Cordaid is hiring a Regional Director to provide strategic leadership, oversee regional programs and manage partnerships. The role is based in Nairobi and senior leadership experience is required.

Responsibilities or duties

Regional Strategy & Leadership: Lead the HECSA regional strategy and ensure alignment with global strategies and locally led development commitments. Set regional priorities, guide portfolio and resource choices, resolve cross-functional bottlenecks, and contribute to organization-wide leadership through the Senior Leadership Team.

Partner Ecosystem & Locally Led Development: Set the strategic direction for partnership practices and ecosystem development. Ensure mutual accountability through clear expectations, performance dialogue, and transparent feedback mechanisms, creating an enabling environment for equitable, context-driven partnerships.

External Representation & Political Engagement: Represent Cordaid at the highest levels with governments, institutional donors, regional networks, civil society platforms, and private-sector actors. Use contextual, political, economic, and security analysis to inform organizational positioning and decision-making in sensitive environments.

Portfolio Performance & Financial Resilience: Hold overall accountability for the financial health and performance of the regional portfolio against agreed KPIs (quality, partner satisfaction, risk management). Set priorities and make strategic trade-offs across countries, partners, investments, and opportunity pipelines.

Humanitarian Preparedness & Response: Provide strategic oversight of the regional humanitarian portfolio, preparedness, and response readiness. Provide strategic direction during crises to ensure coherent regional decision-making and alignment with core international humanitarian standards.

Risk, Safeguarding, Safety & Compliance: Ensure regional risks are identified, addressed, and escalated in a timely manner. Provide strong safety and security leadership, including duty of care for staff and partners, and collaborate with Shared Services to uphold formal compliance, legal, procurement, and HR policies.

Quality, Evidence & Learning: Ensure that evidence, learning, partner feedback, and performance information are structurally embedded into regional decision-making, portfolio reviews, and strategic priority settings.

People Leadership & Change Management: Lead, support, and develop the senior regional management team. Shape an entrepreneurial, open, and accountable regional culture, driving the implementation of new ways of working and embedding clear decision-making processes.

Qualifications or requirements

Experience needed

• At least 10 years of senior leadership experience in Horn, Eastern, Central, or Southern Africa, or comparable fragile and politically complex contexts.
• Strong experience in regional leadership, strategic partnership stewardship, external representation, portfolio oversight, and resource mobilization.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with senior political, donor, government, civil society, and private-sector network actors.
• A strong understanding of locally led development, partner-led programming, humanitarian preparedness, risk management, safeguarding, safety, and compliance in fragile settings.
• In-depth knowledge of the application of Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS), Sphere standards, Pledge for Change, and Grand Bargain commitments.
• Proven ability to build strategic partnerships, support co-creation, strengthen funding pipelines, and lead multi-country or distributed teams through organizational change.
• You recognize yourself in Cordaid’s mission and values.

• Lead the HECSA regional strategy and ensure alignment with global strategies and locally led development commitments.
• Set regional priorities, guide portfolio and resource choices, resolve cross-functional bottlenecks, and contribute to organization-wide leadership through the Senior Leadership Team.
• Set the strategic direction for partnership practices and ecosystem development.
• Ensure mutual accountability through clear expectations, performance dialogue, and transparent feedback mechanisms, creating an enabling environment for equitable, context-driven partnerships.
• Represent Cordaid at the highest levels with governments, institutional donors, regional networks, civil society platforms, and private-sector actors.
• Use contextual, political, economic, and security analysis to inform organizational positioning and decision-making in sensitive environments.
• Hold overall accountability for the financial health and performance of the regional portfolio against agreed KPIs (quality, partner satisfaction, risk management).
• Set priorities and make strategic trade-offs across countries, partners, investments, and opportunity pipelines.
• Provide strategic oversight of the regional humanitarian portfolio, preparedness, and response readiness.
• Provide strategic direction during crises to ensure coherent regional decision-making and alignment with core international humanitarian standards.
• Ensure regional risks are identified, addressed, and escalated in a timely manner.
• Provide strong safety and security leadership, including duty of care for staff and partners, and collaborate with Shared Services to uphold formal compliance, legal, procurement, and HR policies.
• Ensure that evidence, learning, partner feedback, and performance information are structurally embedded into regional decision-making, portfolio reviews, and strategic priority settings.
• Lead, support, and develop the senior regional management team.
• Shape an entrepreneurial, open, and accountable regional culture, driving the implementation of new ways of working and embedding clear decision-making processes.

• Regional leadership
• Strategic partnership stewardship
• External representation
• Portfolio oversight
• Resource mobilization
• Engaging with senior political, donor, government, civil society, and private-sector network actors
• Locally led development
• Partner-led programming
• Humanitarian preparedness
• Risk management
• Safeguarding
• Safety
• Compliance in fragile settings
• Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS)
• Sphere standards
• Pledge for Change
• Grand Bargain commitments
• Building strategic partnerships
• Supporting co-creation
• Strengthening funding pipelines
• Leading multi-country or distributed teams through organizational change
• English fluency

• Advanced degree (Master’s or equivalent) in International Development, Political Science, Public Administration, Humanitarian Studies, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of senior leadership experience in Horn, Eastern, Central, or Southern Africa, or comparable fragile and politically complex contexts.
• Strong experience in regional leadership, strategic partnership stewardship, external representation, portfolio oversight, and resource mobilization.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with senior political, donor, government, civil society, and private-sector network actors.
• A strong understanding of locally led development, partner-led programming, humanitarian preparedness, risk management, safeguarding, safety, and compliance in fragile settings.
• In-depth knowledge of the application of Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS), Sphere standards, Pledge for Change, and Grand Bargain commitments.
• Proven ability to build strategic partnerships, support co-creation, strengthen funding pipelines, and lead multi-country or distributed teams through organizational change.
• Fluent in English.
• Knowledge of French, Arabic, Portuguese, or relevant regional languages is a distinct asset.
• Recognition of Cordaid’s mission and values.