Desk Director

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for a multi-country portfolio of up to seven country programmes valued at approximately $60 million annually
• Directly line manage Country Directors and the Desk Manager
• Lead the Desk Team supporting country operations, programme quality, donor engagement, risk management and organizational sustainability
• Oversee programme quality, operational performance, financial management, compliance and security across portfolio countries
• Ensure country programmes deliver high-quality, timely and compliant services while managing risk and maintaining donor confidence
• Coordinate with Finance, HR, Security, Supply Chain & Operations, Awards Management and Technical teams
• Support donor engagement, strategic positioning and business development initiatives
• Oversee proposal development to ensure submissions are strategic, competitive, compliant and aligned with organizational priorities
• Drive proactive identification and mitigation of operational, programmatic, security and reputational risks
• Foster collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing across countries and departments
• Contribute to organizational strategy, priorities and continuous improvement as a senior leader within the Program Implementation Department
• Travel internationally up to 30%

Requirements

• Master's degree in International Development, Political Science, Social Sciences or a related field
• Significant senior leadership experience within humanitarian and development organizations, including multi-country, regional or global management responsibilities
• Demonstrated success managing large and complex donor-funded portfolios across fragile, conflict-affected and rapidly changing environments
• Strong experience working with major institutional donors including BHA, PRM, ECHO, UN agencies and other international funding bodies
• Excellent understanding of programme cycle management, programme quality standards, compliance frameworks and risk management systems
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, with experience coaching senior leaders and building high-performing teams across multiple locations
• Proven ability to influence, negotiate and collaborate effectively with donors, partners, boards, senior executives and cross-functional teams
• Strong strategic thinking and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance operational realities, humanitarian imperatives and organizational objectives
• Excellent written and spoken English
• French and/or Arabic language skills are highly desirable
• Experience in localization, partnership strengthening, climate resilience or nexus programming would be an advantage
• Ability to work within the UTC+1 to UTC+4 time zones
• Ability to complete enhanced pre-employment checks, references, criminal records self-declaration, and other checks as applicable

Core Competencies

Demonstrates strategic leadership in managing multi-country portfolios, ensuring programme quality, compliance, and risk management while fostering collaboration and innovation across teams. Possesses strong experience with major institutional donors and a proven ability to influence and negotiate effectively.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Strategic Leadership
• Programme Cycle Management
• Donor Engagement
• Risk Management
• People Management

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Master's Degree in International Development
• Programme Quality Standards
• Compliance Frameworks
• Risk Management Systems
• Proposal Development
• Operational Performance Management
• Financial Management
• Localization
• Climate Resilience
• Nexus Programming

Soft Skills

• Leadership
• Coaching
• Influencing
• Negotiation
• Collaboration

Industry Keywords

• Humanitarian Organizations
• Development Organizations
• Multi-Country Management
• Institutional Donors
• BHA
• PRM
• ECHO
• UN Agencies
• Cross-Functional Teams
• Organizational Strategy