About the role

As Policy and Planning Manager, you'll be responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating the policies, strategies and plans that govern Palmera's entire international development portfolio. Reporting to the Executive Director, you'll set the programme policy direction, lead strategic and annual planning cycles, and determine how organisational resources are allocated across the portfolio. You'll ensure Palmera meets its obligations under DFAT accreditation, the ACFID Code of Conduct and donor contracts.

You'll also lead the monitoring, evaluation and learning function, commissioning the research and evaluations that tell us what's working, and feeding that evidence back into the policies and plans you've built. This is a senior management role with genuine autonomy over policy formulation, planning and organisational compliance.

Key responsibilities

- Develop, review and evaluate the organisational policies governing programme design, partnership, procurement, safeguarding and social inclusion
- Analyse DFAT policy directives, donor guidelines and accreditation standards, and advise the Executive Director and Board on what they mean for the organisation
- Lead strategic, annual and country programme planning cycles, translating strategy into measurable plans, budgets and deliverables
- Determine and coordinate the allocation of financial, human and material resources across the portfolio
- Maintain a consolidated deliverable, compliance and milestone framework covering every donor contract
- Lead DFAT accreditation submissions, self-assessments and donor compliance reporting
- Oversee risk management, partner due diligence, and financial and contract management systems
- Design and oversee MEL frameworks; commission and direct research and evaluations, and interpret what they tell us
- Liaise with DFAT, other donors, government agencies, peak bodies and partners on policy, contractual,



financial and compliance matters
- Lead, mentor and develop staff and partner organisations, building policy, planning and compliance capability

About you

- A relevant degree or higher qualification in international development, public policy, social sciences or a related discipline — or at least five years of equivalent relevant experience
- Significant senior-level experience (ideally 7+ years) in international development policy, programme design, planning and management
- Demonstrated experience developing and evaluating organisational policy and leading strategic planning processes
- A solid working knowledge of DFAT compliance, accreditation and reporting requirements, or equivalent major donor experience
- Proven experience managing complex donor-funded programmes, including financial management, contract management and reporting
- Deep, demonstrated knowledge of the Sri Lankan development context, built through direct, hands-on experience working with communities on the ground — ideally gained through time spent living and working in Sri Lanka itself
- Fluency in Tamil and/or Sinhala in addition to English, to enable direct engagement with partners and the communities we work with
- Demonstrated experience integrating GEDSI and gender equality into policy and programme design
- Excellent people leadership, mentoring, communication and relationship-building skills

About us

Palmera is a DFAT-accredited Australian development organisation working exclusively in Sri Lanka. Rather than spreading ourselves across many countries, we go deep in a single context — building long-term, trusted relationships with local communities and partners, and investing in locally led development. Everything we do is driven by a commitment to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalised communities.

We're working towards a Sri Lanka where communities have access to sustainable solutions that keep improving their lives long after our involvement ends.

📌 Policy and Planning Manager (Sydney)
🏢 Palmera Projects
📍 Sydney