Position Title : Program and Sponsorship Director Location: Freetown ChildFund office: Sierra Leone Manager/Supervisor title: Country Director Position type: Full-time fixed term Work environment: On-site
Women, as well as individuals from diverse and underrepresented groups/backgrounds, are encouraged to submit their applications.
About ChildFund
ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that connects children with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are. We work directly in 23 countries, with extended reach to more than 60 countries through our global partnership network.
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 and Sponsorship Director provides strategic leadership and oversight for the design, development, and implementation of high-quality programs that deliver measurable and lasting impact. This role is pivotal in driving ChildFund’s unified program approach and resource mobilization, ensuring program excellence, and fostering innovation to achieve ChildFund’s mission and goals.
Required Experience and Education Required
Advanced degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Business/Public Administration, or related field.
Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in program leadership within INGOs or development organizations.
Strong expertise in program design, MEAL systems, evidence-based programming and quality assurance.
Proven experience in strategic planning, program cycle management, and organizational development.
Demonstrated ability to lead and manage multi‑sectoral, and complex programs across diverse geographies.
Solid understanding of child protection, safeguarding, gender and community‑based development approaches.
Experience managing large, multicultural teams and fostering a culture of collaboration, learning, and accountability.
Strong skills in budgeting, financial oversight, risk management, and compliance with donor and organizational standards.
Ability to represent the organization with high‑level stakeholders, including governments, donors, and partners.
Working with and capacity building of local implementing partners.
Excellent leadership, communication, partnership‑building, and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.
Preferred
Experience leading innovation and adaptive programming.
Proven track record in business development and successful grant acquisition, execution and engagement (EU, USG, FCDO, UN agencies, Foundations, Corporates, Embassies)
Experience developing strategic partnerships, including consortia, networks, and local partner capacity strengthening.
Competence in data‑driven decision‑making, program analytics, and use of digital MEAL platforms
Good understanding of sponsorship operations, programing and workflows
Primary Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Program Design (25%)
Lead the design of innovative, evidence-based programs aligned with the organizational country strategic plan (CSP) and donor priorities.
Ensure programs are responsive to community needs, culturally appropriate, and sustainable.
Proactively lead in the identification of key partners and opportunities for collaboration (technical, operational and institutional) and promote strategic alliances that can improve the impact, coverage and sustainability of programs.
Ensure active and visible participation of ChildFund in development coordination mechanisms at the strategic and operational levels (sectoral groups, coordination platforms, NGO forums, donor mechanisms) and help guide sectoral priorities where relevant.
Business Development (35%)
Drive resource mobilization efforts by identifying funding opportunities and cultivating donor relationships.
Lead proposal development processes, ensuring competitive, high-quality submissions.
Represent the organization in donor meetings, partnerships, and external forums to enhance visibility and credibility.
Coordinate closely with regional and global Business Development teams to ensure alignment of priorities, share intelligence on funding landscapes, and leverage organizational BD resources and expertise
Program Implementation, Impact Measurement & Quality Assurance (35%)
Provide oversight and guidance to Local implementing partners and Country Office Project managers to ensure timely, effective, and compliant delivery of projects/programs.
Establish and monitor program quality standards, ensuring adherence to donor requirements and organizational policies.
Promote adaptive management practices, ensuring programs remain relevant and impactful in dynamic contexts.
Oversee a monitoring system that provides timely and accurate program/project results by embedding MEAL across program implementation through the development of log frames, indicators, implementation plans, quality benchmarks, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and related tools
Lead program quality improvements by monitoring and improving Program KPI performance, including resourcing and conducting high-quality evaluations to demonstrate outcomes and impact and ensuring that accountability mechanisms are in place for all projects so that identified actions are resolved, with critical issues escalated to senior management in time.
Ensure the research, evaluation and policy work of the Country Office contributes to generation of evidence for development and improvement of Common Approaches, sound decision making and policy influencing internally and externally.
Establish effective program learning and knowledge management systems to support adaptive programing and innovation that improves outcomes for children and communities.
Work with the Sierra Leone SMT to ensure that the Sierra Leone Risk Register is updated quarterly and grant specific risk registers are developed to reflect the actual risks and that appropriate mitigating measures are developed and implemented as relevant.
Lead the development of robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) frameworks.
Ensure programs generate credible evidence of impact and contribute to organizational learning.
Team Leadership & Capacity Building (5%)
Supervise and mentor program staff, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and accountability.
Build staff capacity in program design, business development, and impact measurement.
Promote cross-functional collaboration for knowledge sharing and to strengthen integration between program, operations, business development, and MEAL teams.
Champion equity, and inclusion within program teams.
Required Competencies
ChildFund’s Core Competencies
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.
Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and 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.
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
Program design, implementation, quality assurance and impact measurement
