National Programs Director

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme Delivery 

LOCATION: Hargaisa, Mogadishu or Garowe Somalia - With Frequent travel to Area/field offices
GRADE: Executive

CONTRACT LENGTH: 2 Years
CONTRACT TYPE: National
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a
week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country
programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police
checking/vetting process staff.
ROLE PURPOSE:
The National Programmes Director holds strategic and operational leadership over all national and multiarea projects within Save the Children Somalia Country Office. As a senior member of the programme
delivery leadership team, the role is accountable for ensuring the successful design, implementation,
financial management, reporting, and quality assurance of large-scale and high-impact programmes, in line
with the Country Strategic Plan and donor commitments.
This role directly line manages consortium and national programme managers, and ensures seamless
coordination with technical, operational, and field teams to deliver integrated and timely programming. The
role holder is also responsible for external representation and strategic engagement with donors,
government ministries, and Save the Children Members.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Senior Director, Programme Delivery
Staff reporting to this post: 7 Consortium Managers and National Project Managers
Budget Responsibilities: Yes, as per the SoD
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
1. Programme Delivery and Oversight
• Provide overall leadership and accountability for timely, cost-effective, and impactful delivery of
national and multi-area programmes and consortia.
• Lead annual and quarterly planning, implementation, and performance reviews of projects, ensuring
alignment with donor agreements and Save the Children’s strategy.
• Serve as budget holder for national and multi-area awards, with responsibility for budget planning,
monitoring, forecasting, and reallocation.
• Oversee the development of programme implementation strategies, ensuring they are evidencebased, integrated, and scalable.
• Support adaptive programme management by using programme data, BVA reports, and feedback
mechanisms to inform decisions.
• Supervise the preparation and review of narrative and financial reports, ensuring quality reporting,
timely submission, accuracy, and alignment with donor requirements.
• Coordinate with area teams to ensure complementarity of programming and reduce duplication
between national and area-specific interventions.
• Provide strategic guidance and direct oversight for Consortium and National Programme Managers,
ensuring performance expectations and accountability are clear.
2. Compliance & Quality Assurance
SAVE THECHILDREN INTERNATIONAL
ROLEPROFILE
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• Ensure full compliance with donor regulations, SCI policies, and national laws across all national and
multi-area awards.
• Work closely with Awards, Finance, and Delivery teams to monitor contractual, financial,
procurement, and reporting obligations.
• Lead the identification and mitigation of risks related to fraud, non-compliance, and performance
delays.
• Champion programme quality, ensuring adherence to SCI standards, quality benchmarks, and
inclusion of child safeguarding and gender equality principles.
• Coordinate with the Evidance/Learning and technical teams to ensure programme design,
implementation, and reporting are evidence-informed and child-centred.
• Address audit findings, lessons learned, and compliance gaps through systematic action planning
and follow-up.
3. Staff Management & Development
• Line manage Consortium and National Programme Managers, providing coaching, performance
management, and career development support.
• Lead the development and implementation of talent development strategies, including onboarding,
training, and succession planning for national programme teams.
• Promote a strong team culture built on collaboration, mutual accountability, and learning.
• Work closely with the HR department and other directors to ensure that team structures are fit-forpurpose and aligned with organisational needs.
4. Internal Coordination & Project Integration
• Ensure coordination between national programme teams and technical advisors, programme
delivery teams, and MEAL functions to promote integrated programme delivery.
• Support cross-departmental programme design and resource mobilisation efforts.
• Lead and maximize programme integration, with a focus on creating strong synergies across national
and multi-area projects, and ensuring that different thematic areas have clear and coordinated
integration plans to deepen the impact of interventions.
• Lead or participate in strategic planning, annual work planning, and midterm reviews across national
and multi-area programming.
• Facilitate smooth transition between design, start-up, implementation, and close-out of multi-area
projects.
5. Donor, Government & Member Engagement
• Serve as a senior representative of Save the Children in external forums, including with donors,
government line ministries, UN agencies, and peer organisations.
• Actively contribute to donor engagement and resource mobilisation, including the development of
concept notes and funding proposals for multi-area programming.
• Maintain effective relationships with SC Members, ensuring clear communication and shared
understanding of programme objectives, risks, and results.
• Coordinate with Advocacy and Communication teams to showcase programme results and
influence policy and funding environments.
• Liaise with the government line ministries, attend government meeting and facilitate discussions
related to national and multi-area programme with the respective line ministries.
• Solve issues arising from the government line ministries on time and/or escale to the senior director
of programme deliver
6. Senior Leadership and Strategic Contribution
• Contribute to strategic planning and decision-making as a senior member of the Extended Senior
Management Team (ESMT).
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Programme Delivery to shape departmental priorities and
performance targets.
• Uphold SCI’s values and culture, promoting integrity, accountability, and safeguarding throughout
programme delivery.
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7. Other
• Represent the Country office leadership as required
• Any other tasks as requested by the senior director program delivery.
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, 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.
QUALIFICATIONS
• Advanced degree (master’s or equivalent) in international development, public policy,
management, or a related field.

At least 10 years of senior-level leadership experience in programme management, preferably in complex humanitarian and development settings.
• Proven experience managing large-scale, multi-donor, and multi-location projects or consortia.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance (Sida, SDC, USAID, EU, FCDO, Banks like AfDB, WBG and etc.) and international programme quality standards.
• Demonstrated experience in budget management, reporting, and performance oversight.
• Excellent team management, leadership, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Fluency in English; Somali language skills desirable.
Desirable
• Solid Technical Expertise in either health, nutrition, education or social protection
• Vast experience in Somalia context, political sensitivity and social issues in Somalia
Additional job responsibilities
• The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be
required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and
Diversity policies and procedures.
Child Safeguarding:
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.
Safeguarding our Staff:
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy
Health and Safety
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At SCI, we uphold the principle of equal rights and opportunities for all our employees. In our commitment to fostering a more inclusive workplace and addressing gender gaps, we have implemented additional efforts aimed at supporting female qualified candidates: -
• Maternity leave (6 months)
• Annual Leave 30 working days
• 10% *gross salary. (female allowance)
• 1.5 flexible working hours for lactating mothers.

All interested and qualified candidate can apply the position through the below link:
Internal Job Posting Link: https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/fscmUI/faces/deeplink?objType=IRC_RECRUITING&action=ICE_JOB_DETAILS_RESP&objKey=pRequisitionNo=14325;pCalledFrom=FUSESHELL
External Job Posting Link: https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/job/14325
Application closing date is on 20th October 2025