Senior Alliance Manager & Alliance Coordinator

Smart Buys Alliance • Full-time • Remote • 4h ago

Start: ASAP — latest October 2026 · 18-month pilot

Build the Secretariat of a new multilateral development effectiveness initiative — and help shift bilateral funding toward the world's most cost

Join at the founding moment with direct access to senior staff at bilateral agencies, leading research institutions, and major philanthropies.

→ Express your interest in only 5–10 minutes with this form

Early applications: 11 May 2026 · Final deadline: 18 May 2026 · We continue to screen incoming applications after the deadline.

Your Impact

The Smart Buys Alliance is a new multilateral initiative connecting a network of bilateral development agencies with leading evidence organisations — J-PAL, CGD, GPRL, and CEGA — as co-hosts, alongside partner countries, implementers, and philanthropies. The Secretariat is hosted by Coopération Globale, a think tank advocating for strong and impact-oriented development cooperation in Switzerland, Germany, and internationally.

We are hiring two roles to work alongside the Secretariat Lead and pilot the Alliance. Both are 80–100% FTE, remote-friendly within a European timezone, and span an 18-month pilot with strong intention and good chances for prolonged engagement as the Alliance scales.

The two roles

🤝

Senior Alliance Manager (10–15+ yrs)

Maintain agency relationships, support creation of new Smart Buys lists, and facilitate implementation through tailored consultancies with bilateral donors and policymakers

📋

Alliance Coordinator (3–10 yrs)

Advocacy and dissemination, committee coordination, research support, and Secretariat operations

During the 18-month pilot, you will work to

📊

Develop New Smart Buys Lists

Evidence-based rankings of high-impact, cost-effective interventions in thematic areas of shared donor interest, produced as a public good

🔗

Drive Implementation Through Consultancies

Tailored advisory engagements helping individual agency units integrate Smart Buys recommendations into their programming and budgets

💡

Establish Co-financing Arrangements

Structured co-financing between agencies and philanthropies around the most effective interventions

🏛️

Build Governance & Scale-up Structures

Post-pilot governance structures for a lasting multilateral initiative — you shape how this works in practice from the very beginning

We are open to flexibility in how tasks are distributed between roles depending on the experience and interests of the successful candidates.

We Are Looking For

Essential — Both Roles

•Policy Acumen: Natural ability to translate evidence-based analysis into politically viable proposals; comfortable engaging with ministry officials, policymakers, and civil society actors

•Analytical Excellence: Strong capacity for prioritising initiatives using structured frameworks and evaluating policy interventions for real-world impact

•Communication Mastery: Adapts complex technical content for diverse audiences — policy briefs, parliamentary discussions, stakeholder presentations

•Autonomy & Ownership: High degree of self-organisation and project management — you shape projects from conception through to political implementation

•Languages: Excellent English skills. German and French are a plus

Essential — Senior Alliance Manager (10–15+ yrs)

•10–15+ years in international development, development policy, or a closely related field, with demonstrated experience managing relationships with bilateral donors or multilateral institutions

•Track record of coordinating multi-stakeholder processes; highly credible in senior external conversations; able to represent the Alliance independently with agency representatives and policymakers

•Strong facilitation skills — able to chair both expert technical meetings and donor convenings, and to build technical consensus across organisations with different methodological preferences

Essential — Alliance Coordinator (3–10 yrs)

•3–10 years in international development, policy research, NGO coordination, or a related field

•Experience owning written communications outputs — policy summaries, newsletters, blog posts — drafted cleanly and independently

•Strong organisational skills: manages multiple workstreams without dropping things; detail-oriented, reliable, and proactive in flagging blockers early

Desired — Both Roles

•Familiarity with the development effectiveness landscape — J-PAL, CGD, GiveWell-adjacent thinking, cost-effectiveness frameworks, meta-analysis, or development policy advising

•Start-up mindset: demonstrated success in dynamic, high-autonomy environments; resilience in navigating setbacks and diverging stakeholder interests

•Agile methods familiarity: experience with OKRs, Asana or similar task management, iterative project approaches, and refining SOPs for small teams

•Established network: connections in evidence-based development, bilateral donor agencies, or the effective-giving and development-research ecosystem

•Strategic systems thinking: ability to balance organisational growth with ecosystem impact — we think beyond our own organisation

•Experience working alongside academic or technical organisations, or coordinating evidence synthesis and methodology work

We Offer

🎯Direct Impact

Help shift bilateral funding toward the most cost-effective development programmes, with a clear theory of change and concrete workstreams to get there

🔑Substantial Autonomy

Own your workstreams from strategy to execution, with close collaboration from an exceptional team and organisational leadership

⚡Player-Coach Leadership

We operate in an egalitarian way — everyone, including the Secretariat Lead, drafts notes, takes calls, and follows up rather than just delegating

🛠️Flexibility in Scope & Strategic Influence

Genuine input on which strategic direction the Alliance takes; task distribution adapts to the experience and interests of the successful candidates

🌐Exceptional Network

Direct access to decision-makers at bilateral agencies, major research institutions, philanthropic funders, and the broader development effectiveness ecosystem

🌱Dynamic Environment

Start-up culture of a young, ambitious team with flat hierarchies, fast decision-making, and an egalitarian ethos

📍Remote-Friendly & Flexible

European timezone or adjacent · 80–100% FTE · Flexible hours · Travel for conferences, Alliance events, and retreats

💶Competitive Compensation

Attractive salary, fair and competitive for the European development sector

📈Duration & Outlook

18-month pilot with strong intention and good chances for prolonged engagement as we scale the Alliance into a lasting multilateral initiative

Application

Unsure if one of these roles is right for you? If you meet many — but not all — of the essential criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway. Submit the form or reach out at info@smartbuysalliance.org.

We've kept this form intentionally brief — it takes just 5–10 minutes to submit. Early applications are explicitly encouraged.

Early applications: 11 May 2026 · Final deadline: 18 May 2026 · We continue to screen incoming applications after the deadline.

This position was originally posted by the Smart Buys Alliance and has been curated by PurposePhil Career. To apply, please visit the original listing on the "apply" link on the side. We are not affiliated with the employer organization of this job ad or consultancy, and provide this curated listing as a service to our users.

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