Managing Director, Programs

This is an internal recruitment process, and only current HSI employees are eligible to apply.

Overview

The Managing Director, Programs, is a senior executive who reports to the CEO and leads HSI’s global program design and implementation function. The Managing Director serves on the organization’s top management team, along with the CEO and COO, and plays a central role in shaping program strategy, strengthening program quality, supporting business development, and advancing HSI’s mission.

This role supervises a team of highly experienced senior professionals across multiple countries and regions. The Managing Director leads and supports project design and implementation teams, works closely with country and global leaders, and collaborates across the organization to ensure that HSI delivers high-quality, high-impact programs.

This is a key leadership role for a strategic, collaborative, and mission-driven executive who can bring together technical excellence, strong management, sound financial judgment, and a deep commitment to developing people and teams.

What You’ll Do

Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a trusted thought partner and advisor to the CEO and as a peer to the Chief Operating Officer, contributing to organizational strategy, informed decision-making, revenue generation, and high-quality program execution in support of HSI’s mission.
• Lead by example as a standard bearer for HSI’s mission, values, integrity, technical excellence, management competence, and emotional intelligence.
• Provide strategic and collaborative leadership to the Program division, including the development and implementation of innovative, financially sound initiatives aligned with HSI’s mission and priorities.
• Ensure strong program design, negotiation, and implementation of HSI projects in collaboration with Program Directors, country leaders, technical advisors, fellows, and partners.
• Work with the CEO and COO for effective business decisions, clear communication, and thoughtful change management across the organization.
• Contribute to organizational policy development as a member of the Leadership Team and Management Team.
• Identify programmatic and operational risks and opportunities, elevate them appropriately, and recommend practical actions for mitigation, course correction, or improvement.
• Demonstrate and uphold HSI’s mission and values in all internal and external activities.
  
  

Business Development

• Contribute actively to new business development by leading selected opportunities, identifying growth areas, and helping secure new funding sources.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of HSI’s programmatic strategies and approaches, fostering creativity, collaboration, and quality across country teams, global program leaders, technical advisors, fellows, and partners.
• Support the cultivation of new funders and partners while helping the organization manage and strengthen existing relationships.
• Lead selected business development efforts, including positioning, proposal development, partner engagement, and negotiations.
• Help ensure that new business opportunities are strategically aligned, technically strong, financially viable, and feasible to implement.
  
  

Program Execution

• Lead the Program team to ensure efficient, high-quality, and high-impact implementation of HSI projects.
• Oversee Program Directors and program operations staff to establish and meet standards for technical excellence, program management quality, financial stewardship, and donor responsiveness.
• Support country leadership in strengthening HSI’s regional and in-country representation and ensuring effective project implementation.
• Promote strong communication, collaboration, cohesion, and knowledge sharing across projects, countries, and technical areas.
• Model and strengthen collaboration between Program leaders and Business Operations functions, including Talent, Contracts, Finance, and Accounting.
• Represent the Program team’s perspective at the highest levels of organizational management and decision-making.
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team, Program Directors, and country leaders to ensure that country offices and project teams are appropriately staffed, structured, and supported to succeed.
  
  

Team Management

• Recruit, onboard, supervise, and develop outstanding team members across the Program division.
• Lead by example, delegate effectively, demonstrate integrity, and motivate and inspire others.
• Engage respectfully and constructively with staff at all levels of the organization.
• Manage teams effectively, with a strong focus on staff development, mentoring, coaching, and capacity building.
• Create and sustain a positive, respectful, inclusive, and accountable team culture.
• Support senior program staff in navigating complex management challenges, strengthening performance, and growing as leaders.
  
  

External Representation

• Represent HSI at conferences, donor meetings, partner discussions, and other external engagements to strengthen HSI’s reputation, influence, impact, and revenue.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with funders, governments, peer organizations, technical partners, and other stakeholders.
• Occasionally represent the CEO in internal and external meetings with key stakeholders, as needed.
  
  

Your Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring the following qualifications, experience, and attributes:

1. A relevant master’s degree with at least 15 years of experience, or a doctoral degree with at least 10 years of experience.
2. Substantive senior-level experience designing, managing, and overseeing international projects in public, nonprofit, or private sector organizations, preferably in the health sector.
3. Demonstrated project management expertise, including hands-on experience managing complex projects in challenging operating environments.
4. Relevant technical experience in areas related to HSI’s work, such as health financing, health policy, health systems strengthening, monitoring and evaluation, strategic purchasing, or related fields.
5. Ability to communicate technical and programmatic information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
6. Extensive experience designing programs collaboratively and creatively with partners, governments, bilateral donors, non-traditional funders, philanthropies, and other stakeholders.
7. Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage people, mentor staff, coach junior and mid-level professionals, and support the growth of senior leaders.
8. Executive presence and judgment, with the ability to rally staff around HSI’s mission and priorities and serve as a collaborative business partner to the CEO across and beyond the Program function.
9. Strong systems thinking, combined with a grounded and pragmatic understanding of the operational, financial, technical, and political complexities of international development and global health work.
10. Outstanding cross-cultural communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to work respectfully and effectively with staff across levels, ages, genders, nationalities, identities, orientations, cultures, and areas of expertise.
11. Ability and willingness to travel up to 20 percent.

Interested staff members are not required to update or submit their CVs. Instead, applicants should provide a one-page statement outlining:

• Their perspective on HSI’s future strategic direction; and
• How they would contribute to advancing this direction through the role.