Deputy Regional Director, Europe and Eurasia

Join us in our mission to power the potential of young people

Global Fund for Children (GFC) works to build a world where all children and youth are safe, strong, and valued. We partner with innovative, locally led organisations, helping them deepen their impact and build their capacity for social change. By pairing flexible funding with targeted capacity development support, we help our partners grow stronger and more responsive to challenges on the ground.

Since 1997, we have invested more than $44 million in over 700 organisations. Our work advances the rights of children and youth across four focus areas: education, gender equity, youth empowerment, and freedom from violence and exploitation.

You will join a multinational team of caring and committed individuals who believe in investing in bold ideas to help grassroots organisations deepen their impact and advocate for children’s rights. We value courage, excellence, learning, partnership, and inclusion, as well as kindness and passion. Our partners’ visions for change inspire all we do. Feedback and learning inspire us to do better, and we strive to be youth-centered.

The Role

We are looking for a Deputy Regional Director to join our growing Europe and Eurasia team and our Global Programs team. This is an exciting new role for GFC and we are looking for a passionate and experienced leader with a commitment to resourcing and influencing change with and for children and young people.

This role will be a key part of our regional leadership team, working closely with, and deputising for, our Senior Regional Director to build, support and strengthen our growing team and grantee partners across the region.

The Europe and Eurasia team is at an exciting period of growth and change so we are looking for a feminist, participatory leader who is excited by the opportunity to build new ways of working that challenge traditional models of funding.

Our work is complex and diverse, currently covering 14 countries, with a programmatic budget of over £24m GBP.

88% of our overall budget is delivered through participatory grantmaking funds. Our current programmatic focuses include:

• Delivering the Young Gamechangers Fund, funding and supporting individuals and youth-led groups in the UK
• Resourcing work on healthy and positive masculinities for boys and young men
• Providing emergency support to community-led organisations and groups in Ukraine and in surrounding countries
• Acting as grant administrator for the Phoenix Way, a grant-making initiative aimed at transforming Black and racially minoritised communities in the UK
• Supporting youth-led change in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region through our innovative Spark Fund model
• Resourcing young feminist groups in Kyrgyzstan

We are also anticipating further growth in the region including launching a significant new fund focused on survivor-led advocacy against childhood sexual abuse within Europe in summer 2024.

Gender equity and youth participation underpin our current ways of working across the region and we are committed to putting learning from the Phoenix Way into practice through exploring anti-racist grantmaking practices in our work.

What will you be doing?

This exciting new role has the potential to be shaped by the new postholder in collaboration with the Senior Regional Director depending on their skills and experience. Key responsibilities will include:

• Managing multiple large grants programmes within our regional portfolio, including at least one participatory grantmaking programme. Project management of our grants programmes includes:
  • Supporting delivery of grantmaking and programmatic design
  • Building strong relationships with grantee partners
  • Contributing to development and delivery of capacity development support
  • Supporting proactive risk management and mitigation
  • Managing large budgets
  • Managing personal partner portfolio
• Line managing a hybrid team across multiple time zones and cultures including:
  • Providing coaching and regular feedback to direct reports
  • Supporting Programme Managers to coach and manage their direct reports with a focus on goal setting and professional development
  • Create and/or facilitate space for regular training, learning, team building and development opportunities for team members
• Playing a key role in developing and implementing a refreshed regional strategy in line with GFC’s five year vision
• Sharing leadership of the region with the Senior Regional Director and deputising for them as needed
• Providing specialised technical expertise in at least one of our regional focus areas including youth participation, gender equity and participatory grantmaking
• Sharing responsibility for embedding and implementing good safeguarding practice within the region with the Senior Regional Director
• Working with the development team to identify and connect with potential donors and shape proposals and partnerships in line with regional strategy
• Contributing to the development of a strong values- based team culture across different countries, areas and streams of work

About you

Our ideal Deputy Regional Director will be a values-driven, experienced feminist leader with a strong commitment to youth leadership, participatory community-led approaches, and practical implementation of diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA), with experience of bringing these approaches to life in your professional practice. You will enjoy working with, coaching and developing our passionate new team to design, develop and deliver innovative and iterative approaches to grantmaking and grantee partner support. You will have significant experience in building strong relationships with donors, peers and other key stakeholders within the region. You will have strong project management skills and the ability to communicate well with different audiences. You will be based in the region which covers Central and North Asia, parts of West Asia, the Caucasus region and Europe and will have strong English language skills.

Essential experience and skills

• Significant team management experience with a focus on building and supporting high performing teams while prioritising wellbeing;
• Experience in designing and delivering participatory, community-led approaches;
• Demonstrable leadership experience within the non- profit sector in Europe and Eurasia, preferably in the youth or feminist sectors
• Experience managing large budgets
• Experience building and nurturing relationships with key stakeholders at all levels
• Experience of strategy development and/or implementation
• Experience of working within partnership structures
• Strong understanding of safeguarding cultures and practice
• Ability to manage multiple strands of work to a high standard, balancing competing priorities and fast-paced project implementation
• Demonstrable commitment to practical DEIA and experience of embedding this within your work
• Willingness to travel regularly within the region, including regular overnight stays
• Strong commitment to GFC’s mission, values and vision

Desirable experience and skills

• Ability to speak at least one regional language in addition to English
• Understanding of trauma-informed ways of working
• Experience of grantmaking
• Experience of programme monitoring, learning and/or evaluation

What we offer you

Our team dreams big.

We work together to build a world where all children and youth are safe, strong and valued.

GFC fosters a caring work environment that promotes collaboration, respect, and professional development. We set standards of excellence and quality in our work, firmly believing that children and youth deserve the best we can offer.

We believe that every person has equal rights, and we affirm the diversity that enriches our globalized world. In line with these core values, it is our policy to actively seek diverse candidates from a variety of backgrounds who are committed to Global Fund for Children’s mission.

Our values shape our vision, guide our daily decision making, and signal to the world what to expect when you encounter Global Fund for Children. We hold ourselves to these values to best serve our local partners and the children and youth they support. We attract talented people from all over the world because we believe deeply in living our values.

Salary – UK based salary range is £65,000 to £75,000; other locations will be benchmarked accordingly, dependent on location, available benefits, and experience.

Weekly hours – 35 hours per week.

Holidays – 30 days annual leave and 8 public holidays. The basic annual leave allowance increases to 35 days after 4 years continuous employment.

Flexible Working Location – GFC is open to applications from candidates across the region that are willing to travel regularly to our London office and to visit partners. The GFC E&E team currently has team members based in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Poland and utilises a flexible, remote model with regular travel to our office for those living outside London.

We particularly welcome applicants from outside the UK, and in countries where we have partners, to apply.

Learning – GFC encourages professional development as a part of our culture and values. GFC provides regular opportunities for training, collaboration, and mentorship. Employees may access professional development funds to support continued learning.

Benefits – We strive to build a culture that embraces care and wellbeing. Our global employee benefits include*:

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans
• Generous paid time off (annual leave, enhanced sickness leave, wellbeing days, sabbatical leave, family friendly leave)
• Flexible work arrangements – remote/hybrid/compressed work schedules
• Pension plan contributions
• Employee Assistance Services
• Team Building and Social Committees

*Other benefits may apply, depending on the location of the employee