Director, Regulated Programmes

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Director, Regulated Programmes to join our global team.

• Job Title: Director, Regulated Programmes
• Reports To: Director, Quality and Impact
• Work Pattern: Hybrid with flexible working options available
• Location: UK
• Grade: Executive
• Right to Work: The successful candidate must have the right to work in the UK for the duration of employment
• International Travel: up to 20%
• People Management: manager of multiple teams; 8 direct reports
• Budget Responsibility: $1 million
• Remit: Global

To enhance the culture of quality and impact across Country Offices by ensuring that the right technical expertise is available at the right place and time. Our purpose is to drive an evidence and accountability agenda and embedding learning throughout our programming and operations. We aim to support the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) function through capacity strengthening, PRIME, and global indicator roll-out, while leading programme incident management, risk escalation, and reporting to uphold our commitment to excellence and accountability.

To provide strategic oversight of medical and construction-related risks to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, and compliant programmes globally. The role strengthens programme quality and impact through effective risk management, incident oversight, regulatory compliance, and assurance processes, while supporting informed decision-making and accountability across operational countries.

• Provide strategic leadership for the global Regulated Programmes team, including Medical and Construction, driving programme quality and impact, setting strategic priorities, and fostering a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing culture aligned with organisational Quality & Impact objectives.
• Develop and implement risk management strategies for Medical and Construction programmes, ensuring risks are proactively identified, mitigated, monitored, and controlled.
• Lead medical incident management and escalation processes, coordinating with senior leadership, the Audit & Risk Committee, Charity Commission, donors, and members to ensure appropriate governance and transparency.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant external regulatory requirements, including holding and maintaining SCI licences for MHRA WDA(H) and Home Office controlled drugs.
• Promote a strong culture of accountability, safety, governance, and adherence to organisational and legal standards across regulated programmes.
• Maintain and regularly review programme risk registers, ensuring mitigations and controls align with the SCARF framework and incorporate cross-functional inputs.
• Proactively manage emerging risks and issues at Country Office level, ensuring timely escalation and response to significant residual exposures in line with enterprise risk management requirements and risk appetite.
• Coordinate closely with thematic technical teams, including Education, Health, and Climate Change, to ensure strong technical alignment, programme quality, and integrated delivery across the Medical and Construction portfolio, contributing to organisational Quality & Impact objectives.

• Strategic leadership and programme management skills, with the ability to translate organisational strategy into high-quality programme delivery and measurable impact
• Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and manage diverse global stakeholders and teams
• Demonstrated ability to lead organisational and cultural change while fostering collaboration, inclusion, accountability, and high performance
• Strong commitment to programme quality, compliance, safeguarding, risk management, and continuous improvement across regulated programmes
• High level of integrity, professionalism, sound judgement, and resilience in managing complex and high-risk portfolios
• Strong ability to work effectively across organisational, regional, and technical boundaries, including with Supply Chain, Operations, Education, Health and Climate Change teams
• Proven ability to build strategic partnerships and foster cross-functional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders

• A post-graduate degree in degree or equivalent in Medicine, International Development or a related field is essential. Consideration for a combination of relevant academic qualifications and substantial work experience is also possible
• Medical Professionals are encouraged to apply

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,…