Established in 1932, Save the Children US is one of 29 national members of the Save the Children Association. Together with governments and other partners, our global programs are based on evidence and inform policies to achieve our “Breakthroughs”: that no child dies of preventable causes before the age of five, that children learn from a quality basic education, and that society no longer tolerates violence against children. Our development and humanitarian response work reaches children in 120 countries. Save the Children International is our platform for programming outside of the United States, and is a key partner in shaping, delivering, and mobilizing resources for that programming.
We are currently seeking a Vice President to lead Save the Children US’s International Programs. Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President of International Programs provides strategic leadership, vision and the resourcing plan for Save the Children US’s portfolio of Education, Child Protection, Health, Food Security and Humanitarian Response work that reaches the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children, aligning our direction and resources with the Save the Children global movement. As a member of the Senior Management Team, this role helps SCUS implement its strategic plans, working with other agency Vice Presidents, to ensure that we attract the best talent, that program priorities are clear, and that we invest appropriately in thought leadership, innovation and fundraising; and, through engagement with Save the Children International, to ensure these same building blocks and operational systems are in place to support the delivery of quality programs in the field.
The Vice President of International Programs for Save the Children US provides leadership and direction for a team of 6 direct reports at the Vice President and Associate Vice President level, with responsibility for a total of ~230 staff, located in Washington, DC, Fairfield, CT, and remote global locations, and manages an annual budget of ~$50M (undesignated $13M). This role (with the Chief Financial Officer) has oversight of an annual portfolio spend of $400M+ on a multiyear portfolio of $1.7B. This role drives $400-500 million annually in new resource mobilization.
This role works closely with senior leaders of Save the Children International and other member organizations. The Vice President of International Programs is a key voice with peers in the Global Program Director group, which focuses on program delivery, operations, risk management, fundraising and budgets, and geographic presence. This role also serves on program strategy executive groups that lead on global uptake of evidence-based work and our Theory of Change (innovation, advocacy, partnership and scale), as well as championing program quality and impact for the most marginalized – including girls, refugees and urban children; harvesting knowledge and learning; and ensuring we have data to describe our results.
Organizational Leadership
- Develop and deliver on annual goals in 2019-2021 SCUS/global strategy, ensuring balanced focus on innovation, thought leadership, results data, uptake of Common Approaches, and financial growth from SCUS.
- Provide direct supervision and development of a team of 6 direct reports at the Vice President and Associate Vice President level, with responsibility for ~230 staff, located in Washington, DC, Fairfield, CT, and remote global locations, and ensure the cultivation of a highly motivated and engaged team culture that is congruent with Save the Children’s core values of ambition, accountability, collaboration, creativity and integrity.
- Foster a culture of collaborating, learning, and adapting within the International Programs Division and other departments within Save the Children US, encouraging coordination and cross-functional work for improved program quality and impact.
- Embrace, create the conditions for, and insist upon a harassment-free workplace that is safe for both our employees and the people we serve
- Ensure SCUS’ operational model optimizes capacity across Member and SCI levels, improves positioning for competitive procurements, achieves efficiencies, and maintains accountability to our donors
- Engage the International Programs Group Senior Management team as well as Human Resources to actively promote the hiring, training, development and retention of world-class technical and operational International Programs talent.
Partnerships and Fundraising
- In concert with the VP for Policy and Humanitarian Response, lead mobilization of a growing annual fundraising target (currently $400-500M per year) from public institutions (US Government, Global Fund, World Food Program, UNHCR), and represent Save the Children with those donors, as well as private donors, national governments, and implementing partners.
- Lead engagement with USAID and other, relevant international funding arms of the US Government, ensuring that SCUS is strategically positioned to maximize funding opportunities, and work effectively with the advocacy parts of SCUS to seek USG support for Save the Children’s international policy priorities.
Global Movement Collaboration
- Provide leadership in the Global Program Director and other key movement forums to influence change in SC’s geographic footprint, increase nimbleness of operational models, improve delivery and results, and achieve efficiencies and cost savings while delivering high impact for children.
- 15-20 years' experience in a relevant managerial role
- Experience living in and managing development and/or humanitarian programming in the developing world
- A reputation for demonstrated success as an operational and technical leader, both organizationally and within the development community
- Demonstrated success working in a highly matrixed and collaborative organization, where managing by influence is a key success factor
- Demonstrated acuity in working across functions/organizations to leverage talent and thought leadership from varying perspectives and inspire a high-performing team
- Experience managing a multi-million dollar budget
- Demonstrated success in achieving and exceeding fundraising targets
- Outstanding communication and negotiation/influencing skills
- A successful track record in the positioning of an organization’s monitoring, response, and increased capture of USG and USAID funded opportunities (both contract and cooperative agreement)
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced Degree strongly preferred
- Foreign language skills
- Meaningful work, with a knowledge that you are changing the lives of children all around the world
- A family friendly work environment
- Highly collaborative and innovative teams
- Generous paid vacation days, holidays, family leave days, and sick time
- Healthcare plans including medical, dental, and life insurance
- Retirement savings account with matching company contributions
- Structured and formalized management development and coaching programs for mid and senior level managers
- Extensive e-learning opportunities on a variety of topics offered through our affiliation with several prestigious as well as language learning opportunities