Overview
Provides strong and agile leadership across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, ensuring the relevance, coherence, safety and impact of Save the Children’s programs for children. The role leads the development of evidence-based strategies, innovative program approaches and new funding pathways, and drives the shift to fully localized, partner-led approaches.
Key Responsibilities
- Leads the development of evidence-based strategies, innovative program approaches and new funding pathways.
- Ensures MEAL, monitoring, documentation and learning systems consistently inform program adaptation and design.
- Drives and operationalizes the CO’s shift to fully localized, partner‑led approaches.
- Strengthens and expands equitable partnerships, especially with local CSOs.
- Engages with government, donors, partners, peer agencies and SC Members.
- Acts as a visible ambassador for Save the Children.
- Positions the CO as a credible, influential and collaborative actor advancing child rights and systems change.
Required Experience
- A minimum of ten years of proven leadership in senior management role in an INGO environment.
- Experience in implementing programs deeply rooted in localised partners led approach.
- Humanitarian experience is desirable.
- Strong experience in more than one of Save the Children's thematic sectors: education, child protection, child rights governance, migration, child poverty, emergencies.
- Deep understanding of donor ecosystems, especially EU accession instruments, foundation funding, and emerging financing models.
- Demonstrated ability to drive evidence-based, locally co-create program design.
- Solid understanding of regional political dynamics, understanding of advocacy, policy, and government systems in the countries represented in the region.
- Credibility and confidence to influence high-level stakeholders, including government, academia, private sector, and media, on sensitive child rights and systemic reform issues.
- Strong competency in MEAL, evidence systems, learning agendas, and knowledge brokering.
- Ability to translate insights into programme and policy influence.
- Exceptional partnership, facilitation, and convening skills, enabling multi-stakeholder collaboration across sectors such as tech, finance, academia, youth networks and civil society.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including coaching, mentoring, team leadership, conflict resolution, and the ability to work across cultures and disciplines.
- Highly developed communication, writing, analytical and representation skills.
- Ability to manage complexity, prioritize, and operate under pressure.
- High self-awareness, humility, adaptability and commitment to continuous learning.
- Experience in strategic planning and change management processes, supporting organizational and programmatic transformation is an advantage.
- Experience in working in North West Balkan region and on the regional and cross border type of project would be considered as an advantage.
