Senior Technical Advisor, Health & Nutrition

Save the Children Canada; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 89,000 - 104,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid workplace

4 weeks annual vacation

End of year office closure (SAVE Days)

Parental leave top-up

Health benefits after probation

Professional development

Job summary

Save the Children Canada is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor, Health & Nutrition to lead technical strategy and ensure quality across portfolios, including SRHR, in a complex multi-country setting.

Reporting to Senior Advisor Partnerships and Technical Quality, this role partners with country teams, donors, and research organizations to drive evidence-based approaches, manage risks, and strengthen stakeholder alignment, with occasional travel.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years in international development or NGO sectors.
• Advanced knowledge of GAC-funded projects and RBM.
• Experience leading health, SRHR programs with gender-transformative approaches.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement across cultures.
• French required; Spanish or Arabic a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall technical leadership and strategic oversight for the Foundations project.
• Coordinate with Canadian and country teams and partners to ensure alignment with donor requirements.
• Lead development and monitoring of program quality tools and risk mitigation.
• Advise SCC senior leadership on technical issues, risks, and innovations.
• Represent SCC in technical forums with Global Affairs Canada and other partners.

Skills

International development

RBM

Program quality

SRHR

Stakeholder engagement

French language

Communication

Team leadership

Education

Post-secondary education in relevant field

Tools

MS Office

Job description

Save the Children believes every child has the right to a future. In Canada and around the world, we do whatever it takes - every day and in times of crisis - to support children to fulfill their rights to a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. With over 100 years of experience, Save the Children is the world's first and leading independent children's organization - transforming lives and the future we share.

Save the Children Canada is a hybrid workplace based in Toronto Ontario Canada. This recruitment is open to all applicants residing in Ontario.

THE IMPACT YOU WILL MAKE:

Reporting to the Senior Advisor, Partnerships and Technical Quality, the Senior Technical Advisor, Health & Nutrition will be responsible for ensuring the technical quality, coherence, and impact of SCC's health and nutrition programming, including SRHR. This role contributes to Save the Children Canada's mission by leading the technical strategy and oversight of the health and nutrition portfolio, while co-leading donor and consortium engagement. The Senior Technical Advisor will collaborate across countries and partners to integrate evidence-based approaches, manage technical risks, and strengthen stakeholder alignment in a highly complex programming environment. This includes being the SCC technical lead for the close-out of the Foundations Project.

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Project-Specific Technical Leadership, Coordination and Quality Assurance

• Provide overall technical leadership and strategic oversight for the Foundations project, ensuring a coherent, integrated vision and high program quality across all countries and stakeholders.
• Coordinate and communicate on technical matters with Canadian and country-based teams, consortium partners, and research organizations to ensure alignment with global standards and donor requirements.
• Maintain strong technical relationships with Country Offices in Mali, Niger, and Sierra Leone, providing direct coaching and support to ensure gender-transformative and adolescent-friendly SRHR implementation.
• Lead the development, application, and monitoring of program quality tools to strengthen technical delivery and risk mitigation, including identifying and addressing unintended outcomes.
• Oversee and provide guidance to the project’s technical and research partners, ensuring that evidence-based approaches inform project design and delivery.
• Advise Save the Children Canada senior leadership on key technical issues, risks, and innovations related to the Foundations project.

External Representation, Communications and Donor Engagement

• Represent SCC's Health and Nutrition work, including the Foundations project in technical forums with Global Affairs Canada, within Save the Children's internal working groups, and across relevant external communities of practice.
• Promote SCC's Health and Nutrition work, including the Foundations project's achievements through participation in panels, conferences, donor presentations, and practitioner networks at both national and global levels.
• Contribute to the development of high-quality thought leadership and communications products to enhance public engagement and advocacy around the Foundations project.
• Serve as a technical spokesperson for Save the Children Canada on matters related to Health and Nutrition programming, including the Foundations project.

Advocacy & Business Development

• Identify and assess new funding opportunities for health and nutrition programs aligned with strategic goals.
• Support proposal development and provide technical oversight on health and nutrition-focused projects.
• Contribute to advocacy strategy execution by producing thought leadership and representing Save the Children at external events.
• Cultivate relationships with key funders, research institutions, NGO partners, and sector leaders in gender equality.

Program Learning & Innovation

• Lead the design, testing, and evaluation of program innovations that advance gender-transformative health and nutrition, including adolescent-responsive SRHR approaches within the Foundations project.
• Generate and synthesize evidence from program impact, translating insights into practical guidance and learning products for internal and external use, while reporting to relevant Save the Children global technical groups.

Qualifications include (but are not limited to):

• Post-secondary education in a relevant field or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in International Development, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO/INGO), or other not-for-profit sectors is required.
• Advanced knowledge of Global Affairs Canada (GAC)-funded projects; knowledge of GAC policies and procedures; knowledge of Results-Based Management (RBM) approach;
• Proven experience in a technical advisory role, successfully leading the design, implementation and impact measurement of complex health programs, including complex Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights programs, gender-transformative and adolescent-friendly health and nutrition programming.
• Demonstrated proficiency of the Canadian partner landscape and gender equality principles and practices.
• Advanced communication, interpersonal, and teamwork skills for diverse audiences to build strong working relationships across cultural and organizational settings, both internally and externally. French is required, and Spanish or Arabic would be considered a strong asset.
• Demonstrated project management experience for task execution of assigned objectives supported by proficiency with MS Office tools and relevant technologies. Ability to work under pressure within tight timelines to achieve SCC objectives.
• Displays analytical and problem-solving skills to support initiatives with demonstrated adaptability to support change management for successful task implementation.
• Applies judgment and make sound decisions that are accountable, justifiable, and in adherence to policies and procedures.
• Considers organizational strategy and thinks creatively to support innovative initiatives and collaborations that deliver benefits for the children and families we serve.
• Ability to occasionally travel locally, nationally and internationally (less than 10%) as required.

WHAT WE OFFER

The salary range for this position is non-union pay band 7 between $88,628.10 - $103,942.56 CAD depending on skills and experience. In addition to this, our employees will have the following package of additional benefits:

• Comprehensive benefits package for you and your dependents available three months after employment start date. Coordinated benefits for your partner paid by Save the Children Canada.
• Hybrid workplace including opportunities to work remotely and flexible work hours to support employee wellbeing and work life balance.
• 4 weeks of annual paid vacation.
• In addition to annual leave, we offer an end of year office closure December 25 - January 1 (SAVE Days) so we can all recharge simultaneously.
• 5 paid personal days.
• 10 paid sick leave days.
• Parental leave top-up.
• Employer contributions to group pension plan. Access to help save for a first home through the pension provider.
• Learning and development opportunities and specialized training including professional development time.
• Confidential Employee Assistance Program services available to you and your dependents from your first day of employment.
• Organization-wide membership access to Headspace.

It is our individual and collective responsibility to ensure all children are protected from deliberate or unintentional acts that lead to the risk of, or actual, harm caused by our employees. Each employee shall be aware that there may be additional vulnerabilities facing children associated with their age, socio-economic background, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, identity, sexual orientation or identity, and is committed to ensuring this does not form barriers to effective safeguarding.

Each employee is committed to fostering and sustaining a safe environment through proactive, accessible, and effective approaches that seek to prevent and respond to any harm to the children including but not limited to sexual exploitation and abuse. SCC and all its employees will take all reasonable steps to make itself safe, both as an organisation and in the conduct of all aspects of its day-to-day operations of emergency, humanitarian, developmental, policy, campaigning and administrative work.

SCC supports and acts in compliance with the Human Rights Code. SCC is committed to providing accessible employment practices that are in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ('AODA'). Providing an accessible and barrier-free environment is a shared effort, and as an organization, SCC is committed to working with the necessary parties to make accessibility for all a reality. If you require an accommodation during any stage of the recruitment or employment process, please notify People & Culture at [e-mail]

Please Note: This job opportunity is to fill an existing vacancy.

This recruitment process may involve the use of AI-enabled or automated tools within ADP Workforce Now to help manage job postings and application workflows. These tools may assist with tasks such as organizing applicant information, identifying potential matches based on job-related qualifications, or supporting communication and scheduling.

All hiring decisions are made by our People & Culture team and hiring managers. No automated tool makes final decisions about your candidacy. If at any point you have questions about how your information is used, please contact our team at [e-mail]