Job ID
50752
Job Title
Director of Programmes
To work for
Action For Humanity
Country
Syria
City
Damascus
Field of Work
R&D | Projects - Humanitarian/Disasters
Job Type
Full time
Minimum Education Level
Bachelor/ License Degree
Qualifications
Essential Experience and Technical Requirements
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian, early recovery, development, or resilience programming, including at least 5 years in a senior programme leadership role with an international NGO or comparable organisation.
• Demonstrated success leading a large, complex, multi-sector and multi-location country portfolio, preferably in Syria or a similarly fragile, conflict-affected, and highly regulated operating environment.
• Proven experience developing country programme strategies and translating them into fundable, operationally realistic portfolios and measurable results.
• Strong record in programme design, proposal leadership, donor engagement, grants management, reporting, budget oversight, risk management, and delivery of complex awards.
• Demonstrated experience managing institutional funding from major governmental, multilateral, UN, pooled-fund, foundation, or private donors; familiarity with common donor compliance frameworks is required.
• Strong knowledge of programme cycle management, results-based management, MEAL, accountability to affected populations, safeguarding, protection mainstreaming, conflict sensitivity, partnership management, and humanitarian quality standards.
• Proven ability to lead and develop geographically dispersed, multidisciplinary teams and to manage performance through clear objectives, coaching, delegation, and accountability.
• Strong understanding of the humanitarian and recovery context in Syria, including displacement and return dynamics, coordination architecture, access constraints, localisation, regulatory considerations, and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
• Excellent analytical, decision-making, negotiation, facilitation, representation, and written communication skills, including the ability to present complex programme and risk issues clearly to senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Professional fluency in English and Arabic, both written and spoken.
Desirable Experience
• Previous experience as a Director of Programmes, Deputy Country Director - Programmes, Head of Programmes, or an equivalent country-level leadership position.
• Experience managing programmes delivered through national partners, consortia, remote-management arrangements, and direct implementation.
• Experience of organisational transition, programme restructuring, portfolio consolidation or growth, and strengthening country-level systems and programme governance.
• Technical familiarity with one or more AFH Syria programme areas, while retaining the ability to lead a diverse multi-sector portfolio.
Core Leadership Competencies
• Strategic thinking and sound judgement: connects context, evidence, risk, resources, and organisational priorities to make timely and defensible decisions.
• Programme leadership and accountability: sets high standards, maintains oversight without micromanagement, and takes responsibility for portfolio performance and corrective action.
• People leadership: builds trust, develops others, delegates effectively, manages conflict and performance fairly, and creates inclusive and psychologically safe teams.
• Collaboration and influence: works constructively across functions and organisational levels and builds credible relationships with donors, authorities, partners, and coordination actors.
• Adaptability and resilience: remains composed and solutions-focused under pressure and can lead through ambiguity, rapid change, competing priorities, and operational constraints.
• Integrity and humanitarian commitment: demonstrates impartiality, independence, transparency, respect, confidentiality, and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding and affected populations.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian, early recovery, development, or resilience programming, including at least 5 years in a senior programme leadership role with an international NGO or comparable organisation.
• Demonstrated success leading a large, complex, multi-sector and multi-location country portfolio, preferably in Syria or a similarly fragile, conflict-affected, and highly regulated operating environment.
• Proven experience developing country programme strategies and translating them into fundable, operationally realistic portfolios and measurable results.
• Strong record in programme design, proposal leadership, donor engagement, grants management, reporting, budget oversight, risk management, and delivery of complex awards.
• Demonstrated experience managing institutional funding from major governmental, multilateral, UN, pooled-fund, foundation, or private donors; familiarity with common donor compliance frameworks is required.
• Strong knowledge of programme cycle management, results-based management, MEAL, accountability to affected populations, safeguarding, protection mainstreaming, conflict sensitivity, partnership management, and humanitarian quality standards.
• Proven ability to lead and develop geographically dispersed, multidisciplinary teams and to manage performance through clear objectives, coaching, delegation, and accountability.
• Strong understanding of the humanitarian and recovery context in Syria, including displacement and return dynamics, coordination architecture, access constraints, localisation, regulatory considerations, and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
• Excellent analytical, decision-making, negotiation, facilitation, representation, and written communication skills, including the ability to present complex programme and risk issues clearly to senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Professional fluency in English and Arabic, both written and spoken.
Desirable Experience
• Previous experience as a Director of Programmes, Deputy Country Director - Programmes, Head of Programmes, or an equivalent country-level leadership position.
• Experience managing programmes delivered through national partners, consortia, remote-management arrangements, and direct implementation.
• Experience of organisational transition, programme restructuring, portfolio consolidation or growth, and strengthening country-level systems and programme governance.
• Technical familiarity with one or more AFH Syria programme areas, while retaining the ability to lead a diverse multi-sector portfolio.
Core Leadership Competencies
• Strategic thinking and sound judgement: connects context, evidence, risk, resources, and organisational priorities to make timely and defensible decisions.
• Programme leadership and accountability: sets high standards, maintains oversight without micromanagement, and takes responsibility for portfolio performance and corrective action.
• People leadership: builds trust, develops others, delegates effectively, manages conflict and performance fairly, and creates inclusive and psychologically safe teams.
• Collaboration and influence: works constructively across functions and organisational levels and builds credible relationships with donors, authorities, partners, and coordination actors.
• Adaptability and resilience: remains composed and solutions-focused under pressure and can lead through ambiguity, rapid change, competing priorities, and operational constraints.
• Integrity and humanitarian commitment: demonstrates impartiality, independence, transparency, respect, confidentiality, and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding and affected populations.
Salary and Benefits
N/A
About us
Action for Humanity is an international humanitarian organization committed to delivering life-saving assistance and sustainable support to individuals and communities affected by conflict, displacement, and natural disasters. The organization implements comprehensive programs in emergency relief, healthcare, education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihoods, and child protection. Through its strategic interventions, Action for Humanity seeks to alleviate human suffering, uphold dignity, and foster resilience among vulnerable populations, ensuring that humanitarian principles and accountability guide all aspects of its work.
Required employees number
1
Posted On
Sep 03, 2026
Expiry Date
Oct 03, 2026