Chief Programs Officer

About Vitamin Angels

Vitamin Angels (VA) is a global health organization working to improve the health and nutrition of women and children by delivering proven nutrition solutions where they are needed most. Through long-standing partnerships with governments, local organizations, multilateral agencies, and the private sector, VA helps strengthen health systems and expand access to evidence-based nutrition interventions that save lives and improve health outcomes.

Today, Vitamin Angels reaches more than 74 million women and children annually across 57 countries. Building on more than three decades of impact, the organization has embarked on an ambitious new strategic direction—Science. Systems. Scale. —focused on advancing scientific leadership, strengthening sustainable health systems, and accelerating country-owned solutions that create lasting impact.

Vitamin Angel’s work is guided by the following principles: Women and Children are always at the core of what we do, High-Impact Science, Agility with Purpose, Partnerships & Collaboration, and Sustainability and Scalability.

The Vitamin Angels Way of Working is based on those guiding principles and five behaviors: Collaboration and Inclusivity; Integrity, Kindness, and Respect; Solution/Action Orientation; Accountability and Global Mindset; and Innovation and Learning.

Joining Vitamin Angels means joining an organization that combines scientific rigor, operational excellence, and deep partnerships with a bold ambition: ensuring every woman and child has the health and nutrition they need to thrive.

Job Summary

This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of one of the world’s leading nutrition organizations at a defining moment in its evolution.

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief Programs Officer (CPO) will join a newly formed Senior Leadership Team (SLT) responsible for shaping and delivering VA’s 2030 strategy while helping define the organization’s ambitions beyond 2030. As a key member of the SLT, the CPO will be the main executive leader responsible for shaping the future of VA’s Global Programs portfolio and maximizing the organization’s impact on the health and nutrition of women and children worldwide.

Main tasks include:

1. The CPO will lead a high-impact, multi-region Global Programs portfolio, influence the future of nutrition within the global health community, strengthen partnerships with governments and donors, and in partnership with the Chief Development Officer, mobilize the resources needed to expand VA’s impact for generations to come.
2. The CPO will provide strategic and operational leadership for VA’s Global Programs portfolio, ensuring that scientific evidence, including the Initiative to Advance Implementation Science in Nutrition, implementation expertise, government partnerships, local partnerships, strategic alliances, and organizational resources are translated into high impact, integrated, sustainable solutions at scale.
3. Together with the Chief Development Officer (CDO), the CPO will co-lead VA’s resource mobilization efforts by engaging donors and strategic partners, shaping compelling investment cases, and translating the organization’s impact, scientific leadership, and implementation expertise into sustainable opportunities for growth and scale.
4. As a key external ambassador, the CPO will strengthen VA’s influence within the global health and development ecosystem.
5. As a leading advocate for nutrition as a foundational investment in health, human capital, and economic development, the CPO will help shape global dialogue, influence priorities, and position VA as a trusted partner advancing sustainable impact at scale.

For an accomplished global health leader, this role offers a rare opportunity to combine scientific credibility, operational leadership, systems change, external influence, and enterprise leadership to improve the lives of millions of women and children around the world.

1. Global Program Leadership, Strategy, Impact & Performance

Lead the vision, strategy, execution, and performance of VA’s Global Programs portfolio, ensuring measurable health impact and alignment with the organization’s long-term strategy.

• Define and execute VA’s global Programs strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission and long-term strategic priorities.
• Lead the Global Programs portfolio in alignment with VA’s Guiding Principles, ensuring decisions are evidence-driven, strengthen systems, remain agile, and create sustainable impact at scale.
• Lead the delivery of measurable health and nutrition outcomes across all programs, regions, and interventions.
• Drive operational excellence, accountability, and performance through clear objectives, data-driven decision making, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective stewardship of program resources while balancing quality, efficiency, innovation, and impact.

2. Science, Evidence, Innovation & Technical Leadership

Advance scientific excellence, implementation science, innovation, and evidence generation to strengthen program quality, influence policy, and continuously improve impact.

• Advance scientific excellence and technical leadership across the organization, ensuring programs remain evidence-based and globally relevant.
• Champion implementation science, innovation, and organizational learning, ensuring decisions remain evidence-driven and continuously improve impact.
• Lead the organization’s monitoring, evaluation, learning, and knowledge management agenda, fostering a culture of continuous learning and using data and evidence to strengthen programs, inform strategic decisions, and demonstrate impact.
• Provide executive sponsorship and strategic oversight for the Initiative to Advance Implementation Science in Nutrition in advancing VA’s strategic priorities and programmatic impact.
• Provide strategic leadership and executive oversight for the Initiative to Advance Implementation Science in Nutrition, ensuring that its scientific agenda, led by the Principal Investigator, advances VA’s strategic priorities, strengthens program effectiveness, and expands the organization’s global influence.
• Anticipate emerging scientific, technological, and policy trends and position VA to lead future opportunities.

3. Strategic Partnerships, Resource Mobilization & Organizational Growth

Co-lead enterprise growth with the CDO by building strategic partnerships, engaging donors, shaping investment cases, and expanding resources to maximize impact.

• Together with the CDO, co-lead enterprise resource mobilization by engaging strategic donors, corporate partners, foundations, governments, and investors.
• Shape compelling investment cases by translating scientific evidence, implementation expertise, and program impact into opportunities for sustainable growth.
• Represent programs in strategic donor engagements, proposal development, and partnership stewardship.
• Identify opportunities to expand VA’s geographic reach, technical portfolio, and long-term organizational impact.

4. Government Engagement, Systems Strengthening & Sustainable Scale

Strengthen government and strategic partner relationships to accelerate the integration of nutrition into health systems and scale sustainable, country-owned solutions.

• Strengthen and expand strategic partnerships with governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs, academia, and implementing partners.
• Lead efforts to integrate VA’s interventions into sustainable, country-owned health systems, advancing systems integration across the organization.
• Ensure program delivery models are scalable, resilient, and responsive to evolving country and community needs.
• Strengthen global supply chain and implementation systems to maximize reach, quality, and long-term sustainability.

5. Executive Leadership, Talent & Global Influence

Build a high-performing Programs organization, develop future leaders, foster cross-functional collaboration, and serve as a global ambassador and thought leader for VA and nutrition.

• Build, inspire, and develop a high-performing Global Programs organization that reflects VA’s behaviors and principles.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning across programs and the broader organization.
• Serve as a key member of the SLT, contributing to enterprise strategy, organizational effectiveness, and cross-functional decision-making.
• Represent VA as a trusted global leader and advocate, elevating the role of nutrition within global health, human capital, and economic development agendas.

1. Programmatic Leadership & Organizational Transformation

• Proven programmatic leadership experience within global health, nutrition, international development, humanitarian assistance, or related sectors, with responsibility for organizational strategy, execution, performance, and measurable impact.
• Demonstrated success leading large, geographically dispersed teams and complex multi-country programs through growth, transformation, and organizational change.
• Enterprise mindset with a track record of leading across functions, influencing beyond direct authority, and contributing to organization-wide priorities.
• Experience managing complex organizations, strategic partnerships, and significant program portfolios and budgets (managing multi-million-dollar, multi-country budgets across diverse funding streams).
• Significant C-suite level experience highly desirable.

2. Scientific & Technical Credibility

• Deep expertise in maternal and child nutrition, implementation science, public health, health systems strengthening, or closely related disciplines.
• Strong scientific credibility with the ability to translate evidence into scalable programs, policy influence, and sustainable health outcomes.
• Experience leading implementation science, monitoring, evaluation and learning, or technical innovation to strengthen organizational impact.
• Ability to anticipate emerging scientific, technological, and policy trends and position organizations at the forefront of innovation.

3. Strategic Growth & Resource Mobilization

• Track record of partnering with fundraising teams to develop compelling investment cases, engage strategic donors and partners, and mobilize resources for organizational growth.
• Understanding of institutional funding landscapes, strategic partnerships, and business development approaches that enable long-term sustainability.
• Demonstrated ability to connect scientific leadership, programmatic impact, and organizational strategy to create opportunities for sustainable growth and scale.

4. Government, Global Influence & Strategic Partnerships

• Demonstrated success strengthening relationships with governments, multilateral organizations, academia, NGOs, and strategic partners to advance sustainable, country-owned solutions.
• Experience influencing policy, shaping global dialogue, and building coalitions that accelerate impact at scale.
• Recognized ability to represent organizations with senior government officials, institutional donors, multilateral organizations, and international forums.
• Experience engaging major institutional donors, bilateral agencies, multilateral organizations, and philanthropic foundations (e.g., UNICEF, Gates Foundation, World Bank, Global Affairs Canada, FCDO, USAID, Gavi, CIFF, or similar organizations).
• Significant lived and professional experience working in and across low-and middle-income countries, with credibility to lead and partner authentically in the regions where VA operates.

5. Leadership Style & Personal Attributes

• Visionary yet pragmatic leader who combines scientific rigor with operational excellence.
• Collaborative enterprise leader who builds trust, develops leaders, and fosters high-performing, mission-driven teams.
• Exceptional communicator, relationship builder, and systems thinker with the ability to navigate complexity and influence diverse stakeholders.
• Courageous decision-maker who demonstrates humility, curiosity, resilience, integrity, and sound judgment.
• Passionate advocate for nutrition as a driver of health, human capital, and economic development.

Leadership Behaviors

At VA, how results are achieved is as important as what these results are. The organization seeks leaders who consistently model its Guiding Behaviors in their decisions, relationships, and actions:

• Collaboration and Inclusivity – Builds trusted relationships, values diverse perspectives, and fosters a culture of One Team across functions, partners, and geographies.
• Integrity, Kindness, and Respect – Leads with authenticity, transparency, humility, and the highest ethical standards.
• Solution/Action Orientation – Navigates complexity with curiosity and pragmatism, focusing on opportunities, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Accountability and Global Mindset – Sets ambitious goals, delivers results, takes ownership, and empowers others to do the same.
• Innovation and Learning – Challenges conventional thinking, embraces learning, and continuously seeks better ways to improve impact for women and children.

Education

• Advanced degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Public Health, Nutrition, Global Health, Medicine, International Development, Health Policy, or a related discipline required.
• Doctoral degree (PhD, DrPH, MD, or equivalent) preferred.
• Equivalent combinations of education, executive leadership experience, and demonstrated impact will also be considered.

Travel

• Ability and willingness to travel internationally (up to 30%) on a regular basis.

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