Country Director, Afghanistan

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a
Country Director, Afghanistan
to join our team.

Since 1972,
Save the Children
has been a pivotal force in Afghanistan, supporting vulnerable populations - particularly children and communities affected by conflict. Our comprehensive programming spans Child Protection, Education, Health & Nutrition, and Food Security & Livelihoods, including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and home-based economies. We are currently delivering lifesaving and resilience-focused assistance to hundreds of thousands of children and their families, while also supporting longer-term recovery and access to basic services.

As the
Country Director
for Afghanistan, you will lead one of Save the Children's most complex and high-profile country programs. You will be responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality programs and strategic advocacy, aligned with our vision and commitment to children's rights. In the event of a major humanitarian crisis, you will be expected to adapt and work beyond regular hours to lead the response.

You will oversee an annual portfolio of approximately $70 million and manage a team of nearly 1,500. Working closely with Save the Children Member offices and Asia offices, you will drive improvements in program quality, operational excellence, and growth—ensuring we deliver lasting change and achieve breakthroughs for children in Afghanistan.

Job Title:
Country Director, Afghanistan

Reports To:
Regional Director, Asia

Work Pattern:
On-site

Contract Length:
Permanent/Open-ended

Grade:
Executive, M5

Location:
Kabul, Afghanistan

Time Zone
(that the role holder
must
be available to work in)
:
Afghanistan (UTC +4:30)

Language Requirements:
English

Travel Requirements:
up to 30% (mainly in-country)

Budget Responsibility:
$70 million approx.

People Management Responsibility:
Manager of multiple teams; 9 direct reports; approx. 700 indirect reports + 800 incentive/volunteer staff

Principal Accountabilities (
see full
role profile)

As a member of the Regional Senior Leadership Team, contribute to strategic development and delivery of international programming, in both humanitarian and development contexts, in line with the Save the Children mandate, strategy and theory of change.

Strategic leadership:

• Provide vision and direction for the Afghanistan Country Programme.
• Lead a high-performing Senior Management Team (SMT) to deliver against the country strategic plan and model organisational values and behaviours.
• Lead the implementation of the Country Strategic Plan and ensure regular review against strategic objectives, indicators, and performance targets.
• Represent Save the Children in key humanitarian coordination mechanisms such as ACBAR, the Inter-Cluster Coordination Team (ICCT), cluster working groups, and other relevant forums to ensure strong sectoral leadership, coordination, and advocacy.
• Advocate for humanitarian principles, the protection of civilians, and the rights of children with donors, peers, and de facto authorities, maintaining Save the Children's neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

Programme Development and Management

• Develop and maintain efficient operating systems, ensuring compliance with all Save the Children International standards and procedures.
• Develop strong programme designs and operational plans that address significant issues facing children, aligned with Save the Children's strategy and theory of change.
• Prepare for and implement rapid, effective responses to major emergencies affecting children, building relationships with key humanitarian and development partners.

Security and Risks management

• Improve identification, management, and communication of key organisational and operational risks and mitigations, in line with the Save the Children risk management framework.
• Ensure compliance with global policies and standards, including Safety and Security, and Child Safeguarding.

Financial and Admin Management

• Ensure effective financial budgeting and management systems, processes, and controls are in place and compliant with operating standards and local legal requirements.
• Ensure compliance with all host government requirements regarding registration, taxation, labour law, auditing, and fraud.

Experience and Skills

1. Accomplished senior leader with significant experience in complex, high-risk, and politically sensitive environments, preferably within large international humanitarian or development organisations.
2. Proven experience managing humanitarian operations and security in conflict-affected settings, with strong crisis management skills.
3. Deep understanding of humanitarian principles, access negotiations, and the operational realities of delivering aid in restricted and volatile contexts.
4. Demonstrated ability to build and maintain principled, constructive relationships with de facto authorities, national and sub-national government actors, and humanitarian coordination bodies.
5. Strong track record of representing organisations in high-level forums such as INGO Forums, clusters, donor coordination groups, and HCT platforms.
6. Successful history of mobilising large-scale, multi-donor funding, including from institutional donors such as World Bank EU, ECHO, FCDO, and Corporate agencies.
7. Demonstrated leadership in managing large, diverse teams and building national leadership, with a focus on gender balance, localisation, and staff safety and wellbeing.
8. Highly developed problem-solving, negotiation, and decision-making skills, with the ability to maintain strategic focus and operational excellence under pressure.
9. Strong financial, operational, and programmatic oversight capabilities in large-scale, multi-sector programs.
10. Knowledge of the political, cultural, and humanitarian landscape in Afghanistan (highly preferred) or comparable contexts in South Asia or the Middle East.

Essential Education and Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent professional experience in relevant fields

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy,
Ambition for Children 2030
, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter (in a combined document) with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found here via the job listing. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 3 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our recruitment process:

• Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
• Three-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team including SCI Senior Leadership.
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.