF projects, including budget tracking, forecasting, analysis and regular reporting to the Director and other relevant CGD staff.
• Work with the CGD fundraising team to craft effective and well-drafted grant proposals.
• Support grant management across the project lifecycle: budget development, tracking, and reporting requirements.
• Manage consultant/contractor workflows, including scopes of work, budgeting, invoicing, and payment processing; ensure compliance with organizational policies.
• Ensure effective, compliant use of funds across projects; maintain well-organized financial documentation and audit-ready records.

C) Operations, hiring, & administrative leadership (core) (~20%)

• Develop and improve operational systems and processes that enable smooth execution (templates, workflows, file management, onboarding materials, documentation norms).
• Coordinate day-to-day operation needs (purchasing, scheduling logistics, vendor coordination, travel/expense support as relevant).
• Manage recruitment and hiring operations for new staff, including coordinating postings, screening/vetting logistics, interview scheduling, reference checks (as needed), and offers in collaboration with the Director/CGD HR.
• Lead onboarding for new staff, ensuring clear role setup, documentation access, introductions, and early-week workflows that set people up to succeed.
• Track and improve internal operational performance—spot recurring friction points and implement pragmatic fixes that reduce burden on program staff.

D) Convenings, workshops, and communications support (~10%)

• Support programmatic activities including convenings, workshops, and special initiatives: timelines, budgets, vendor coordination, and run-of-show logistics.
• Provide communications support (e.g., coordinating SDF updates, website content, social media posting), in collaboration with relevant staff/CGD teams.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in a related field required, though a relevant Master’s degree is desired
• Minimum 8 years of experience
• Must have the right to live and work in the US
• Experience managing administrative and operational functions of a small team, with proven ability to manage competing priorities and a wide range of stakeholders
• Experience in budget and grant management
• Proven ability to act with a high degree of autonomy and make decisions to deliver work to a high standard
• An ability to see ahead and think creatively and strategically is essential
• Strong organizational skills with methodical approach to tasks and excellent attention to detail
• A working knowledge of project management tools and techniques
• Excellent oral and written communication skills

Preferred Competencies

• Experience in non-profit or academic organizations in an operations or administrative position. Experience in the private sector would also be a good fit.
• Interest in sustainable development finance challenges and issues
• Comfort coaching/managing more junior staff

Closing date: November 30 at 11:59 pm ET. Salary range: $75,800 - $86,000. Pay commensurate with education, skillset, and experience.

We manually review applications; no AI or automated filters are used to screen candidates.

The organization is working in a hybrid environment with all staff required to be in the office at least three days per week. CGD is registered to employ staff living in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Candidates must be able to declare a primary residence in one of these 3 locations.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document upon hire. CGD is unable to sponsor work authorization for this position.

Read about CGD’s benefits package here.

CGD/E is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and celebrates fostering a collaborative, diverse, and inclusive work environment. All persons will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, parental status, veteran status, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age or sexual orientation.