Regional Director, Program Delivery Africa at Splash International

Roles & Responsibilities

Regional Program Leadership & Strategy Execution

• Translate Splash’s global WISE II framework into practical, sequenced regional and country specific delivery plans.
• Ensure alignment across infrastructure, behavior change, and systems to strengthen components.
• Sets and enforces delivery expectations with in-country program and infrastructure managers, leads formal milestone reviews, and intervenes directly when execution is at risk.
• Leads formal recovery plans when milestones are missed and holds responsible teams accountable for corrective action.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and work with Country Directors to resolve issues rapidly.
• Promote a culture of data driven delivery, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure milestones and quality standards are met consistently across all countries.

Program Quality, Impact & Accountability

• Owns unit-cost performance, cost variance, and capital efficiency across all deployments, and drives corrective action when projects drift.
• Maintains clear regional cost benchmarks and enforces corrective action when projects exceed approved thresholds.
• Lead regional review cycles to monitor progress, risks, and impact indicators.
• Ensure program delivery is on time, on budget, and aligned with donor commitments and MOUs.
• Strengthen quality assurance frameworks across infrastructure, behavior change, and O&M readiness.
• Maintain high standards of safeguarding, inclusivity, and child protection across all program activities.

Infrastructure Delivery Oversight & Governance

• Provide regional oversight of WASH infrastructure delivery and ensure adherence to Splash standards.
• Support country teams in contractor management, QA/QC systems, HSE compliance, and site level issue resolution.
• Ensure O&M planning is integrated from the outset and supported by national and subnational partners.
• Work closely with the Global Infrastructure Director to maintain engineering consistency and cost efficient standards.

Behavior Change & Menstrual Health (MH) Leadership

• Ensure Behavior Change (BC) programming is integrated with infrastructure delivery and aligned with curricula.
• Support country teams in strengthening teacher engagement, school ownership, and student led hygiene initiatives.
• Ensure MH programming is culturally appropriate, context specific, and delivered with fidelity.
• Coordinate with the Global Behavior Change Director to harmonize tools and training.

Government Partnership & Systems Strengthening

• Support Country Directors in developing, testing, and strengthening systems with implementing partners.
• Strengthen partner performance management, contract delivery, and quality assurance processes.
• Facilitate learning exchanges and ensure high value lessons are captured, synthesized, and shared across countries.
• Promote consistency in how country teams operationalize Splash’s delivery model.

People Leadership & Capacity Building

• Leads multi-country teams of Infrastructure and Program Managers fostering a culture of high performance.
• Provides direct support to Country Directors to navigate complex operational bottlenecks and high-stakes decision-making.
• Identifies regional capacity gaps and drives investments in training, tools, and professional development to ensure the team is future-ready.

Cross-Functional & Matrix Collaboration

• Operates in a high-touch matrix with Global Directors (Infrastructure and Behavior Change) to ensure regional execution meets global technical excellence and innovation standards.
• Partners with Regional Finance and Operations to manage complex budgets, multi-country procurement, and compliance.
• Collaborates with MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning) and Fundraising teams to ensure that real-world delivery data informs future proposals and global learning.
• Establishes clear decision rights and communication protocols between regional headquarters, country offices, and the global leadership team.

Partnership Stewardship & Regional Learning

• Oversees the selection and management of local implementing partners, ensuring they are not just "contractors" but are fully aligned with Splash’s values and quality standards.
• Creates a structured way for country teams to share what’s working and what isn’t.
•  Acts as the regional editor for lessons learned. Instead of just sharing every report, the Director identifies the high-impact "nuggets" of wisdom—technical or behavioral—that should be scaled across Project WISE II.
• Identifies where local partners may be struggling and directs resources or training to help them improve, ensuring the entire "delivery ecosystem" gets stronger over time.
• Uses the lessons from the field to provide real-world evidence for donor reports and high-level government meetings, proving that our model is both effective and adaptable.

Qualifications

Core Competencies

• Exceptional ability to lead across a matrix structure, influencing global technical teams and local country directors simultaneously without direct line-authority in every instance.
• A data-driven mindset. This candidate lives by KPIs and Gantt charts but uses them as tools for adaptive management rather than just static reporting.
• A high degree of emotional intelligence (EQ) and cultural humility. They must be as comfortable presenting in a Ministry boardroom, collaborating with the local implementing partners as they are conducting a site visit at a rural school.
• The ability to see "around the corner"—identifying potential supply chain, political, or financial risks before they impact delivery timelines.

Education

• A master's degree in international development, Public Health, Engineering, Public Administration, or a related field is expected.

The Ideal Candidate

• You are a strategic operator who loves translating vision into practical, sequenced action. You thrive in complex environments, can navigate multi-country delivery systems, and inspire cross functional teams. You bring humility, energy, and a commitment to excellence — along with deep experience implementing large, multisector programs in Africa.

Experience and Background

• Proven Leadership in Scale: 10–15+ years of progressive leadership experience in international development, specifically overseeing large-scale, multi-country WASH, BC and MH portfolios.
• Regional Expertise: A deep understanding of the socio-political and operational landscapes of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Technical Versatility: While not necessarily a specialized engineer, the candidate must possess the "technical literacy" to lead both high-stakes construction projects and complex behavioral science initiatives.
• Government & Policy Influence: A track record of engaging with National Ministries and city-level authorities to move programs from "non-profit initiatives" to "government-owned systems."

Compensation & Benefits

What We Offer

• 21 days of paid leave (increasing by 2 days each year up to 28 days).
• 11 paid public holidays.
• Wellness Fridays (reduced working hours).
• Two company-wide breaks (July and December).
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Employer contributions to NAPSA.
• A joyful, inclusive, and mission-driven culture.