Lead, WASH

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Lead, WASH to join our global team.

Team And Job Purpose

To provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for Save the Children’s global initiatives to achieve programmatic breakthroughs while ensuring high-quality, evidence-based, and integrated programming across our portfolio. To deliver context-responsive, demand-driven technical support to Country Offices to enhance program effectiveness in line with local needs and global priorities. To drive new business development and resource mobilization efforts and lead in global clusters, inter-agency groups, and partnerships to strengthen our collaborative impact globally.

Role purpose

The Lead, WASH provides senior technical leadership and day-to-day oversight of Save the Children’s related global support to country offices across all contexts. Reporting to the Head, Survive Breakthrough, the post holder manages a team of advisors, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, timely, and context-appropriate support to country teams. The role contributes to strategic planning, leads the coordination of technical assistance and resource allocation, and plays a key role in fostering collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement across the portfolio.

Job Title: Lead, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Reports To: Head, Survive Breakthrough

Work Pattern: Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available

Contract Length: Permanent

Grade: P5

Location: Any approved Save the Children International office location. For a full list of locations that Save the Children International can hire in, please visit: SCI Careers

Time Zone (that the role holder must be available to work in): Any (multiple time zones and locations required across team)

Right to Work: The successful candidate must possess the unrestricted right to work in their current or preferred location for the duration of employment.

Language Requirements: English (additional language of French, Spanish or Arabic preferred)

International Travel Requirements: Yes, up to 25%

Budget Responsibility: None

People Management Responsibility:

Number of people managed in total: 3

Manager of a team: Yes

Team Manager (manager of multiple teams): No

Principal Accountabilities

* Lead the provision of Country Office facing technical support for WASH, ensuring the highest standards are maintained and adjusting strategies to meet evolving needs and priorities of COs.
* Line manages a team of technical experts, fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment, promoting continuous professional development, and ensuring the team brings and applies experience across humanitarian, nexus, and development contexts
* Coordinate and prioritise the team's efforts across multiple awards and activities, ensuring efficient allocation of technical resources to maximise impact.
* Advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the team and across programmes, ensuring that sector interventions are inclusive and accessible to all children, regardless of their background or identity.
* Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to innovate and integrate new sector solutions, reflecting the organisations’ values of creativity, integrity, and ambition.

Essential

Experience and Skills

* Extensive experience working directly in humanitarian and development settings, including in complex contexts to design, implement, and evaluate programs. Experience involving significant international travel and working in diverse cultural settings to ensure programmes are culturally competent and inclusive.
* Technical Expertise: Proficient expertise in designing, implementing, and evaluating sector specific interventions and programmes. Significant competence in adjusting strategies to evolving needs and priorities.
* Leadership and Team Management: Significant experience in leading and overseeing strategic initiatives in a global setting, with an ability to deputise for leadership effectively. Demonstrates empathy and strong people management skills, and able to foster a culture of collaboration, diversity of thought, agility and continuous learning.
* Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: Strong ability to analyse complex data, review programme performance metrics and translate findings into actionable improvements.
* Capacity Building and Mentoring: Considerable experience in building capacity, delivering training, and mentoring staff and local partners on sector specific practices and broader technical approaches.
* Proposal and Strategic Plan Development: Proven experience in developing high-quality proposals and strategic plans. A track record of writing successful proposals for donor-funded projects is essential.
* Compliance and Quality Assurance: Proficient experience in reviewing and assuring compliance of awards with donor requirements and organisational policies. Demonstrated ability to identify and implement areas of improvement.
* Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Exceptional communication skills, including experience in negotiation, influencing, and presentations. Must demonstrate the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
* Operational Flexibility: Ability and willingness to travel extensively and occasionally work in challenging environments, potentially on short notice.

Essential

Education and Qualifications

* A post-graduate degree in Public Health, Environmental Engineering, Water & Sanitation, or a related field. A university degree combined with professional experience could be considered as a substitute for a post-graduate degree.

Desirable

* Professional training or certification in programme management, humanitarian principles, or related areas.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found here via the job listing. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process:

* Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
* Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
* Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
* If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.

* Job Identification 13822
* Job Category Programme Operations
* Posting Date 08/08/2025, 09:20 AM
* Apply Before 08/24/2025, 11:59 PM
* Job Schedule Full time
* Locations CENTRE - London Worldwide