Director, Program Development, Governance at Save the Children – US

Summary

The Director, Program Development, Governance will support Save the Children to grow a portfolio of international programming in the area of good governance and accountability, in support of protecting and elevating children’s rights and voices. Child rights governance is a core thematic area for Save the Children, and we aim to advance child rights and achieve results and scale through promoting good governance, using a political economy analysis to influence the public and policymakers. This role will have important responsibilities developing and implementing creative ideas and realistic strategies to advance these objectives.

In this role, you will identify and document existing Save the Children strengths and capabilities, working with senior leaders in our Child Rights Governance global thematic team, Save the Children US’ International Programs group, and our Country Offices to develop a strategy and opportunity pipeline. You will coordinate a donor and partner engagement effort at the global, US and Country Office levels to establish Save the Children’s qualifications and develop new partnerships, with a particular focus on USG democracy and governance opportunities. When funding opportunities and partnerships are identified, you will work with global and Country Office technical experts to design activities and prepare proposals—lending expertise in proposal development and donor requirements and expectations to ensure proposal quality and competitiveness. You may also undertake special projects to strengthen governance and child rights approaches, providing technical assistance for funded projects as needed.

This role will report to Save the Children International’s Child Rights Governance team.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Cultivate networks and build Save the Children’s reputation with donors and potential implementing partners for good governance work (70%)

• Working with the global movement, document and package our existing governance capabilities for a USG donor audience, and other donors as identified
• Map key donors and partners and competitors in the governance space.
• Develop and implement a donor and partner outreach effort to market our qualifications.
• Lead the development of a strategy for building a multi-year funding pipeline.
• As opportunities are identified, coordinate specific partner outreach and lead capture planning and bid strategy.
• As the portfolio of awards grows, produce marketing materials that document our work using good governance to advance child rights.

Engagement with technical experts at regional and country level to inform strategy and decision making (10%)

• Builds and maintains relationships with priority regional and country offices interested in strengthening good governance for child rights.
• Tracks CO governance priorities and capabilities to inform opportunity identification and assessment of fit.

Ensure Technical Assistance on proposals (20%)

• In partnership with International Programs and SCI, maintains wide view of opportunity pipeline and available technical leadership in order to identify gaps in available technical expertise in governance and child rights.
• Serves as a technical contributor for proposals that have activities related to good governance, monitoring and demanding child rights or public finance management/investment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor Degree or equivalent relevant experience, plus at least seven (7) years of relevant experience.
• Proven experience specifically focused on USAID-funded democracy and governance activities and funding opportunities
• Demonstrated experience developing successful competitive proposals
• Proven technical understanding of governance and child rights sufficient to successfully design activities for governance programs or to incorporate governance activities into development programs in other technical areas.
• Proven project management skills and demonstrated ability to juggle multiple work streams with competing deadlines
• Demonstrated knowledge of advocacy at the country level
• Proven ability to successfully adapt to a dynamic, changing work environment with a learning mindset
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with individuals and teams at all levels
• Professional proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 25%
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in one or more of the following areas preferred: civil society strengthening, political participation, human rights, gender equality, policy, political economy analysis, advocacy, transparency and social accountability.
• Experience working with country-offices, or country office-led technical design.
• Competency in French, Spanish or Arabic.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

*Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.*

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

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. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

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.