Senior Director, Economic Empowerment

Save the Children US

Senior Director leading strategic and operational aspects of economic empowerment projects for vulnerable youth. Collaborating across teams to ensure effective project delivery and impact evaluation.

Posted 7/7/2026full-timeFairfield • Connecticut, District of Columbia, Kentucky • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $119,425 - $133,475 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Formulate strategic and operational plans for each major project component (pilot implementation, signature program package development, learning and evidence, and thought leadership and partnership building).
Provide technical leadership to country teams to design and deliver economic empowerment interventions to assist large numbers of low-income and vulnerable youth to acquire competitive skills and to get a job or build a business.
Assist country teams to build effective linkages between training providers, private sector employers, and the government to create demand-driven and sustainable solutions.
Lead the development of signature program packages, testing effective combinations of training and placement interventions, diverse delivery mechanisms, and public and private sector engagement tactics that integrate innovative solutions to accelerate outcomes (AI, ICT, social enterprise, etc.) to inform strategic and operational refinements.
Capture and document well-tested program tools, guidance, and innovations to guide strategic and operational refinements and to support replication and scale.
Oversee the development of quality systems to collect timely, accurate monitoring and evaluation data.
Monitor and report on programmatic and financial milestones at the country and global level.
Ensure donors, internal and external stakeholders are adequately informed of progress, of deviations from plans, and of risks.
Collaborate with country office leadership to identify where management and technical reinforcement is needed, to oversee the timely achievement of milestones by project field staff and local partners, and to undertake vigilant tracking of project- and beneficiary-level risks.
Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of workforce development strategies aligned with organizational goals, program priorities, and long-term impact objectives, translating strategic workforce plans into actionable implementation frameworks, including timelines, performance indicators, and resource requirements.
Work with fundraising team, across functions and departments to align program design and future program evolution to strategic agency priorities.
Serve as the primary representative of the projects and as a economic empowerment and workforce development expert in internal and external forums.
Work with in-house and external researchers to develop and execute a research agenda that will validate the impact of our work, add to the global knowledge base, and inform the next generation of program designs.
Provide technical guidance and thought leadership on economic empowerment and workforce development approaches to internal teams and external stakeholders.
Work with business line lead and technical advisors to build partnerships that bring new capabilities and financial resources.
Collaborate with account managers of existing grants to support donor relationships and donor stewardship.
Lead assigned new business development efforts for the food security and livelihoods team, including but not limited to capture planning, positioning, information gathering, partnership brokering, program design facilitation and decision-making; and, technical writing.
For interdisciplinary programs, coordinate with other SCUS departments – as well as external partners – to develop a coherent, high-impact integrated approach.
Support CO team members in analyzing information and formulating effective technical strategies, integrating best practices and, where appropriate, innovations.
Conduct training and orientation for program design team members to ensure that all relevant information is on hand to inform a sound design process.
Travel to the field to participate in design workshops, assessments, team writing assignments, and other proposal processes.
Participate in proposal after action reviews, ensuring that lessons learned are incorporated into subsequent efforts.
Develop and sustain relationships with donors (with a particular emphasis on USG, UN and private donors/foundations), partners and academic institutions.
Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission and supports Save the Children values
Ensure that the team has, understands, and operates according to clear protocols and best practices, but remains flexible, collaborative, and communicates openly within the department and agency divisions.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience
Demonstrated experience in workforce development and entrepreneurship programming, including private sector engagement, across diverse contexts.
Track record in the design and delivery of innovative strategies to reach low-income and vulnerable youth.
Demonstrated experience in supervisory management, planning, and budgeting.
Proven successful proposal development experience, including experience leading the technical aspects of complex, large proposal efforts
Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with individuals and teams at all levels
Willingness and ability to travel internationally up to 30% time
Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
Professional proficiency in spoken and written English
Experience in workforce development and entrepreneurship programming, including private sector engagement, across diverse contexts.
Track record in the design and delivery of innovative strategies to reach low-income and vulnerable youth.
Overseas experience in LAC, Africa or Asia.
Fluency in French or Spanish

Benefits

Comp & perks

Flexible schedules and time off: Flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Project ManagementBudgetingMonitoring and EvaluationTechnical WritingTraining and Development

Soft Skills

CollaborationCommunicationLeadershipCoachingFlexibility