About Right To Play

For more than 25 years, Right To Play has been protecting, educating, and empowering millions of children each year to rise above adversity through the power of play.

We offer programs in 13 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America, reaching millions of children each year in some of the most difficult places on earth, helping them to stay in school and learn, overcome prejudice, heal from trauma, and develop the skills they need to thrive. We do this by harnessing play, one of the most fundamental forces in a child’s life, to teach children the critical skills they need to dismantle barriers and embrace opportunities, in learning and in life.

This work is supported by our two global offices in Toronto, Canada and London, UK; and seven National Offices in North America and Europe.

About No Child on the Sidelines Project

Led by Right To Play, in partnership with Global Citizen, and aligned with the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, No Child on the Sidelines will strengthen community-based organizations working with children in underserved communities around the world. Through a $5-million investment over four years from Global Affairs Canada, the initiative will expand access to sport- and play-based education for children ages three to 18, with nearly half of programmable funding flowing directly to local civil society organizations. More information is available here.

Benefits Highlights:

• Connect and collaborate with a global team who are passionate about protecting, educating and empowering children and youth using the power of play!
• Culture premised on our Culture Code (accept everyone, make things happen, display courage, demonstrate care, and be playful)
• Paid leaves
• Competitive benefits
• Learning opportunities and 5 learning and development (L&D) days per year

More information on what we offer is available on our website.

Job Description:

Purpose:

The position builds and sustains trusted, partnership-oriented relationships with local Civil Society Organization (CSO) sub-grantees across a multi-country portfolio, to enable delivery of No Child on the Sidelines and assist program reporting, compliance monitoring, and technical assistance offerings.

Accountability and Responsibilities

Managing and Coordinating Relationships with CSO Subgrantees (70%)

• Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact for CSO sub-grantees across a multi-country portfolio, building trusted, responsive, partnership-oriented relationships — with sensitivity to conflict, displacement, and insecurity in which many CSOs operate
• Support CSO onboarding, orientation, and implementation of programme requirements, including coordination of reporting obligations and participation in storytelling/communication initiatives
• Support proactive identification and mitigation of risks, in collaboration with CSOs and SFM
• Conduct regular virtual check-ins and, where security allows, periodic in-country visits
• Assist review and consolidation of CSO financial and programmatic reports, and support milestone-based disbursements

Coordinating Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Activities (15%)

• Help identify CSO technical assistance needs through capacity assessments and ongoing monitoring
• Coordinate with RTP’s global technical staff to respond to technical assistance needs and coordinate Community of Practice (CoP) offerings. This includes supporting facilitation of virtual and/or in-person CoP sessions among CSOs.

Supporting Stakeholder Engagements (15%)

• Represent the programme at regional and global forums
• Maintain relationships with program partners, including local/regional civil society networks, women-led and refugee-led organisations, national and international governance bodies, and humanitarian coordination mechanisms
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Scope (Geographic and/or Functional), Impact and Autonomy

A global role supporting implementation of the No Child on the Sidelines program across all countries where it is delivered through CSO sub-grant partners. The position has functional responsibility for managing relationships with CSO grantees to enable achievement of program outcomes, results reporting, compliance with donor requirements, and implementation of workplans. Decisions with significant financial, reputational, or strategic implications are escalated to the SFM. Active and ongoing collaboration with colleagues from across Right To Play departments and country offices will be required to support financial and programmatic monitoring, Community of Practice design, and facilitation of Technical Assistance offerings.

Leadership and Staff Management

The incumbent has no direct reports. The position provides indirect leadership to CSO sub-grant partners through program coordination, compliance oversight, and the CoP, requiring setting of expectations and guidance without formal line authority.

Information requirement for decision-making:

Effective decision-making relies on financial and narrative reports from CSO sub-grant partners, consolidated budget data, the GAC agreement and compliance requirements, and partner workplans. Where tools fall short, they work with the SFM to adapt reporting and monitoring approaches.

Innovation and Improvements

The position will support the SFM and other global colleagues with the development, implementation, and monitoring of new tools developed to effectively deliver the program.

Relationships and Communication

Collaborates with internal teams to support program operations and outcomes, including Program Quality and Impact, Program Finance, Marketing & Communications, and Country Office/Global Operations. Externally, manages operational relationships with national education authorities, ministries, UN agencies, humanitarian coordination mechanisms, and local/regional civil society networks for outreach and CSO identification, with deliberate engagement of women-led and refugee-led organizations.

Expertise

• Post-secondary degree in a relevant field, or equivalent combination of education and practical experience. PMP or other similar professional certifications are considered an asset.
• 7 years’ experience working with local CSOs in roles related to partnership management, capacity building, or organizational development in one or more of the following regions: MENA, South Asia, and/or Africa, with proven experience applying principles of localization and trust-based grant making experience.
• Experience in conflict-affected, or fragile contexts; with sensitivity to do-no-harm principles
• Experience facilitating group learning across diverse cultural/linguistic contexts
• Experience with results-based reporting, and donor compliance oversight
• Excellent relationship-building skills, and sensitivity to funder-grantee power differentials
• Fluent in written and spoken English and French; proficiency in Arabic, and/or Urdu is an asset.
• Proficiency in digital collaboration tools, including emerging AI technologies
• Technical background in one or more of the following is considered an asset: education in emergencies, child protection, psychosocial support, or sport/play-based development

Core Competences

• Collaboration: Works effectively across RTP teams, CSO partners, and technical colleagues, sharing information openly and bringing diverse stakeholders together around shared program goals.
• Growth Mindset: Seeks out feedback and lessons learned across the CSO portfolio and adapts partnership management approaches in response to evolving donor requirements or partner needs.
• Resilience: Maintains sound judgement and quality of output when managing competing partner deadlines, multi-country compliance demands, or unexpected implementation challenges.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates integrity, confidentiality, and accountability in donor compliance monitoring, financial reporting, and external representation of RTP.
• Management and Interpersonal Skills: Communicates clearly and diplomatically across funder-grantee power differentials; manages multiple partner relationships and competing priorities effectively.

• Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact for CSO sub-grantees across a multi-country portfolio, building trusted, responsive, partnership-oriented relationships — with sensitivity to conflict, displacement, and insecurity in which many CSOs operate
• Support CSO onboarding, orientation, and implementation of programme requirements, including coordination of reporting obligations and participation in storytelling/communication initiatives
• Support proactive identification and mitigation of risks, in collaboration with CSOs and SFM
• Conduct regular virtual check-ins and, where security allows, periodic in-country visits
• Assist review and consolidation of CSO financial and programmatic reports, and support milestone-based disbursements
• Help identify CSO technical assistance needs through capacity assessments and ongoing monitoring
• Coordinate with RTP’s global technical staff to respond to technical assistance needs and coordinate Community of Practice (CoP) offerings. This includes supporting facilitation of virtual and/or in-person CoP sessions among CSOs.
• Represent the programme at regional and global forums
• Maintain relationships with program partners, including local/regional civil society networks, women-led and refugee-led organisations, national and international governance bodies, and humanitarian coordination mechanisms
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Excellent relationship-building skills
• Proficiency in digital collaboration tools, including emerging AI technologies
• Fluent in written and spoken English and French
• Proficiency in Arabic, and/or Urdu is an asset

• Post-secondary degree in a relevant field, or equivalent combination of education and practical experience. PMP or other similar professional certifications are considered an asset.
• 7 years’ experience working with local CSOs in roles related to partnership management, capacity building, or organizational development in one or more of the following regions: MENA, South Asia, and/or Africa, with proven experience applying principles of localization and trust-based grant making experience.
• Experience in conflict-affected, or fragile contexts; with sensitivity to do-no-harm principles
• Experience facilitating group learning across diverse cultural/linguistic contexts
• Experience with results-based reporting, and donor compliance oversight
• Excellent relationship-building skills, and sensitivity to funder-grantee power differentials
• Fluent in written and spoken English and French; proficiency in Arabic, and/or Urdu is an asset.
• Proficiency in digital collaboration tools, including emerging AI technologies
• Technical background in one or more of the following is considered an asset: education in emergencies, child protection, psychosocial support, or sport/play-based development