Head of Gulf Partnerships & Engagement Unit

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Head of Gulf Partnerships & Engagement Unit to join our global team.

Team and Job Purpose

The newly established Gulf Development Unit will provide strategic leadership and direction on Gulf partnerships and engagement across Save the Children. The unit will be responsible for positioning Save the Children for long term programme funding growth- optimising and aligning our local-to-global programme funding portfolio and driving continuous improvements in Gulf donor partnerships, practices and capabilities. The Gulf Development Unit will lead a coordinated, regionally driven strategy to position Save the Children to unlock programme funding and influence across priority Gulf markets in line with our organisational rebound strategy in response to the US EO impacts.

The Unit is being established to address current fragmentation and under-leveraged Gulf engagement, consolidating growing donor interest into a coherent long-term programme funding and influence strategy for Save the Children.

Role purpose

Serve as SCI’s senior external engagement lead for the Gulf. The role will drive visibility, positioning and relationship-building with governments, foundations and philanthropic actors in priority Gulf markets. Internally, it will ensure effective and timely stakeholder engagement with Save the Children Global Teams and interested Save the Children members. The post holder leads the Gulf Development Unit, sets strategy and quarterly workplans, and is accountable for pipeline growth and conversion, stakeholder stewardship, and delivery of plans in line with the broader organistional rebound strategy. Day-to-day the role reports to the Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe (MENAEE) and is accountable to the Gulf Steering Group for strategy, performance and risk management. Technical alignment on programme funding systems, capture governance, and metrics will be ensured in coordination with the MENAEE Head of Programme Funding and the Global Programme Funding Team.

Job Title: Head of Gulf Partnerships & Engagement Unit

Reports To: MENAEE Regional Director

Work Pattern: Hybrid/Remote with flexible working options available 

Contract Length: Fixed Term Contract 2 years

Grade: M4

Location: Any existing SCI office location in MENAEE. For a full list of locations that Save the Children International can hire in, please visit: SCI Careers

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

Right to Work: The successful candidate must possess the unrestricted right to work in their current or preferred location for the duration of employment. 

Language Requirements: English and Arabic required

International Travel Requirements: Yes, up to 40% 

Budget Responsibility: Responsible for influencing and prioritising use of the Gulf Development Fund; no direct budget holder initially.

People Management Responsibility: Number of people managed in total: 2

Manager of a team: yes

Team Manager (manager of multiple teams): No

Principal Accountabilities

• Leads SCI/A strategic market positioning for the Gulf, set out in a new Gulf Market Development & Engagement Strategy - shaping segmentation, influence and visibility pathways aligned with KSA, UAE and Qatar opportunity profiles. 
• Establish quality external representation across the Gulf, ensuring SCI/A’s presence with senior Gulf stakeholders is effectively coordinated, visible and aligned to the movement’s strategic outcomes.
• Represent SCI with senior stakeholders and at external events; ensuring culturally appropriate engagement, visibility and stewardship in line with SCI priorities and standards.
• Set quarterly objectives/KPIs and report to the Gulf Steering Group and SLT.
• Oversee opportunity capture and pursuit decisions (go/no-go) with Members and COs; ensure donor due diligence, affordability, pricing and match requirements are addressed early.
• Ensure high-quality, compliant proposals and concept notes, through timely and effective mobilisation of the Programme Funding function through the Senior BD Advisor and relevant technical teams including Advocacy & Engagement and Member BD teams.
• Leada multi-year ‘Gulf Development Fund’, driving strategic prioritisation and convening decision-making on Gulf Development Fund allocations, ensuring match and positioning investments are sequenced against pathway priorities.
• Embed robust risk, safeguarding, brand and compliance management for all Gulf engagement.
• Champion localisation and explore Islamic social financing opportunities where appropriate.
• Mentor and manage the Gulf Development Unit (Senior Business Development Advisor P4; Senior Advocacy & Engagement Advisor, P4) and ensures alignment across the three core functions (capture, positioning, advocacy).

Experience and Skills

Essential

Experience

1. Senior external-engagement leadership in the Gulf (KSA, UAE, Qatar): proven partnership development and account stewardship with government donors, foundations, and philanthropies.
2. Award conversion track record: securing and managing complex, multi-million awards with institutional/governmental donors, foundations and philanthropies.
3. Gulf donor norms expertise: deep understanding of low ICR/overheads, match requirements, visibility and tranche-payment modalities, and Islamic social financing.
4. Strategy & market development: designing and delivering business development strategies aligned to organisational goals; setting direction and prioritisation for target markets.
5. Pipeline ownership & governance: leading opportunity strategy, capture planning, go/no-go decisions, and proposal governance across Members, Country Offices, and Global Teams.
6. Proposal leadership: coordinating cross-functional country office, global and member teams (PDQ/MEAL/Finance/OPS/Awards) to produce compliant, compelling narratives, log frames, and budgets.
7. Stakeholder engagement & visibility: implementing engagement plans that strengthen donor relationships, elevate brand/visibility, and advance partnership objectives.
8. Multicultural collaboration: extensive experience operating in diverse, multi-stakeholder environments (donors, partners, and government entities).
9. Insight & adaptation: monitoring emerging funding trends and providing clear, data-informed recommendations to adjust strategy and improve win rates.
10. Prior Save the Children experience and familiarity with Programme Funding systems, tools and process will be a significant advantage.

Skills

1. Strategic & Analytical: Sets clear strategy and priorities for Gulf markets; translates analysis into actionable plans and KPIs (incl. Horizon B or equivalent frameworks).
2. Leadership & Teaming: Inspires and guides cross-functional/matrix teams; builds a culture of accountability, ambition, creativity, and integrity.
3. Relationship Management: Builds and sustains senior-level relationships with governments, foundations, philanthropies, Members, UN/INGOs, and private sector partners.
4. Negotiation & Influencing: Secures commitments, navigates complex stakeholder dynamics, and achieves mutually beneficial outcomes.
5. Communication: Crafts clear, persuasive written and verbal messages tailored to diverse audiences (executive briefs, external pitches, board updates).
6. Cultural Competence: Operates effectively across Gulf contexts; demonstrates tact, discretion, and sensitivity to local norms and protocols.
7. Financial & Commercial Acumen: Understands donor compliance, unit cost/ICR implications, pricing and match structures; oversees budget discipline and value-for-money.
8. Problem-Solving & Risk: Anticipates constraints (eligibility, affordability, compliance, visibility), assesses bid risks, and designs practical mitigations. Understands potential risks of partnering with some donors and escalates and mitigates these effectively.
9. Performance Management: Defines KPIs, tracks pipeline/conversion, and drives continuous improvement against targets.
10. Fluent English and Arabic required

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent experience in international development, public policy, business or related field.

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification; Arabic language certification; APMP/CFRE or similar.

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 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 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our recruitment process:

1. Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
2. Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
3. Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
4. 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.