Save the Children - US
Staff whose work requires or potentially could require any in-person interaction with Save the Children colleagues, partners, or beneficiaries must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless otherwise required by law. Save the Children complies with federal, state, and local laws with regard to accommodations related to this policy.
Summary
The Managing Director, Early Learning & Well-being leads the development and performance of the Early Learning & Wellbeing Cluster comprised of the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Child Protection (CP) teams. You will set the strategic direction of early learning; Orphans, and Vulnerable Children (OVC); and well-being programs for Department of Education and Child Protection (DECP) as a Senior Management Team (SMT) member reporting to the Head of Department (HoD).
You will assess and direct the growth of the portfolios and assign appropriate technical assistance for effective leadership of awards and priority technical initiatives. You will lead the strategic development of these portfolios, in alignment with Save the Children International (SCI)’s Global Strategy and Save the Children US (SCUS) priorities. You will lead the team in pursuing new business opportunities, pioneering new approaches, scaling current approaches to deliver urgent support for children in need in resource constrained contexts.
What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)
Team Management (40%):
- Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission, ensuring that the working environment continually fosters diversity, inclusion, and belonging – supporting Save the Children values.
- Provide technical oversight to the Cluster, providing systems, processes and coaching to ensure high-quality, responsive, and actionable technical support and approaches.
- Facilitate team well-being, manageable workloads and partnering with the People & Culture division on staff support and identifying professional development and learning opportunities for Cluster team members.
- Lead and facilitate change and DECP success as a member of the DECP SMT.
- Further integration of approaches of other teams to drive towards holistic support for children and families.
- Develop senior Country or Regional Office technical experts though engagement in SCI TLG, TWG and Technical Assistance (TA)/Technical Expertise (TE) project teams.
Resource Mobilization and New Business Development (20%):
- Ensure that SC is well-positioned for new opportunities and contributing to the development of private donor funding strategies, in coordination with Partnership & Philanthropy and New Business Development (NBD)teams.
- Play a key role in creating and sustaining relationships with key institutional and private donors to understand trends, funding priorities and gather intelligence about upcoming opportunities.
- Lead the coordination of the proposal development and engagement with donors.
- Ensure support for USG awards, working with NBD and provide guidance for meeting New Raise targets related to early learning and well-being.
- Support the Cluster’s strategic growth; lead capture for high-value strategic opportunities and serve as proposal director, as needed.
- Work closely with NBD and P & P: identify, track, and develop new opportunities, develop proposals, conduct technical reviews, etc.
- Contribute to decision-making concerning the pursuit of funding opportunities.
Early Learning & Wellbeing Strategy (15%)
- Oversee the development of the programmatic sections of SCUS’s early learning and well-being strategy and annual objectives.
- Lead the Early Learning & Wellbeing Cluster with a focus on program quality and promotion of programmatic integration and innovation across the various sub-teams.
- Enhance ways of working and systems for ensuring high-quality proposals, technical assistance and coordination of technical inputs into program delivery.
- Identify and cultivate areas of growth, define value propositions, articulate niche/strength areas in alignment with DECP priorities and strategy.
- Adapt DECP strategies, plans and priorities to address Cluster resource and operational needs, providing strategic guidance and ensuring the Cluster’s strategic priorities are met, promoting integration of key aspects of work (e.g., gender, inclusion, protection) and fostering collaboration across teams within DECP, the larger International Program (IP) division and the global movement comprised of multiple Save the Children entities.
- Monitor funding lines monthly and work with sub-team leads to ensure they are within acceptable ranges; manage the designated budget to ensure effective use of flexible resources.
- Oversee the cluster budget and financial allocations under the guidance of DECP’s HoD and Senior Advisor, Budget & Planning. Inform Time Split decisions.
Portfolio Leadership, and Management (15%):
- Lead the Cluster in setting priorities, defining workplans and delivering key outputs.
- Advance thought-leadership in ECCD, MHPSS and CP programming, position Save the Children (SC) as an implementer of choice.
- Guide the development of learning agenda across the thematic area.
- Champion the incorporation of evidence-based technical approaches and guidance into programming and promote widespread application.
- Identify new approaches to strengthen SC’s efforts.
- Ensure strategic advancement of common approaches through actively contributing to Movement facing efforts (Technical Leadership Group (TLG), Technical Working Group (TWG), Chiefs of Party (COPs) etc.)
- Oversee responsive, high quality technical assistance to country offices (CO) and DECP’s portfolio. Provide direct technical expertise as necessary.
- In collaboration with technical staff, identify sector wide trends, capture lessons-learned, innovations and best practices, contribute to effective policy and advocacy efforts, and inform the creation of communications products to highlight SC’s successes for key audiences.
- Facilitate SC’s localization and country-led technical expertise goals.
Advocacy and External Representation (10%):
- Identify strategic forums to raise SCUS’s profile/visibility in specific technical areas.
- Inform advocacy and influencing conversations driven by International Programs and Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns teams.
- Support representation in external groups by Cluster members
- Represent Save the Children at strategic external events, conferences, roundtables and expert consultations, engaging priority networks to clearly communicate SC’s technical priorities, achievements, and capabilities.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of a Bachelor Degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 10 years of relevant experience
- At least 5 years of management experience in a development context.
- At least 3 years in a leadership role responsible for program development and quality.
- Demonstrated knowledge of and experience working with USG and UN agencies as donors and partners.
- Experience with key international organizations and forums (e.g., donors, academic institutions, UN, clusters)
- Ability to travel up to 30%
- Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
- Professional proficiency in spoken and written English
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally
- Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s Degree
- Professional fluency in a Spanish, French and/or Arabic
- Demonstrated ability to apply established criteria for prioritization of tasks
- Experience leading, managing and developing a high performing team
- Proven ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion on significant matters with minimal guidance
- Ability to manage by influence internally and to work in a federated structure
- Experience with Save the Children
- Ability to think and act strategically
- Prior experience with USAID-funded programs, including contracts, is a desirable advantage
Compensation
Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:
- Geo 1 – NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $131,750 – $147,250 base salary
- Geo 2 – Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $119,850 – $133,950 base salary
- Geo 3 – Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $107,950 – $120,650 base salary
Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here). Employee may be eligible for an incentive program. Save the Children also offers paid vacation, accrued at least 12 days a year, depending on paygrade and length of service, paid safety and wellness leave of at least 1 day per month worked for a full time employee which is pro rata reduced for employees working less than a full time schedule, and at least 10 paid holidays a year. Employees may be eligible for additional bonus compensation. Save the Children US also offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, a retirement savings plan with employer contribution, family leave, paid parental/adoption leave of 60 days, commuter benefits, paid caregiver leave days, 1 paid volunteer day a year, paid critical child illness leave days, dress for your day, and much more.
Why you should join the Save the Children Team…
Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, 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
No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.
You see, 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.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)
How to apply
If interested, please apply using the link below.