Head of Programme Operations at WaterAid

About the Team

The Programme Operations team sits within WaterAid UK's International Programmes Department (IPD), operating in 17 countries in Africa and Asia. The team is a diverse and motivated group of 14+ people made up of planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting (PMER), project design and management, and programme systems specialists. They support global operational excellence, PMER, risk management, donor compliance and performance assurance across WaterAid UK's country and regional programmes. Working in partnership with regional and country leadership teams, the function provides technical oversight, systems development and operational support to strengthen programme delivery and organisational accountability.

About the Role

• The Head of Programme Operations leads the development, implementation and continuous improvement of WaterAid's international programme operations framework. The role provides strategic and operational leadership across programme operations, business management, systems, risk and compliance.
• Key responsibilities include overseeing IPD business management processes, supporting financial planning and performance reporting, acting as a delegated focal point for operational risk, and providing senior troubleshooting support on complex operational and management challenges.
• The role works in close partnership with Programme Funding to ensure operational readiness for new donor opportunities and effective grant start-up and close-out. It also leads operational assurance processes, strengthens compliance with donor and organisational requirements, and supports capacity strengthening across regional and country teams.

In this role, you will:

• Provide Programme Operations Leadership
• Lead IPD Business Management and Support
• Drive Collaboration, Risk and Performance
• Oversee Systems, Compliance and Assurance
• Lead Capacity Strengthening and Support

Requirements

To be successful, you'll need:

• Proven experience in managing or overseeing large scale international programme operations in the INGO or development sector.
• Strong understanding of operational systems (finance, procurement, logistics, compliance) in multi country environments.
• Excellent relevant IT skills, primarily Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word), but specifically relevant data systems that support high quality planning, monitoring and reporting.
• Experience of leading, managing and motivating others and driving change.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to build relationships and drive organisational change collaboratively.
• Experience working in complex matrix structures across multiple cultures.
• Strong analytical, problem solving and systems thinking capabilities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of donor compliance and grant management processes.
• Working style that reflects WaterAid's values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation.

Desirable:

• Experience in WASH, public health or community development sectors.
• Experience working with restricted and unrestricted funding portfolios.
• Relevant university degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Familiarity with WaterAid UK's operating model and countries of operation.