Programme Manager

Organization Sightsavers

Posted: 19 Mar 2026 

Closing date: 5 Apr 2026

Sightsavers implements projects in over 30 countries in Africa and South Asia working to eliminate avoidable blindness

Location: United Kingdom, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia

Contract: 12-month fixed term contract

Salary: Local Terms and Conditions apply

Responsibilities

• Support programme officers and country teams to develop and maintain annual plans and budgets for NTD programmes, ensuring alignment with funding and grant agreements.
• Ensure Sightsavers resources are managed efficiently and used to maximum effect across assigned countries.
• Work in partnership with country and regional directors to ensure NTD programmes are delivered in line with agreed NTD guidelines, using up‑to‑date tools, reporting processes and relevant global and WHO preferred practices.
• Enable timely, high‑quality and evidence‑based reporting to support effective donor management and compliance with grant requirements.
• Deliver all contractual milestones, ensuring safeguarding, gender equality, equity, social inclusion, value for money, WASH, health systems strengthening and sustainability are fully embedded.
• Facilitate the provision of appropriate technical assistance and capacity‑building support within designated countries.
• Hold regular update calls with country offices to monitor progress, provide support and collate programme updates.
• Ensure learning, documentation and reporting systems are aligned with Sightsavers organisational systems and processes, and that learning from country programmes is effectively captured.
• Provide regular project updates and reports to stakeholders, including documentation required for review and sign‑off by the relevant Director.
• Identify and operationalise risk mitigation actions, including safeguarding advice, in collaboration with country teams.

This is a highly varied and involved role and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties or required professional skills. Please see the Job Description for full details.

Jobholder Requirements

Essential:

• Extensive experience and/or relevant qualifications in programme or project management within the private, humanitarian or development sectors.
• A strong understanding of partnership based programme delivery and experience of working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.
• A proven track record of managing and delivering projects across multiple countries.
• Experience of project monitoring and evaluation.
• A clear understanding of, and commitment to, equality of opportunity for people with disabilities.
• Fluency in English and French, both written and spoken.
• The ability to communicate complex information clearly and effectively to nontechnical audiences.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively under pressure.
• The ability to identify key risks, problem solve and escalate critical issues appropriately.
• Strong analytical and IT skills, with confidence using Microsoft Office and working within matrix managed teams.

Desirable:

• Experience of inclusive public health programming, including neglected tropical disease programmes and/or wider development work.
• Experience of translating strategic concepts into practical and deliverable action plans.
• Experience of working in high pressure environments with competing deadlines and multiple teams.

How to apply

English is the business language at Sightsavers, and all applications must therefore be submitted in English. This role also requires French language skills, as French will be used in the delivery of the role. Interviews may be conducted in either English or French, depending on the stage of the process and the role requirements.

To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment using the link provided below:

https://careers.sightsavers.org/jobs/1615?lang=en-us

As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

Sightsavers is an employer that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous background checks and controls.