Director of Quality and Impact

About the War Child Alliance

The War Child Alliance was formed in 2023. It brought together the five War Child fundraising members (in the Netherlands, UK, Germany and Sweden, plus Children in Conflict in the US) and 14 programme members based in and around conflict-affected areas across the world. The resulting Alliance integrated programme activities under one umbrella – all with the aim to multiply our impact for conflict-affected children. The Alliance is now entering a critical phase of its development, where strengthening shared governance across member organisations, deepening equitable partner models, and ensuring clarity of roles between Alliance and member entities will be central to delivering impact at scale.

In 2025, as violence, displacement, shrinking humanitarian access and reduced aid funding made the world increasingly dangerous for children, War Child reached more than one million people through country programmes and partnerships across 30 countries. Its work is grounded in child protection, education, mental health and psychosocial support, delivered increasingly through evidence-based methodologies and in partnership with local organisations.

The Director of Quality and Impact is essential to War Child’s next phase as the organisation is deliberately shifting towards partner-led programming and scaling evidence-based approaches by 2028. This role will ensure that growth does not dilute quality, accountability or learning, but strengthens them through robust MEAL systems, data-driven programme improvement, Core Humanitarian Standard commitments, and clear evidence of what works for children and communities affected by conflict.

Main Purpose of the Role

This role is a member of the International Management Team, sitting within the senior leadership of War Child Alliance Foundation. The roles directly manages the organisation’s thematic technical quality, MEAL, and humanitarian functions. The role ensures excellence across partnerships and country programmes to strengthen quality implementation, partner capacity, learning systems, and humanitarian preparedness and response, while helping position War Child’s evidence based Care System approach within the wider sector.

• This role operates in a complex international and networked environment and requires the ability to balance technical rigour, partner-led delivery, organisational learning, and operational practicality.
• Collaborate closely with Programme and Partnership teams, Research and Development, and Advocacy, Communications and Funding teams.
• The role works across multiple countries, functions, and partner relationships, and requires sound judgement in supporting programme quality, accountability, humanitarian readiness, safeguarding, and evidence use in diverse and changing contexts. It also requires the ability to strengthen systems and capability without reverting to direct implementation models.
• Manages 6 thematic leads depending on size and this may be adjusted over time.

Strategic Leadership and Organisational Alignment:

• Provide strategic leadership to support delivery of War Child Alliance’s organisational strategy, ensuring plans, resources and priorities are aligned to agreed objectives.
• Lead and steward the Alliance’s technical quality, MEAL and humanitarian functions as an integrated organisational capability.
• Build and manage a high-performing function, providing clear direction, people management, capability development and collaboration across technical, MEAL and humanitarian roles.
• Ensure departmental and team performance against agreed KPIs, organisational priorities and quality standards

Program Quality Management:

• Lead the development and implementation of War Child Alliance’s technical quality agenda, aligned to organisational strategy, partner-led programming and sector standards.
• Provide strategic leadership for the implementation, adaptation and contextualisation of evidence-based and thematic programming across MHPSS, Child Protection and Education.
• Ensure technical quality standards, guidance, tools and processes are developed, maintained and applied to support quality, contextually relevant partner-led delivery.
• Provide technical input into programme design, proposal development and co-creation with partners.

Program Accountability, Evidence and Learning:

• Oversee the design and strengthening of MEAL systems, ensuring robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning and reporting.
• Lead organisational programmatic learning processes that translate implementation experience, partner feedback, evaluation findings and evidence into practical programme improvements.
• Work closely with Research and Development to inform the review, refinement and further development of evidence-based methods, including adaptation for humanitarian and evolving operational contexts.

Program Delivery and Sector Positioning:

• Oversee and support humanitarian preparedness and response, ensuring humanitarian priorities, capabilities and technical approaches are embedded and maintained across the organisation.
• Strengthen quality implementation across partnerships and country programmes, with attention to partner capacity, contextual relevance, safeguarding and accountability.
• Represent War Child externally in technical and sector forums, supporting the positioning of War Child’s evidence-based Care System approach and strengthening relationships with sector actors, partners and relevant networks. .

Each staff member is responsible for contributing to creating a culture committed to our mission, vision, internal safeguarding standards, JEDI ((Social) Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion) principles and the CHS (Core Humanitarian Standard) framework and are expected to actively promote this in their work. These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the role.

Technical Knowledge:

• Knowledge of technical programme quality, MEAL, humanitarian preparedness and response, and accountability approaches
• Understanding of evidence based practices, thematic programming, and how technical guidance supports quality implementation in partner-led contexts
• Understanding of internal and sector standards relevant to quality, safeguarding, humanitarian practice, and learning
• Ability to connect technical quality, learning, and evidence use with organisational priorities and practical programme delivery
• Ability to build trusted relationships across technical, operational, partner, and external stakeholder groups
• Communicates clearly and credibly in writing and in person, including on technical or high-stakes topics
• Uses judgement to balance rigour, adaptation, quality, and contextual relevance
• Works collaboratively across functions and supports shared ownership of learning, quality, and accountability
• Understands the importance of inclusion, safeguarding, integrity, and values-led leadership in technical and humanitarian practice

Experience:

• Led technical quality, MEAL, humanitarian, or programme support functions at senior level in a complex organisation
• Developed or applied technical guidance, frameworks, tools, or standards that strengthened programme quality, accountability, or learning
• Worked across partners, country teams, or technical functions to improve implementation quality, evidence use, or humanitarian readiness
• Oversaw monitoring, evaluation, reporting, learning, or accountability processes that informed programme quality and decision-making
• Supported the adaptation, contextualisation, or implementation of evidence-based or thematic approaches in different operational contexts
• Built and led specialist teams, providing direction, support, and professional development
• Worked in an international, humanitarian, development, networked, or values-led environment

Education:

• Relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent senior leadership experience in international development, humanitarian action, public health, psychology, education, social sciences, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required for this role.
• Additional languages may be useful depending on stakeholder groups and organisational context, for example Arabic, Dari, French, Spanish, or Ukrainian

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