Project Lead - Cost Optimization Intiative

Save the Children International; United States; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Save the Children International is seeking a Project Lead – Cost Optimisation Initiative to drive a global, multi-year transformation aimed at 30–40% cost efficiency by 2030 while protecting program quality and beneficiary impact.

You will partner with Global teams and Country Offices, managing governance, stakeholder engagement, and organisational redesign while championing AI-driven insights and digital enablement to deliver sustained efficiency across functions.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading large-scale transformation programs across global organisations.
• Experience in federated, matrix structures and INGOs.
• Ability to design enterprise-wide redesigns across programmatic and support functions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with hands-on analysis.
• Experience influencing executive leadership and cross-geography stakeholders.
• Knowledge of operating model design, shared services, and service delivery.
• Experience leveraging AI and automation for performance improvements.
• Experience leading transformation programs exceeding USD 100M.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Cost Optimisation Project and Organisational Adoption.
• Lead Change Management and Continuous Improvement.
• Identify and Deliver Efficiency Opportunities across all functions.
• Drive Cost Optimisation and Benefits Realisation with structured reporting.
• Enhance efficiency in Service Delivery across geographies.
• Lead Programme Governance and Delivery with milestones and ownership.
• Influence and Engage Senior Stakeholders across regions.
• Leverage AI, Digital Solutions, and Analytics to improve operations.
• Manage Risks and Organisational Change during transformation.
• Embed a Culture of Continuous Improvement across the organisation.

Skills

Change management

Stakeholder management

Executive engagement

Programme governance

AI and analytics

Digital transformation

Education

Master’s degree in Business Administration

Professional certification in Programme Management/Lean Six Sigma

Job description

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for aProject Lead – Cost Optimization Initiative to join our global team.

Team and Role Purpose

Save the Children is launching the Cost Optimisation Initiative to improve organizational sustainability, strengthen value for money, and maximize resources available for children and programme delivery. The aim is to build a simpler, smarter, and more efficient Save the Children that delivers greater impact for children through better use of every resource entrusted to us.

The Project Lead –Cost Optimisation will lead a high-profile, enterprise-wide transformation initiative aimed at designing cost optimisation and delivering 30–40% structural cost efficiency by 2030 while protecting program quality, organizational resilience, and beneficiary impact.

The role will provide strategic and operational leadership to a complex, multi-year transformation program spanning Global teams and Country Offices across all support functions. The Project Lead will be responsible for driving alignment across senior stakeholders, leading organizational redesign efforts, identifying sustainable efficiency opportunities, and ensuring successful implementation of transformation initiatives in a highly matrixed environment.

The Project Lead will also champion innovation, digital enablement, and AI-driven operational intelligence to modernize ways of working, simplify processes, improve decision-making, and enable scalable operational efficiency across the organization.

• Job Title: Project Lead – Cost Optimization Initiative
• Reports To: Director, SCI-Led Funding & CO Efficiency
• Work Pattern: Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available
• 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
• Required Time Zone: Any
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the country where the role is based, for the duration of employment.
• International Travel: up to 10%
• People Management: Number of people managed in total: 4; Manager of a team: Yes; Team Manager (manager of multiple teams): Yes
• Remit: Global

Principal Accountabilities

• Lead the Cost Optimisation Project and Organisational Adoption: lead the design, planning, and delivery of the Cost Optimisation Project, ensuring alignment with strategic, operational, and financial objectives and develop and maintain a phased, multi-year transformation roadmap with prioritised initiatives, clear milestones, and alignment to organisational delivery capacity
• Lead Change Management and Continuous Improvement: Drive organisational change, stakeholder adoption, and continuous improvement for the Cost Optimisation initiative to embed sustainable efficiencies and a culture of operational excellence.
• Identify and Deliver Efficiency Opportunities: Drive the identification, prioritisation, and implementation of enterprise-wide efficiency opportunities across all support functions and organisational levels.
• Drive Cost Optimisation and Benefits Realisation: Establish cost baselines, analyse current and future state, and ensure delivery, tracking, validation, and sustainability of efficiency benefits and cost savings including structured reporting to senior stakeholders.
• Enhance efficiency in Service Delivery: Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise, and optimise service delivery models and levels of effort across functions and geographies.
• Lead Programme Governance and Delivery: Establish programme governance structures, oversee workstreams, manage dependencies, and ensure timely delivery of agreed milestones and outcomes.
• Influence and Engage Senior Stakeholders: Facilitate alignment, decision-making, and collaboration across senior stakeholders, functions, and geographies to support successful delivery.
• Leverage AI, Digital Solutions, and Analytics: Promote the use of AI, automation, analytics, and digital technologies to improve operational efficiency, decision-making, and organisational effectiveness.
• Manage Programme Risks and Organisational Change: Proactively manage programme risks, issues, and organisational impacts while ensuring effective change management and adoption of new ways of working.
• Embed a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Foster innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement, ensuring efficiency initiatives are embedded into long-term organisational practices and governance.

Experience and Skills

• An extensive track record of leading large-scale organisational transformation, organisational redesign, and enterprise-wide change programmes within complex global organisations.
• Significant experience operating within complex INGOs, federated organisations, multinational matrix environments, or similarly complex stakeholder structures.
• A proven ability to design and implement enterprise-wide organisational redesign initiatives across both programmatic and support functions, including operating model transformation and service delivery redesign.
• A proven ability to apply excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, and to work collaboratively to deliver of effective solutions to project related issues. This will include taking on hands on analysis activities to support the wider team as required
• Extensive experience engaging, influencing, and building alignment among Executive Leadership Teams, Global Functional Leaders, Country Directors, Member organisations, and senior stakeholders across multiple geographies.
• A proven ability to lead and influence in highly ambiguous, politically sensitive, and rapidly changing environments, including influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience of operating model design, shared services, process harmonisation, workforce and level-of-effort optimisation, finance transformation, and organisational effectiveness initiatives.
• Exceptional executive communication, presentation, and stakeholder management capability.
• Experience leveraging AI, automation, analytics, and digital transformation approaches to improve organizational performance.
• Experience leading global transformation programs exceeding USD 100M operational scope.
• Experience working across both headquarters/global teams and decentralized country operations.
• Experience supporting ERP transformation Initiatives.
• Experience in Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement, or operational excellence methodologies.
• Exposure to enterprise analytics, AI-enabled transformation, or intelligent automation initiatives.

Education and Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, Finance, Organizational Development, Strategy, Operations, Management, or related field.
• Professional certification in Programme Management, Change Management, Lean Six Sigma, Organizational Design, or related discipline is strongly preferred.

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.

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.