Chief Programs & Partnerships Officer (CPPO)

Title: Chief Programs & Partnerships Officer (CPPO)
Department: Global Programs Unit (GPU)
Grade: L
Status: Full-time
Contract type: permanent/open-ended
Location: Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, Iraq, US, Germany, UK – applicants must have the existing right to work in one of the jurisdictions as WfWI will not sponsor a visa nor provide relocation expenses.
Reports to: International Chief Executive Officer

Line Manages: Deputy Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer; Global Director, Business Development; Manager, Crisis Response Fund; GPU Coordinator; and, during the phased transition only, designated Country Directors where agreed by the International CEO.

Formal Matrix Role: Regional Directors and Country Directors, for program strategy, program quality, program standards, evidence, delivery feasibility, and programmatic commitments. This matrix role is not a second line-management relationship.

Safeguarding Level Tier 3 No contact with vulnerable adults and children


Purpose

The Chief Programs & Partnerships Officer is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and the senior leader responsible for Women for Women International's global program strategy, program quality, program design, evidence and learning, institutional business development, strategic programmatic partnerships, and program delivery coherence. The CPPO acts as the International CEO's principal strategic partner on mission alignment, program model coherence, program expansion and geographies, delivery continuity, and institutional and strategic partnerships.

The CPPO does not hold permanent line-management responsibility for Country Offices once regional reporting lines are in place. To protect program quality during and after the transition to the regional structure, the CPPO holds a formal matrix role with Regional Directors and Country Directors for program strategy, technical standards, program design, evidence, delivery feasibility, and programmatic commitments. The role may retain or delegate interim line management of designated Country Directors during the phased transition, as agreed by the International CEO.

This matrix role gives the CPPO clear authority on program quality and programmatic decision rights without duplicating regional line management. Regional Directors lead regional strategy, relationship building, coordination, regional representation, and agreed regional revenue contributions. The CPPO leads global program direction, program-quality standards, institutional program alignment, and final programmatic sign-off.

The CPPO leads the Global Programs team in the Global Support Center through direct supervision of the Deputy CPPO, the Global Director of Business Development, the Crisis Response Fund Manager, and the GPU Coordinator. The Deputy CPPO directly leads program planning, country planning and budgeting, and coordinated execution across the technical program functions, including Program Design and Development, MERL, Grant Management, and Country Office Support.

The CPPO works in close collaboration with the Chief Research, Policy, Advocacy & Strategic Communications Officer to ensure WfWI's advocacy, communications, and thought leadership are grounded in program evidence and country realities. The CPPO also works closely with the COO to ensure programs and country offices are enabled by strong operational systems, compliance, risk management, procurement, contract management, finance, IT, safety and security, and people support.

The role holds final decision-making authority on global program standards, technical quality, major program design shifts, pilots and innovations, programmatic commitments, and institutional go/no-go decisions. This includes institutional proposals, corporate funding opportunities, major donor grants, strategic partnerships, MOUs, and other commitments that include program content, delivery obligations, or implications for country capacity.

A core purpose of the role is to reduce the risk of WfWI becoming donor-driven when regional and country leadership roles carry strong revenue responsibilities. The CPPO ensures that funding opportunities, external commitments, and program adaptations remain aligned with WfWI's vision, mission, strategy, evidence, delivery capacity, and accountability to women affected by war and conflict.

Engagement

• Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and Global Leadership Team, contributing to enterprise-wide strategy, leadership, culture, and decision-making.
• Act as the International CEO's principal strategic partner on mission alignment, program coherence and quality, program expansion and geographies, delivery continuity, and institutional and strategic partnerships.
• Work closely with Regional Directors, Country Directors, and global functional leads to ensure clear alignment between regional strategy, country strategy, program quality, partnerships, delivery feasibility, and funding opportunities.
• Maintain agreed matrix ways of working with Regional Directors and Country Directors, including consultation requirements, programmatic decision rights, escalation routes, and sign-off points for program quality and delivery feasibility.
• Work closely with the COO to ensure operational systems, risk management, procurement, contract management, compliance, finance, IT, safety and security, and people support enable effective program delivery in the contexts where WfWI works.
• Work closely with the CRAO to ensure WfWI's external positioning, policy engagement, communications, and thought leadership are grounded in strong program evidence and country realities.
• Represent WfWI with high-level institutional donors, bilateral and multilateral actors, strategic partners, research institutions, think tanks, peer organizations, and relevant sector networks on programmatic and partnership matters.
• Maintain clear role boundaries and coordination mechanisms with other CEO direct reports so accountabilities are clear for the teams reporting below them.

• Lead the participatory development of WfWI's global program strategy and guide the teams responsible for its execution.
• Ensure WfWI's program model remains high quality, evidence-informed, context-responsive, financially realistic, and aligned with the organization's mission and strategy.
• Drive continuous improvement in program design, implementation quality, and operational delivery across Country Offices and global program functions.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of global program standards, technical approaches, guidance, quality assurance processes, and decision rights.
• Ensure strong integration between program strategy, safeguarding, localization, learning, partner engagement, and women-centered design.
• Hold final decision-making authority on programmatic standards, technical quality, and global program model coherence.

• Provide executive leadership for WfWI's global program portfolio, ensuring strong alignment across regions and countries.
• Work through Regional Directors where these roles are in place, and directly manage designated Country Directors only where reporting remains transitional or as otherwise agreed by the International CEO.
• Maintain the formal program-quality matrix relationship with Regional Directors and Country Directors so regional and country plans remain aligned with global program strategy, standards, evidence, delivery feasibility, and organizational priorities.
• Support the phased transition of country reporting lines from CPPO to regional leadership in a way that avoids unnecessary disruption to Country Directors and country teams.
• Partner with Regional Directors to ensure country strategies, annual plans, program priorities, and funding opportunities are coherent with global program strategy, business development priorities, program-quality standards, and country capacity.
• Surface delivery risks, capacity gaps, quality concerns, and performance issues early with Regional Directors, Country Directors, and relevant global functional leaders, ensuring appropriate escalation and cross-functional support where required.

• Provide executive oversight of the technical Global Programs functions, through the Deputy CPPO, to ensure WfWI's interventions remain coherent, scalable, and grounded in women's needs and lived realities.
• Guide the development of new program approaches, adaptations, design improvements, and innovations in response to context, evidence, learning, and organizational priorities.
• Ensure technical design choices are realistic, cost-aware, operationally feasible, and aligned with country capacity.
• Promote strong integration between program planning, design, delivery, learning, business development, grant management, safeguarding and security, human resources, and external positioning.
• Champion evidence-based decision-making across the organization, including with the C-team, ELT, Regional Directors, and relevant Board committees.
• Provide executive sponsorship to relevant research and learning forums, while ensuring external thought leadership and communications based on evidence are coordinated with CRAO.
• Hold oversight for major program design shifts, pilots, adaptations, and innovations before they are externally positioned, funded, or committed to donors or partners, including ideas introduced from outside the Global Programs team.
• Provide oversight of MERL investment decisions, evidence quality assurance, and data governance standards in coordination with relevant organizational data governance processes.

4. Crisis Response Fund Leadership

• Act as Executive Sponsor and primary decision maker for the CRF, supporting WfWI engagement with local partners in conflict-affected countries where WfWI does not have a Country Office.
• Chair the CRF Steering Committee and provide consistent guidance to the CRF Manager and team.

• Decide on high-risk contexts, partners, allocations, and escalations, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, risk appetite, and due diligence standards.
• Ensure CRF approaches are coherent with WfWI's wider program strategy, safeguarding standards, localization commitments, and partner engagement approach.
• Champion the CRF internally and drive external fundraising for CRF in coordination with Global Revenue teams and relevant senior leaders.

• Oversee and provide strategic leadership to the Global Business Development Unit to meet fundraising targets while ensuring grant funding is aligned with WfWI's mission, program priorities, and delivery realities.
• Oversee the development and execution of the global Business Development strategy and coordinate its alignment with other Global Revenue teams and relevant regional plans.

• Guide institutional funding priorities, partnership choices, and opportunity pipelines in line with program strategy, country capacity, evidence, risk, and organizational goals.
• Ensure the Global Programs team is consulted on institutional, corporate, major donor, strategic partnership, and MOU opportunities that include programmatic commitments or delivery implications, even where the opportunity is not led by BDU or GPU.
• Ensure fundraising targets are strategically set, monitored, adjusted, reported, and met with the BDU team, while coordinating with Regional Directors on regional pipeline contributions and relationship management as agreed through annual planning.
• Provide oversight to ensure the coordination required between BDU, GPU functions, Country Offices, Regional Directors, GSC Finance, and other revenue teams so proposals are high quality, competitive, deliverable, and cost-realistic.
• Hold final go/no-go authority for institutional program-related funding opportunities and programmatic commitments.

• Develop and strengthen strategic partnerships with peer organizations, bilaterals, multilaterals, research institutions, think tanks, networks, and other actors that can improve WfWI's program quality, influence, and impact.
• Represent WfWI in international programmatic fora and strategic partnership discussions relevant to the organization's mission and program approach.
• Support the CEO and other senior leaders with high-level external engagement on program and partnership matters.
• Contribute program evidence, country insight, and subject matter expertise to external narratives, donor materials, and global positioning in coordination with CRAO and regional revenue leaders.
• Serve as a thought leader within the development community and with WfWI's Global Board and staff on issues related to gender equality, women, peace and security, and women and populations made vulnerable by war or internal conflict.

• Lead and develop high-performing teams across Global Programs, Business Development, CRF, and related functions.
• Oversee the Global Programs and Partnerships budget in close coordination with the Deputy CPPO and ensure disciplined planning, prioritization, and resource use.
• Lead program-related presentations, planning, and communications with the Executive Leadership Team, Global Leadership Team, and relevant Board committees.
• Strengthen organization-wide clarity on roles, decision rights, and accountabilities between GSC, SCOs, Regional Directors, Country Offices, and global functions.
• Contribute to organization-wide transformation, sequencing, and implementation planning so delivery continuity and country support remain strong during change.
• Ensure a unified program operating model with clear decision rights across regions, countries, and global functions.

• Undertake additional duties as required by the International Chief Executive Officer.
• Uphold WfWI's Code of Conduct, Safeguarding policies, and organizational values: Empowerment, Integrity, Respect, Resilience.
• Demonstrate WfWI leadership principles: Decisive, Accountable, Courageous, Adaptable, Inclusive.

Skills and Qualifications

Criteria marked ‘A ‘will be assessed at the application stage.

Required

• Master's degree or equivalent in international development, social sciences, public policy, gender studies, humanitarian studies, or another relevant field. A
• Minimum 15 years of senior leadership experience in the international nonprofit, development, or humanitarian sector. A
• Substantial experience leading complex program portfolios across multiple countries, preferably including fragile or conflict-affected settings. A
• Strong track record in program strategy, program quality, country or regional program oversight, delivery coherence, and organizational change. A
• Demonstrated ability to lead evidence-based decision-making regarding programming, learning, and impact.
• Strong experience with institutional business development and donor engagement, including the ability to translate strategic opportunities into funding commitments. A

• Strong track record of leading large, diverse, and geographically dispersed teams in matrixed structures. A

• Ability to think strategically at a global level and translate strategy into practical implementation.

• Strong judgment and credibility in representing programmatic work with donors, peers, partners, Board members, and senior stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of women's rights, gender equality, conflict, women, peace and security, and international development.
• Excellent collaboration skills and ability to work effectively across programs, operations, communications, advocacy, finance, regional leadership, and revenue functions.
· Right to work in one of the specified locations and willing to relocate at own expense if currently located elsewhere A

• Prior international assignment spanning multiple regions.
• Experience in Africa and the Middle East.
• Existing networks and reputation with relevant institutional and strategic partners.
• Experience overseeing research, evaluation, or complex learning agendas.
• Experience with integrated, multi-sector, localization, partnership, or graduation-style program models.

May require bending, lifting, standing, sitting, computer work, and international travel.

All our staff are required to adhere to WfWI’s Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policies and to our organizational values: Empowerment, Integrity, Respect, Resilience and the Leadership Principles: Decisive, Accountable, Courageous, Adaptable and Inclusive.

Diversity at Women for Women International is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, political opinions, and pregnancy and maternity.

We offer a competitive, location-adjusted salary package based on local market conditions and experience.

Other benefits apply depending on location.

This role is either remote or hybrid, depending on location.