Director I, Program and Product Design

ChildFund India Group; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international development organization is seeking a Director I for Program and Product Design to oversee grant program design and strengthen donor relationships. This full-time, remote position requires extensive program design expertise and collaboration with global teams, ensuring alignment with ChildFund’s strategic goals. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a robust understanding of children's rights and well-being.

Qualifications

• 9+ years in program design and business development.
• Experience with government agencies and NGOs.
• Fluent in English; knowledge of Spanish or French preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead program design efforts for grants.
• Collaborate with global advisors and teams.
• Ensure program alignment with ChildFund’s mission.

Skills

Leadership

Program Design

Business Development

Collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree in international development or similar field

Job description

Job Details: Director I, Program and Product Design

Full details of the job.

Vacancy Name

Vacancy Name Director I, Program and Product Design

Employment Type

Employment Type Full Time (Fixed Term)

Childfund Work Location Remote

Childfund Division Global Impact

ChildFund Department Program Resources and Institutional Learning

Position title: Director I, Program and Product Design Location: Washington, DC

ChildFund office: International Office Manager/Supervisor title: Vice President, Programs, Resources, and Institutional Learning

Position type: Full-time fixed term Work environment: Remote

Position title: Director I, Program and Product Design Location: Washington, DC ChildFund office: International Office Manager/Supervisor title: Vice President, Programs, Resources, and Institutional Learning Position type: Full-time fixed term Work environment: Remote About ChildFund
ChildFund is a dynamic child-focused international development organization expanding its work with and for children in communities all over the world. Working across 70 countries, we connect children with the people, resources, and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled, and safe, no matter where they are. As part of our team, you are integral to our new growth strategy, building new capabilities and partnerships to scale our impact for children.

ChildFund’s Values
We aspire for every person in our organization—program participants, supporters, staff, and volunteers alike—to feel free, safe, and confident to be themselves. In our culture of connection, you will have ample opportunity to grow, learn, and lead while contributing your talents and innovations to our inspiring mission.

ChildFund’s Commitment
ChildFund International has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and all other forms of harm by its staff, partners, and other representatives in the delivery of its mission and services for children. ChildFund is committed to creating a safe environment in the workplace as well as in the communities where it delivers programs and services. ChildFund expects every staff member, partner, and representative to adhere to this commitment and to ensure all organizational policies and standards are followed. This position is subject to a range of vetting checks, including a criminal records check and/or disclosure to ensure program participants are safeguarded.

About This Role
The Program Design and Products Director will lead efforts to design program and products for grant funders. The Director will lead collaborative efforts to shape and adapt ChildFund’s Program Offerings tobe used as we pursue diverse grant opportunities from foundations, corporate entities, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, and other ChildFund Alliance members. The Director will be responsible for building on and evolving ChildFund’s existing program approaches to focus on sector-based design, impact, scalability, systems strengthening, evidence-gathering and learning, and other key requirements of major grant funders. The role requirescollaborationwith ChildFund’s Global Technical Senior Advisors, Regional Directors, and Country Offices toharnesstheir specialized knowledge and insights, ensuring that program designs are rigorous, evidence-based and aligned with the latest sectoral trends and best practices, including locally-led development. This includes contributing substantially to efforts to develop ChildFund’s new blended model that better integrates sponsorship and grant based programming.
The Director will ensure program designs and products are captured in materials to be used throughout the organization and across regions as resources for program team members to design locally-relevant programs and to communicate clearly about ChildFund‘s Program Offerings and approaches. As ChildFund strengthens its business development capabilities, the Director will also play a key role in driving organizational change by building internal capacity in program design and empowering teams to adapt to new funding models and donor requirements.
In collaboration with ChildFund Technical Advisors and Business Development staff, the Director will advise regional directors and country offices as necessary on designing program interventions for specific grant opportunities.

This is a full-time, fixed-term position with funding through June 30, 2027. This is a remote position open to candidates with proximity to Washington, D.C. Candidates outside of the DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia area will not be considered.

Required Experience and Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; a master’s degree or higher in international development, economics, public policy, social sciences, or other relevant field is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 9 years of experience in program design, technical leadership, and business development within the international development or humanitarian sector.
• A track record of leading complex program design for grant acquisition.
• Demonstrated experience leading program design for large-scale grants, such as those from USAID, EU, UNICEF, foundations, and multilaterals.
• Extensive experience in developing and submitting successful grant proposals, securing funding from various sources, including government agencies, foundations, and corporations.
• Experience in strategic program design with a focus on children’s rights and well-being and incorporating innovative approaches.

Primary Responsibilities

Program Design and Strategic Positioning. The Program and Product Design Director leads and engages, through collaborative work, Global Senior Technical Advisors, design high-quality, innovative, and contextually relevant Program Offerings aligned with ChildFund’s objectives and core program approaches for the fulfillment of children’s rights and wellbeing. Empower Global Senior Technical Advisors to actively incorporate essential practices, including localization, systems strengthening, child and youth agency, and gender considerations, into program designs. Supports Global Senior Technical Advisors, as they serve as lead program designers on high-value, strategic proposals. Lead with Talent, Technology, Finance, and operations teams to ensure Program Offerings are accurately budgeted and operationally robust. Empower Global Senior Technical Advisors and teams tailoring proposals to donor expectations while maintaining alignment with ChildFund’s technical strengths and implementation capacities.

Technical Quality, Evidence, and Learning. Ensure program designs are grounded in robust evidence and aligned with ChildFund’s Results Framework and Impact Outcomes. Ensure the integration of robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) components into Program Offerings’ designs to promote impact measurement and adaptive learning. Team up with MERL team members to develop Program Products that are integrated into proposals and contribute to evidence-based approaches and continuous program improvement. Lead Sector Global Advisors to bring cutting-edge technical knowledge and innovation into program/sector strategies. Ensure donor-relevant product development in support of Program Offerings.

Internal Collaboration and Capacity Strengthening. Mentor Sector and BD Global Advisors to build program design capacity and embed best practices across the organization. Lead internal change management efforts by developing and strengthening tools, guidance, and processes related to program design and proposal development.

External Engagement and Donor Collaboration. Cultivate and maintain relationships with donors and partners to understand trends and donor priorities in prioritized sectors by region (Africa, Americas, and Asia). Empower the creation of funder-focused communications to advance engagement and alignment with institutional donor priorities.

Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Travel domestically and internationally up to 20%.

Required Competencies
ChildFund’s Core Competencies

• Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve goals with high quality standards.
• Decision making: uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
• Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.
• Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.
• Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
• Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology to relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.

Other Required Competencies

• The ability to read, write, and speak fluently in English; fluency or professional working proficiency in Spanish or French is beneficial.
• Demonstrated ability to lead across functions in a remote, global, technology-enabled work environment and drive change across diverse teams.
• Strong technical writing and proposal development skills, with the ability to produce well-structured models that showcase the organization’s capacity to deliver impactful programs.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships internally and externally fostering a focus on a strong donor engagement and creating effective funder-focused communications.
• Advanced knowledge and expertise in child-focused programming, localization, and systems strengthening.
• Strong presentation skills in virtual formats.
• Strategic Leadership - Applies vision; explores multiple paths; invests time in planning to effectively execute strategy
• People Leadership - Inspires, influences, coaches and empowers others to be at their best; values individual differences and seeks the inclusion of others
• Change Management - Adjusts thinking and behaviors to remain relevant, resilient and responsive to internal and external conditions

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