Regional Director HECSA

Job Summary

The Regional Director HECSA leads multi-country development and crisis response strategies, manages regional KPI performance, and champions partner-led programming. This executive manages high-level political diplomacy with institutional donors and governments, oversees humanitarian adherence to international standards, maintains duty of care for distributed teams, and steers organizational change management.

Key Roles & Operational Responsibilities

1. Regional Strategy & Executive Leadership

• Define and execute the HECSA regional strategy, ensuring complete alignment with global mandates and locally led development commitments.
• Formulate regional priority frameworks, manage portfolio resource allocations, and resolve complex cross-functional operational bottlenecks.
• Contribute actively to global INGO governance, policy formulation, and strategic organizational pivoting as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team.
• Guide, mentor, and structurally develop a high-performing senior regional management team while cultivating an entrepreneurial, open, and accountable work culture.

2. Partner Ecosystems & Locally Led Development

• Architect the strategic direction for regional partnership practices, prioritizing equitable, context-driven cooperation over transactional implementation.
• Establish transparent performance dialogues, mutual accountability frameworks, and reciprocal feedback mechanisms with local civil society organizations.
• Champion the practical localization of programs, transitioning decision-making power and capacity to local actors in alignment with modern development pledges.

3. External Representation, Diplomacy & Resource Mobilization

• Represent Cordaid at the highest diplomatic levels with sovereign governments, bilateral/multilateral institutional donors, regional networks, and private-sector leaders.
• Utilize advanced political, economic, security, and conflict analysis to position Cordaid strategically within highly sensitive or shifting operational environments.
• Lead high-level resource mobilization initiatives, strengthening regional funding pipelines and driving co-creation efforts for large-scale donor bids.

4. Portfolio Performance, Risk & Humanitarian Oversight

• Hold ultimate accountability for the financial health, sustainability, and KPI compliance (quality, risk mitigation, partner satisfaction) of the regional portfolio.
• Provide strategic oversight for regional humanitarian crisis preparedness and emergency response readiness, guaranteeing alignment with core international relief standards.
• Enforce robust safety, security, and safeguarding frameworks across distributed teams, exercising ultimate duty of care obligations for staff and local partners.
• Partner with global Shared Services to ensure unconditional alignment with legal, procurement, human resources, and rigorous compliance policies.

Foundational Capabilities & Prerequisites

Required Technical Profile & Experience

• Academic Foundation: Advanced university degree (Master's level or higher) in International Development, Political Science, Public Administration, Humanitarian Studies, or an equivalent social science field.
• Experience Baseline: Minimum of ten (10) years of senior executive leadership experience operating within the Horn, Eastern, Central, or Southern Africa regions, or comparable complex, fragile, and conflict-affected environments.
• Framework Knowledge: In-depth, working mastery of the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS), Sphere standards, Pledge for Change, and Grand Bargain commitments.
• Portfolio Management: Proven experience leading multi-country or highly distributed teams through structural organizational change, change management, and budget integration.
• Networking & Influence: Established track record of high-profile engagement with senior political figures, institutional donor directors, and transnational civil society platforms.
• Linguistic Capabilities: Native or full professional fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory. Working knowledge of French, Arabic, Portuguese, or key regional African languages is a distinct asset.
• Value Alignment: Complete personal and professional resonance with Cordaid’s core Christian-guided values of human dignity, justice, and compassion.

What Cordaid Offers

• High-Profile Influence: A senior executive assignment with extensive autonomy to shape localized development paradigms across a multi-million euro regional portfolio.
• Dynamic Compensation: A market-conform executive contract with excellent secondary benefits and international working conditions optimized for regional placement.
• Purposeful Mission: Direct systemic investments into healthcare, education, justice, and agrifood systems within communities that need them most.

Skills Required:

• Hr / Public / Admin
• Political / Science / Ir