Ipas · 21 hours ago
Program Support Director, East & Southern Africa
Chapel Hill, NC
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
15+ years expIpas is a global organization focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and they are seeking a Program Support Director for their East and Southern Africa programs. This senior leadership role will provide strategic and technical oversight to multiple regional and country programs, ensuring program quality, alignment with organizational strategy, and effective delivery of high-impact interventions.
HealthcareHealth Care
Responsibilities
Provide strategic direction and oversight to assigned regional and country programs, ensure alignment with Ipas’s vision, mission, values, strategy, global standards, and regional priorities
Support regional and country leadership in translating organizational strategy into high-quality, contextually relevant program plans
Maintain a high-level focus on project program and financial results and adherence to Ipas quality standards; Provide feedback and assistance when problems are noted
Represent Ipas on the local Boards of country teams, as needed
Participate in global strategic initiatives and other organizational development efforts to strengthen the Ipas Network, such as global strategic planning, expanding implementation of shared leadership practices and risk management
Provide high-level strategic inputs and assistance in project design, planning, implementation, and monitoring, with a focus on addressing challenges and problem solving with assigned regional and country teams
Provide technical oversight across core programmatic areas of abortion and contraceptive care, including intersectional areas of youth, gender equality, GBV prevention/response, climate change, and reproductive justice, etc
Oversee reviews and feedback mechanisms to ensure adherence to Ipas quality standards, local laws and regulations, and standard accounting and business practices
Lead or support technical reviews, program assessments, and learning initiatives
Serve as the primary focal point for assigned regional and country programs, providing regular programmatic support and oversight
Promote strong communication, collaboration, and cross learning among Ipas network technical and support units, and other country programs to strengthen programmatic and operational results
Support Regional Directors (RDs), Country Directors (CDs) and Senior Program Managers (SPMs) in addressing implementation challenges, risk management, and adaptive programming
Contribute to developing/updating and implementing strong regional/country strategic plans as requested, ensuring alignment with the Ipas mission and strategic framework
Provide coaching and support to Regional and Country Directors in recruiting and developing a high functioning team that practices shared leadership and maintains a positive and effective work culture
Review and provide feedback on annual work plans, budgets, reports, and key deliverables
Oversee the strengthening of a variety of mechanisms to support a positive and effective work culture, organizational learning, sharing, and peer support across teams
Work closely with the COO and Dy. COO to support start-up, scale-up, and close-out of country programs
Provide supportive supervision and manage the performance of direct reports which include Country Directors, Regional Directors and Senior Program Managers
Provide mentorship, thought leadership and technical support to regional/country program teams and direct reports from the Program Support Team
Support capacity strengthening of regional/country teams in program management, technical areas, financial and donor compliance
Promote organizational training and other capacity strengthening efforts as needed
Foster a collaborative and high-performing culture and promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the assigned teams as well as across the network
Ensure programs comply with donor requirements and organizational policies
Support resource mobilization efforts by contributing to proposal development, donor briefings, and strategic partnerships. Contribute to new business development efforts as requested, working closely with regional/country and other teams, including donor cultivation, project design, and bringing a strong program management perspective in proposal development processes
Oversee that new business efforts and proposals are well aligned with the country program’s strategic plan, Ipas strategic framework, the Ipas quality standards, technical excellence and innovation, good stewardship of funding, and optimal cost recovery
Represent Ipas in donor meetings, technical forums, and external engagements as required
Ensure timely identification and mitigation of programmatic, operational, and reputational risks
Promote safeguarding, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), and ethical programming across all supported programs
Ensure adherence to organizational policies on safeguarding, gender equality, and inclusion
Responsible for the oversight of Ipas interests and reputation. Responsibilities include but are not limited to oversight on adherence to policies, performance against the annual operating budget, addressing audit findings and ethical issues, and compliance with donor requirements
Work closely with regional and country leaders and other Ipas units to ensure there are adequate internal controls to reduce the risk of fraud and mismanagement of funds; Play an internal control function where needed, such as to reduce perceived or actual conflict of interest with regional and country leader decisions
Promote strong monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning practices across assigned regional and country programs
Support the use of data for decision-making, learning, and program improvement
Encourage documentation of best practices, innovations, and lessons learned across all projects
Qualification
Required
Commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially safe abortion and access to contraception, and an understanding of principles, policies, and best practices related to sexual and reproductive health, and related intersectionality
Sound political economy understanding of the East & Southern Africa region and knowledge of the issues and context of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Africa region, including demonstrated experience working with NGOs in Africa, preferably based in an Ipas implementing country in African region
Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment through supportive supervision, strong communication and teamwork, and shared leadership approaches, including demonstrated successes in program management, team leadership, strategic planning and problem solving
Strategic stakeholder management skills with proven ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with a variety of partners, including government officials, regional or global donors and partner organizations. Ability to work across cultures and manage complex relationships remotely
Demonstrated ability to work effectively across cultures, and to manage the complexity of multi-country programs and stakeholder relationships remotely
Strategic expertise in risk, compliance, and governance management, and anticipating regional and network-wide risks while strengthening and supporting effective local board governance in the region
Demonstrated experience overseeing large, complex grant awards and operations portfolios—strengthening finance and operational architecture and driving cross-country integration to deliver efficient, compliant, and high-performing programs
A highly mature regional leader who navigates multi-country complexity with advisory and as an ‘enabler', practices shared leadership, balances strategy with execution, and builds strong teams that deliver sustained performance while respecting and preserving country-level ownership
At least 15 years of increasing responsibility in non-profit leadership and program management in the international development or NGO-sector
Minimum of 7 years of senior program leadership experience overseeing multiple country programs and proven ability to provide strategic and technical oversight across diverse country contexts
Strong experience managing donor-funded programs (e.g., bilateral, multilateral, foundations)
Relevant postgraduate degree (e.g., MBA, MIA, MPH)
Respect and credibility as an advocate for reproductive health and rights
Strong advocacy and speaking skills in a context of stigma and opposition
Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
Preferred
Knowledge of local languages will be considered as an added asset
Company
Ipas
Ipas works globally to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Ipas has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1)
2024 (2)
2023 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Anu Kumar
President and CEO
Lucy Chan
Chief Financial Officer
Company data provided by crunchbase