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Program Director
Location: London / Hybrid with international travel as required
Start Date: Subject to contract award
About Chemonics UK
Chemonics UK delivers transformative programmes that help people live healthier, more productive, and more independent lives. Working with governments, donors, the private sector, and civil society, we tackle some of the world’s most complex development, humanitarian, and stabilisation challenges.
This opportunity is part of an early talent identification exercise linked to a forthcoming programme, HEROS 2.0.
About The Programme: HEROS 2.0
The UK Government’s flagship humanitarian programme, HEROS 2.0, will define the UK’s ability to respond rapidly and at scale to global humanitarian crises, protracted emergencies, and stabilisation challenges. Chemonics intends to bid for this strategically important programme and is seeking to engage with exceptional candidates who may be interested in leading its delivery.
About The Role: HEROS 2.0 Director
Reporting to the Managing Director, Chemonics UK, the HEROS 2.0 Director will provide strategic leadership to a large, complex, high-profile humanitarian programme. Acting as a trusted partner to His Majesty’s Government (HMG), the successful candidate will:
- Ensure the programme delivers innovative, responsive, and high-quality solutions
- Strengthen the UK’s global humanitarian response capability
- Oversee a substantial global portfolio of humanitarian and stabilisation activities
- Lead multidisciplinary teams and manage strategic relationships across:
- HMG
- The Chemonics family of companies
- Implementing partners
- The wider multilateral humanitarian system
- Acting as the senior accountability point, ensuring performance, compliance, quality, and value-for-money aligned with contractual milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs).
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Key Responsibilities
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Strategic Leadership and Accountability
- Provide strategic direction across all programme workstreams
- Serve as the senior point of contact for programme performance and client engagement
- Lead geographically dispersed teams in humanitarian response, logistics, and technical assistance
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Stakeholder Management & Partnerships
- Build and maintain strong relationships with HMG, multilateral agencies, suppliers, and partners
- Collaborate across the Chemonics global network to leverage expertise and learning
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Operational Excellence and Governance
- Oversee programme governance, risk management, contractual compliance, and financial performance
- Champion innovation and technology-enabled solutions for humanitarian and stabilisation outcomes
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Performance and Accountability
- Ensure rapid, effective, and accountable responses in emerging crises
- Drive delivery against agreed KPIs, service levels, and contractual milestones
Ideal Candidates
We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with:
Essential Experience
- Proven leadership in managing large, complex programmes for major international donors
- Strong track record of setting strategic direction while balancing humanitarian, security, and political priorities
- Experience engaging and negotiating with senior stakeholders, particularly within government clients
- Hands-on portfolio management for projects, humanitarian logistics, and technical assistance
- Proven field-based delivery experience in humanitarian or emergency response
- Deep understanding of innovation and technology applications in humanitarian contexts
- Exceptional people leadership, stakeholder management, and influencing skills
- Strong ability to manage large budgets, contractual performance, risk, and value-for-money
- Outstanding analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, particularly in complex environments
- Sound commercial awareness and ability to contribute to long-term organisational growth
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- Communication: Excellent written and verbal skills to articulate strategy, policy, and performance findings
Desirable Experience
- Formal programme management qualifications (or equivalent expertise)
- Prior experience within HMG or the multilateral humanitarian system
- Fluency in an additional official UN language
Privacy Note
This is a scoping opportunity to identify and engage with candidates ahead of the anticipated bid.
If you align with the above criteria and have a passion for delivering transformative humanitarian impact at scale, we encourage you to register your interest confidentially. We’re committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion and welcome applications from underrepresented groups.
Additional Considerations
Safeguarding (Irrevocably Required)
At Chemonics, safeguarding is integral to all operations. Safeguarding frameworks include:
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Protecting individuals from violence, abuse, and neglect
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Applying a survivor-centered, trauma-sensitive, rights-informed, intersectional approach
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Ensuring all work is locally led
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Disclosure: All final candidates will undergo DBS background checks or equivalent foreign vetting as a condition of employment.
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