Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery

About Nutrition International

For more than 30 years, Nutrition International has been a leader in improving the nutritional status, health and wellbeing of people living in vulnerable situations around the world, with a focus on women, adolescent girls and children.

We are at the forefront of the global nutrition effort, conducting cutting-edge research and delivering life-saving nutrition interventions, all while keeping the needs of those we serve – and the challenges they face – at the centre of all we do.

Our goal is simple: eliminate malnutrition and break the cycle of poverty and inequality – and in doing so, save lives, improve health, strengthen health systems and generate significant, lasting social and economic benefits.

Woven into the very fabric of our approach is the passion and drive of our global team of over 600 people, working in 13 offices across 11 countries with one common goal: transforming the lives of people who need it most through improved nutrition.

The Role

Nutrition International is seeking a highly experienced people and operations manager to lead a global, multi-disciplinary team focused on delivering world leading programs that are evidence-based, high impact and cost-effective.

The Senior Director will have a successful track record leading large-scale complex international programs and operations with work experience gained in the Global South. Exceptional project management skills with a strong proficiency in AI-enabled tools are essential for this role, as is the ability to guide and upskill others. As a seasoned people manager, the Senior Director will bring a coaching approach to building the leadership capacity of senior leaders, combined with the ability to roll up sleeves when required. Knowing when to step in, step back, with the confidence to hold both strategic and operational lenses simultaneously, are important competencies for this role.

Low ego, high integrity, motivated by both enabling the success of others as well as a strong sense of personal accountability are required attributes in this role. This newly created role will help guide NI through an exciting era of growth, innovation and impact at scale.

The Position

The Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery is Nutrition International’s primary steward of delivery performance across the Programs Unit.

This role serves as the Vice President’s chief operational partner — translating strategic direction into coordinated action, unblocking management challenges, and ensuring consistent and high-quality project management across the unit.

Unlike the Sr. Global Portfolio Directors who carry full technical, operational and programmatic accountability for their respective portfolios, the Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery role is primarily a management, coordination, and people-enabling function. The Senior Director ensures that the portfolios operate as a coherent whole:

• portfolios are well-supported in their engagement with intra-unit functions (Quality Assurance, MEAL, Gender Equality and Safeguarding);
• with cross-unit functions (People and Culture, Corporate Services, Partnerships and Growth, Communications);
• that project management standards are systematically applied;
• and, that Sr. Global Portfolio Directors are supported and set up to lead effectively.

Specifically, the Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery is accountable for:

• Providing management oversight and coordination across programmatic portfolios. Technical and operational accountability rests at the portfolio level with Sr. Directors.
• Supporting Sr. Global Portfolio Directors in navigating complex organizational, people, and operational challenges.
• Ensuring systematic and consistent project management approaches are applied unit-wide, including the effective use of AI tools.
• Facilitating effective cross-unit engagement between portfolios and People and Culture, Corporate Services, Partnerships and Growth, and Communications.
• Facilitating effective engagement with Regional and Country Offices.
• Ensuring an effective and unified positioning and working relationship with the Vice President, Programs and the Unit’s whole of Senior Management Team.
• Ensuring that directions set by the cross-cutting functions of Quality Assurance, Gender Equality, Safeguarding and MEAL are operationalized and embedded systematically across all portfolios.
• Supporting Director level staff within the Programs Unit through coaching and/or mentoring where required.
• Acting as a key liaison between portfolio leadership and Executive and Senior Management teams for planning, coordination, and issue escalation.
• Supporting the operationalization and management of complex multi-stakeholder consortia and partnerships within the organization.
• Maintaining an active, unit-wide view of portfolio delivery performance — tracking grant progress, milestone adherence, financial execution, and risk accumulation across all portfolios.
• Owning the Programs Unit’s assessment of growth absorptive capacity — ensuring new opportunities are taken on only when leadership bandwidth, delivery capacity, and operational readiness are in place.
• Contributing to organizational growth, positioning, and learning at the Programs Unit level.

 

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Portfolio Coordination and Management Oversight

• Provide overarching management oversight across programmatic portfolios, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, the Programs Unit strategy, and the Vice President’s direction.
• Develop, implement, and sustain a systematic and consistent project management framework across all portfolios — including shared tools, templates, reporting rhythms, and accountability mechanisms.
• Lead portfolio-level coordination processes: regular touchpoints, unit-wide planning cycles, risk registers, and cross-portfolio learning.
• Identify management issues, blockages, and bottlenecks across portfolios and take decisive action to resolve them — stepping in where needed while knowing when to step back and let portfolio leaders lead.
• Ensure that Sr. Global Portfolio Directors have the support, clarity, and resources required to lead their portfolios effectively.
• Champion and enable the adoption of AI-powered project management tools and approaches across the Programs Unit, building team capacity and developing enabling systems.
• Maintain a systematic, unit-wide view of delivery performance: grant progress, milestone tracking, financial execution, risk registers, and delivery bottlenecks across all portfolios.
• Proactively identify where delivery pressure is accumulating and take timely action — convening the right people, escalating where needed, and ensuring interventions are in place before risks become failures.
• Ask the critical questions consistently: Which portfolios are under pressure? Which grants are off track? Where are we repeatedly missing milestones? What do we need to do differently?
• Establish and sustain the reporting rhythms and accountability mechanisms that make delivery performance visible to the Vice President, Senior Management, and the portfolios themselves.

Cross-Unit Engagement and Facilitation

• Serve as the primary Programs Unit coordinator for cross-unit engagement with People and Culture, Corporate Services, Partnerships and Growth, and Communications as it relates to unit-level engagement — respecting that each portfolio has strategic and operational plans and ways of working with each of these units that they are accountable for.
• Ensure portfolios receive timely, responsive, and high-quality support from cross-unit functions; facilitate problem-solving and escalation where needed.
• Coordinate unit-wide engagement with organizational processes including HR cycles, budgeting, audits and institutional reporting.
• Facilitate efficient decision-making and information flow between portfolios, units, and organizational leadership.
• Ensure cross-unit collaboration leads to tangible improvements in program quality, efficiency, and staff experience.

Partnerships and Consortia Management

• Support Sr. Global Portfolio Directors and their teams in the design, operationalization, and management of medium- and large-scale programming, consortia and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Provide management-level leadership and oversight for complex consortium structures, including governance, partner coordination, and performance accountability.
• Draw on strong experience in international partnerships to advise and coach portfolio teams on partnership challenges and opportunities.

People Management and Coaching

• Directly manage Sr. Global Portfolio Directors, providing consistent leadership, coaching, and management support.
• Apply a deliberate coaching approach in all management interactions — building confidence, ownership, and capability in a highly experienced team of senior leaders.
• Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance conversations, and developmental planning with all direct reports.
• Navigate complex interpersonal, team, and organizational dynamics with discretion, sensitivity, and effectiveness.
• Foster a Programs Unit culture of trust, collaboration, psychological safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Know when to step in and provide hands-on support and when to step back and create space for Sr. Directors to lead — actively resisting the urge to micromanage.
• Identify and act proactively on risks to staff well-being, team cohesion, and organizational culture.

Executive and Senior Management Liaison

• Serve as a key operational partner to the Vice President, Programs — supporting planning, coordination, prioritization, and communication of Programs Unit activities.
• Represent the Programs Unit in Executive and Senior Management forums as delegated by the Vice President.
• Translate Executive-level direction and strategic priorities into unit-level operational plans.
• Coordinate Programs Unit contributions to Board of Directors, donor, and organizational reporting processes.
• Prepare briefings, management reports, and planning documents for the Vice President and Executive Leadership, including Board-level reporting.

Responsible Growth and Organizational Learning

• Serve as the Programs Unit’s lead voice on growth absorptive capacity — providing a frank operational assessment before major business development commitments are made: Do we have the leadership bandwidth? The delivery infrastructure? The operational readiness? What investments are needed before we take this on?
• Ensure that growth decisions are not made in isolation from delivery reality — actively bridging the Partnerships and Growth pipeline with the Programs Unit’s operational capacity picture.
• Contribute to unit-wide learning and continuous improvement processes, drawing on evidence, data, and field experience across all portfolios.
• Support business development activities at the Programs Unit level, including unit-wide positioning, pipeline coordination, and cross-portfolio growth strategies.
• Represent Nutrition International externally at strategic fora when requested, particularly in relation to programmatic management, partnerships, and operational excellence.
• Actively scan the international development and global health landscape for management, partnership, and operational innovations relevant to Nutrition International.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position directly manages a group of globally based Sr. Global Portfolio Directors, each with accountability for a distinct programmatic portfolio as well as the management of a HQ based program delivery support team.

The Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery provides management oversight, coaching, and coordination across this group — enabling their effectiveness as senior leaders without substituting for their technical accountability. The Senior Director may also carry oversight of shared Programs Unit operational functions as determined by the Vice President.

While Sr. Global Portfolio Directors hold full technical and operational accountability for results within their portfolios, the Senior Director, Program Operations & Delivery holds accountability for the overall delivery performance picture across the unit — and for ensuring that systemic issues, resource gaps, or emerging risks are surfaced and addressed.

Education, Professional Designations & Experience

• A Master’s degree or equivalent experience in international development, public health, organizational management, business administration, or a related field.
• At least 15 years of progressive experience in international development or global health, with a significant portion in senior management roles.
• Demonstrated experience managing and coaching senior-level professionals, including Director-level leaders.
• Significant experience managing teams across different countries and cultures in a highly matrixed structure.
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, complex programs and/or operations in international contexts, with experience in the Global South (Africa and/or Asia).
• Significant experience in the design, operationalization, and management of medium- to large-scale consortia and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Demonstrated experience in business development, resource mobilization, and organizational growth in an international development or global health context.
• Experience working in or alongside executive and senior management teams in complex, multi-stakeholder organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading for organizational growth and positioning in competitive international development environments.
• Proficiency in the use of AI tools for project management and operational effectiveness — and demonstrated commitment to building this capability across teams.
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality, safeguarding, and inclusive ways of working.

Skills

• Exceptional project management skills, including experience designing and implementing unit-wide project management frameworks, tools, and reporting systems.
• Strong proficiency in AI-enabled project management platforms and digital tools; ability to guide and upskill others.
• Superior communication skills — written and verbal — including executive-level reporting, presentations, and facilitation.
• Fluency in English required; working knowledge of French is a strong asset.

Competencies

• Delivery Discipline: Maintains an unrelenting focus on results — tracking performance systematically, surfacing risks early, and driving intervention before small problems become large ones. Comfortable asking hard questions of self and others.
• Management Excellence: Brings rigor, systems thinking, and operational discipline to a complex multi-portfolio environment — without micromanaging.
• Coaching and People Development: Deeply committed to building the leadership capacity and effectiveness of senior leaders; derives satisfaction from enabling others to succeed.
• Strategic Coordination: Connects the dots across portfolios, units, and organizational priorities — facilitating coherent and purposeful action.
• Relationship Building: Cultivates trust and effective working relationships across executive, management, and technical levels, internally and externally.
• Adaptability and Judgment: Knows when to step in and when to step back; comfortable holding both strategic and operational lenses simultaneously.
• Partnership Expertise: Deep understanding of consortium governance and multi-stakeholder partnership dynamics in complex international contexts.
• AI Literacy: Proficient and enthusiastic adopter of AI tools for project management and team efficiency; able to guide others in responsible and effective use.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Skilled at navigating diverse cultural and organizational contexts across global operating environments.

Personal Attributes

• A servant-leader mindset; derives genuine satisfaction from enabling the success of others.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and complexity; able to bring structure and clarity without over-engineering.
• Low ego: willing to roll up sleeves and work at any level when needed, without losing sight of strategic responsibilities.
• High integrity, discretion, and personal accountability.
• Genuine curiosity and commitment to continuous learning, innovation, and growth.

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