Senior Director, Portfolio Management (M2)

Save the Children

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life. To have access to education. To be in a safe environment, protected from harm. We work in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach places – over 100 countries, including the U.S. No matter what your role is, when you join Save the Children, you’re creating positive, irreversible change for children, and the future we all share.

The Role

Save the Children’s Impact & Evidence division strives to serve people who serve children—providing high-quality, strategically aligned resources, insights, and support to drive measurable, transformative change. We work efficiently and collaboratively, guided by shared purpose, mutual respect, and accountability to the communities we serve. By testing bold ideas, proving what works, and scaling effective solutions, we improve children’s lives—while always ensuring we contribute more value than we consume and make space for others (SCI Center, members, partners, etc.) best positioned to lead.

The Senior Director, Portfolio Management will provide financial support for Save the Children’s international portfolio. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring financial and operational processes are running timely and efficiently. You will report to the Managing Director, Portfolio Management and will provide budget holder support, award management, and expense allocation guidance to the portfolios supported.

Location

Hybrid – Washington DC, Fairfield, CT or Lexington, KY office locations

 

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

*not inclusive of all role responsibilities. May be subject to change

Financial Strategy and Planning (35%)

• Lead the development and implementation of the annual fiscal budget process for your region, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
• Partner with senior leadership to develop and analyze financial projections and forecasts for the division, identifying and addressing financial risks.
• Use financial data and historical spending to provide direction to portfolio managers in the preparation of financial projections, ensuring spending plans are aligned with organizational objectives and risk tolerance.
• Coordinate with Program Design team to ensure cost models and equivalencies are up to date.
• Conduct regular budget reviews to ensure proper and efficient use of resources and advise portfolio managers and budget holders on techniques for maximizing funds.
• Proactively identify funding gaps and provide strategic guidance to fundraising teams to ensure funding aligns with our strategy.

Award Management (40%)

• Lead budget development for complex grant proposals by partnering with program and country office staff to translate program needs into sound financial plans.
• Provide strategic guidance and support to direct reports on all aspects of the award management lifecycle with support from the Portfolio Management Advisor.
• Conduct regular review of award portfolios, including oversight of life-of-award meetings, to identify and mitigate potential risks and coordinate with award staff to develop spend plans that align with scope of work and donor conditions.
• Review and approve donor spending reports for direct reports to ensure data accuracy and compliance with donor and audit requirements.

Training & Development (10%):

• Lead the development of financial training materials and conduct regular trainings for finance and program staff on financial policies, procedures, and award compliance.
• Work with Managing Director to update financial policies and procedures and implement best practices across the team.
• Manage the completion of needs assessments to identify staff training requirements, evaluate the effectiveness of training programs, and make improvements as needed.
• Develop and train both internal and external stakeholders on various financial topics including:
  • Budget holder guidance
  • Financial policies and procedures
  • Donor compliance and reports
  • Federal regulations, e. 2 CFR 200, EDGAR, and others.

Staff Management (15%)

• Provide strategic direction, coaching, and performance management for a team of advisors responsible for cost center and award management, ensuring adherence to divisional financial policies and procedures.
• Delegate tasks effectively, ensuring timely completion and high-quality
• Provide coaching and mentorship to Portfolio Manager Advisor’s, fostering a positive and results-oriented team environment.
• Work with Portfolio Management leadership to develop team goals and financial
• Acts as a backstop for other Directors and backfills for your team as needed to ensure coverage during vacancies
• Meet with direct reports to assign work priorities and troubleshoot issues as they
• Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission and supports Save the Children values.

Required qualifications for the role

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience
• Advanced knowledge and hands-on experience with Microsoft Excel and demonstrated ability to apply creative ideas for data compilations
• Demonstrated ability to support multiple stakeholders by providing sound financial data and guidance
• Proven experience managing complex, multifunctional budgets
• Willing and able to travel both domestically and internationally up to 10% of the
• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English

Preferred qualifications for the role

• Experience managing complex budgets with multiple funding sources including federal awards

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $119,425 - $133,475 base salary
• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $107,525 - $120,175 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $96,050 - $107,350 base salary 

The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here).

About Us

We are looking to build an inclusive team at Save the Children. We offer a range of outstanding benefits to support this goal:

• Flexible schedules and time off: Flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in you.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to applicantsupport@savechildren.org.