Child Poverty, Climate, and Urban Director

We believe every child deserves a future. Around the world, too many children start life at a disadvantage simply because of who they are and where they come from. Millions of children are dying from preventable causes, face poverty, violence, disease and hunger. They are caught up in war zones and disasters they did nothing to create. And they are denied an education and other basic rights owed to them.

All children deserve better. We champion the rights and interests of children worldwide, putting the most vulnerable children first.

With 25,000 dedicated staff across 118 countries, we respond to major emergencies, deliver innovative development programmes, and ensure children’s voices are heard through our campaigning to build a better future for and with children.

About the role

Save the Children is seeking a transformational development / humanitarian executive to lead our Global Goal on Safety Nets and Resilient Families – with a thematic focus on Child Poverty (which includes work on social protection, cash and voucher assistance, food security and livelihoods and adolescents), Climate Change and Urban Programming. 

The role will report to the Chief Impact Officer and directly leads a team of 7-10 and assumes leadership of a wider global technical cadre of 100 technical experts around in the world.

The role will be offered on a permanent basis. It can be based in any existing Save The Children location.

Role Purpose

At this critical time for children, when hunger and poverty have been rising, and the climate crisis is worsening inequalities – this role has huge potential for transformational impact.  Save the Children has embarked on a “Inequality and Climate” campaign, and prioritised child poverty and tackling the climate crisis over the coming strategy period.  This is a really crucial decade for all children – and we are looking for an inspirational leader to support our global teams to drive impact at scale, and support our ‘shifting power’ agenda.

Taking advantage of Save the Children’s vast network of program experts and global footprint, this global leader will use innovation, technology, data, and research to ensure that Save the Children stands as a state of the art institution working with children and their communities efficiently and effectively. This position will provide an unparalleled opportunity to implement the cutting-edge of development, humanitarian and human rights theory and practice across a network of 100+ countries and 25,000 staff.  This includes helping Save the Children become effectively localized, data-driven, productively partnered, a powerful advocate, and to stand as one of the world’s most recognized voices in the defence of children’s rights, everywhere.

This is the most senior Climate Change, Child Poverty and Urban role in Save the Children.  This role has overall accountability for the quality and impact of our Child Rights Programming (Service delivery, system building/policy/Advocacy, and civil society/partnerships) in Child Poverty, Climate Change, and Urban programmes and advocacy across Save the Children.  The role holder will promote programme innovation and draw on and contribute to the best global evidence on what works to guarantee children’s rights, and particularly their right to an adequate standard of living, and their right to a healthy environment.

As part of Save the Children’s 2030 Ambition, the organisation has chosen to inspire three Breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, so that every child, and especially those suffering from inequality and discrimination can Survive, Learn and be Protected.

This role will lead organisational efforts to achieve our 2022-24 strategy for children, particularly the 4th goal, working to ensure that:

• Children have a healthy start in life.
• Children go safely back to school and learn.
• Children live free from violence.
• Children benefit from safety nets and resilient families.

Although leading on the fourth goal, our work on climate change, child poverty and urban issues cut across all Breakthroughs and Goals.  We are looking for a leader who can work collaboratively and in integrated ways across the full spectrum of contexts.

Key Areas of Accountability

The Program, Quality and Impact function across Save the Children is currently undergoing a significant transformation to ensure that we work closely together as one team to maximize our impact for children. This may mean changes to the scope of this role. The Global Child Poverty, Climate and Urban Director must be highly agile and comfortable leading and adapting to change.

Leadership

• Ultimately accountable for delivery on the Safety Nets and Resilient Families Goal within the 22-24 Strategy, and for supporting the achievement of all our breakthroughs for children. This includes – tracking  global investments and resources as well as global gains towards the Goal, within three-year strategic cycles and over the long-term.
• Together with the Chief Impact Officer and other Thematic Directors, review and drive Goal Team plans.
• Lead SC’s research, learning, and evidence-based programming agenda for the Safety Nets and Resilient Families Goal (and the Climate, Poverty and Urban Themes/sub-themes)
• Regular reflection and review on thematic focus areas, ensuring Save the Children is fit for the future.

Management of Global Climate Change, Child Poverty and Urban cadres

• Manage world class Technical Leaders cohort and specific thematic team, including leadership of Save the Children’s Poverty, Climate and Urban Technical Leadership Group
• Lead cross-movement work on the Climate Crisis across programming, advocacy, operations and fundraising by chairing the inter-disciplinary Climate Crisis Task Force
• Lead on strategic workforce planning for the cadres, identifying gaps in capacity and competencies and developing & implementing plans to address these.
• Support mobility of expertise, in particular ensuring that requests for surge support across humanitarian and development programmes can be met by high quality technical expertise.
• Ensure that Country Programmes have the technical capacity and capability needed to deliver their strategic plans, including support from elsewhere in the movement where needed.

 Programmatic Strategy

• With the other Thematic Directors, oversee development and implementation of the programmatic component of Save the Children’s global strategy.
• Work closely with our member organisations and new business development team to ensure that our programme design contributes to our 2022-24 strategic goals, in particular the goal that children have “Safety Nets and Resilient Families.”
• Monitor progress to our 2022-2024 strategic goals, and course correct where needed.
• Develop and oversee implementation of a Child Poverty, Climate Change and Urban learning agenda to support innovation and develop evidence where needed in support of our global strategy

 Programme Quality and Impact

• Hold overall accountability for the quality and impact of Child Poverty, Climate and Urban programmes delivered by Save the Children globally across all contexts.
• Drive innovation and ensure best practices and proven approaches are applied in programme design. Manage the development of evidence-based Child Poverty and potentially Climate Change Common Approaches and ensure these feed into our programme design. Ensure that Save the Children’s Child Poverty quality benchmarks are maintained, updated, and utilized across country programmes
• Ensure that Save the Children globally applies a Child Rights Programming approach, and that cross-cutting perspectives (e.g. gender, disability, climate resilience, child participation) are applied across our portfolio.

Internal and External Representation

• Serve as primary representative and thought leader for our Child Poverty, Climate and Urban work, able to represent the portfolio, programming, resourcing and priorities in high-level fora and to any donor.
• Develop strategic global partnerships and represent Save the Children in key global networks
• Build and engage with advocacy opportunities at national and global levels in pursuit of Breakthrough objectives.
• Identify and follow up on opportunities with academia, researchers, donors and the media to promote Child Poverty, Climate Change and Urban work at Save the Children, and strengthen its profile and value with external stakeholders.
• Share intelligence on thematic trends with SC Members and SCI to support Save the Children strategic engagement and fundraising.

New Business Development and Programme Design

• Monitor overall thematic portfolio & donor landscape and work with member organisations to ensure that we are meeting our fundraising objectives.
• Ensure technical quality of programmes design across Save the Children that feed into winnable proposals.
• Ensure support to priority proposal development (humanitarian and development) across Save the Children country programmes.
• Steer new business to have the most impact on the breakthrough and our strategic goals.

Professional Development

• Support country and regional offices to attract, recruit and induct the highest calibre experts.
• In line with global efforts and pilots, lead on the technical professional development of Child Poverty, Climate Change and Urban experts, including technical learning programmes, mentoring, secondments, accreditation etc.
• Own and foster full utilization of the technical competencies framework and related toolkit for Child Poverty, Climate Change (under development)
• Accountable for planning and nurturing the movement’s promotable and high potential Child Poverty, Climate Change talent identified through an organisational talent review process

Behaviours (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others.
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.
• Values diversity and sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

Child Poverty and Climate Technical Competencies

Climate change competencies are under development, but we’d expect also ‘leading edge’ competency in one or more of the child poverty competencies:

• Champions Child-Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) and Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA).
• Demonstrates understanding and experience of early-warning, early action and shock-responsive social protection.
• Demonstrates experience of market-based programming (MBP) for child outcomes
• Uses relevant data and analyses: To understand the root causes of poverty, food insecurity, livelihood vulnerability and economic exclusion.
• Drives evidence-based advocacy to donors and governments on data driven policies and responses to structural drivers of poverty and economic exclusion.
• Ensures and promotes child sensitivity in all child poverty programming.
• Champions and organisational wide focus on the climate crisis and its impact on programmes, policy and advocacy.

Skills and Experience

• Global Leader in climate change and development and/ or child poverty work with strong external global network. Ideally with knowledge of programming in urban as well as rural contexts.
• Educated to Master’s level or equivalent in Climate Change and Development, International Development Studies, Development Economics, Food Security and Livelihoods, Social Studies or similar
• Technical familiarity with Climate Change and Child Poverty – to an ‘accomplished’ level within our Competency Frameworks, with leading edge expertise in at least one sub-thematic area.
• Inspirational leader with ability to communicate the vision for the Safety Nets and Resilient Families Goal.
• Strong leadership skills, including demonstrated experience in motivating large direct and indirect teams
• Significant international development and humanitarian contexts experience designing, implementing and evaluating programmes relating to Child Poverty, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, Urban Poverty, and other relevant child rights programming.
• Thorough knowledge and track record of influencing Climate Change and/or Climate Change public and programme policy, and other relevant child rights programming, in development and humanitarian context. This should ideally include work on some or all of the following areas: universal/categorical social protection (such as Child Benefits), shock-responsive social protection, cash and voucher programming, resilient livelihoods and food security programming, youth skills development, Disaster Risk Reduction, Anticipatory Action etc.
• Demonstrable ability to engage effectively across internal/external stakeholders and communities.
• Knowledge of policy, research, and evidence-based methodologies with regards to Child Poverty, Climate and Urban programming, and other relevant child-focused programming.
• A clear understanding of and commitment to inequality and anti-discriminatory practice i.e. gender and disability analysis in informing programmes and policy.
• A combination of technical, research, public advocacy and, local experience.
• Understands that work of development and humanitarian action can be complex and volatile.
• Country level experience in international development, preferably through long-term assignments.
• Proven experience delivering results and outputs.
• Energy and drive to create change in a large complex organisation.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching – ability to work with people of all levels from CEO to junior staff and across all functions.
• Experience creating and managing high-performing teams including building shared objectives, quality control, evaluation, motivation, performance management, staff development and training.
• Commitment to building and supporting a diverse and inclusive technical leadership team.
• Ability to make technical expertise relevant and available to inform programs
• Engaging with donors and public finance stakeholders across humanitarian, development and developed contexts.
• An understanding of and commitment to Save the Children’s mission, values and programme approaches.
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of time.

Desirable:

• Additional languages, particularly French, Spanish and/or Arabic.
• Economic and quantitative skills.
• A publications record.

 Other details

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

 HOW TO APPLY

Closing date: 27th October 2023

Click on the “Apply for Job” button.

As part of the application process kindly submit your CV and a cover letter, preferably in MS Word. All application documents (cover letter and CV) should be submitted in English.

Please name your submitted files with the following reference: SCI_PCUD

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

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Red Sea is committed to meeting the standards set out in our Equality and Diversity statement, acting in line with the UK Equalities Act 2010 and building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce in encouraging equality and diversity.