Deputy Director — Strategic Partnerships & Funding

Hybrid / Remote

Full-time

Permanent employee

Your mission

War Child is looking for an:
Deputy Director — Strategic Partnerships & Funding

Leads CWTL's funding strategy, turns partnerships into long-term funding, and helps CWTL reach more children in crisis-affected contexts.

About the role

The Deputy Director: Strategic Partnerships & Funding designs and delivers Can't Wait to Learn's global strategic partnerships and funding strategy. The role is accountable for securing the long-term capital and partnerships that allow CWTL to scale as national education infrastructure in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts, and for leading the shift from project-by-project grant income to a diversified, sustainable funding base. The postholder is a member of the CWTL leadership team, leads the partnerships and funding function, and deputises for the Director as required.

What you will do

Own, develop and deliver CWTL's global strategic partnerships and funding strategy, aligned to the CWTL strategy and to agreed revenue-diversification targets.
Monitor and interpret trends in education financing, humanitarian and development funding and impact investment, and translate these into changes in CWTL's funding approach, positioning, and pipeline priorities.
Build and convert a pipeline of multi-year strategic commitments that fund government adoption, the scaling of CWTL as national education infrastructure, and investment in the platform and regional game architecture that underpins reach across languages and contexts.
Lead the change required to move CWTL from a grant-dependent income model to a diversified funding base spanning philanthropic, institutional and blended sources, securing buy-in across CWTL, War Child Alliance and external partners.
Negotiate blended-finance and outcome-based instruments that combine philanthropic, institutional and private capital and expand reach beyond what grant funding allows.
Lead negotiations with philanthropic funders, impact investors, governments, multilateral institutions, corporate partners, and consortium members, agreeing terms that protect CWTL's mission, cost recovery and operational viability.
Represent CWTL at the most senior external level, act as a principal spokesperson for its funding and partnership agenda, and influence stakeholders across War Child Alliance, its fundraising members and country teams where no direct line authority exists.
Develop, own and periodically review CWTL policy in the partnerships and funding domain, including donor acceptance and ethical funding criteria, partner due diligence standards, partnership agreement standards and cost recovery policy, ensuring consistency with War Child Alliance policy and contributing to its development.
Ensure all funding and partnership activity complies with donor requirements, War Child Alliance policy and applicable legal and regulatory obligations; oversee partner and donor due diligence and timely donor reporting; and identify, record and mitigate risks within the remit.
Hold accountability for CWTL's annual and multi-year income targets, and plan and manage the resources allocated to the partnerships and funding function within the budget agreed with the Director.
Line manage, develop and appraise the Fundraising Lead and Partnerships Lead, and design and grow the function as the portfolio scales.

Your profile

Education	Educated to degree level, or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field. Postgraduate qualification in international development, business, finance, public policy or a related discipline is desirable.
Experience	Senior partnerships or funding leadership experience at director or associate-director level, in an organisation of comparable complexity. Demonstrable track record of securing significant multi-year strategic funding, in philanthropy and foundations, impact investing, international development or a comparable field. Experience of blended finance and/or outcome-based financing, and of structuring capital from mixed sources. Experience of diversifying an organisation's income base beyond traditional grant funding. Line-management experience, including building and growing a team. Experience of leading change, including securing buy-in for a new approach across an organisation and among external partners. Experience of managing budgets and of accountability for income targets. Experience of donor compliance and contractual requirements in an international context. Experience of working with ministries of education or other government counterparts is desirable. Experience within an education, edtech or technology-for-development organisation is desirable.
Languages	Fluency in English is required for this role. Additional languages may be useful depending on stakeholder groups and organisational context, for example Arabic, Dari, French, Spanish or Ukrainian.
(Technical) Knowledge	Education financing, humanitarian and international development funding landscapes, and the donor and investor market. Blended finance, outcome-based financing and other non-traditional financing instruments. Donor compliance requirements, due diligence standards, and full cost recovery and indirect cost recovery principles. Advanced negotiation practice, including complex, high-value agreements with sophisticated counterparties. Financial literacy sufficient to interrogate financial models, costings and pipeline valuations. Strong grasp of, or demonstrable commitment to, education and children's outcomes in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts.

What we offer

Location : We work with global teams with team members being based in different locations. War Child is currently operates in: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, DR Congo, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, South Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine (soon to be registered), and Yemen. We also have offices in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Preference is given to applicants who reside and have valid working permits. War Child does not offer relocation.
Type of Contract : Local contract with salary and secondary labour conditions based on the in-country salary scale, local T&C's will apply.

Why You Should Apply

Meaningful Impact : Contribute directly to improving the lives of children and families affected by conflict through quality education and long-term, sustainable change.
Professional Growth: Join a dynamic organisation that values learning, innovation, and professional development, with opportunities for capacity building and growth through the role and War Child’s global network.
Global Reach : Play a key role in scaling a ground-breaking programme across multiple conflict-affected contexts worldwide.
Collaborative & Inclusive Culture : Work alongside passionate, mission-driven colleagues in a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace that prioritises safety, fairness and equal opportunity for all.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV and cover letter in English through our career's website no later than 24/8/2026.

Please note that applications will only be accepted through our careers website. To ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process, applications submitted via email will not be considered.

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By submitting your application you certify that all of the statements made in your application are true, complete, and correct and are made in good faith. You understand that falsifying, misrepresenting or intentionally withholding information will be grounds for rejection of your application or withdrawal of any offer of appointment or, if an appointment offer has been accepted, this will be ground for employment sanctions, such as, but not limited to, instant dismissal. In addition, you understand that you need to submit a Criminal Record Certificate and that, if you fail to submit it, no employment relationship can be established.

Disclaimer

Only applications received via our website are processed.
If we appoint a suitable candidate before the given closing date, we reserve the right to remove the vacancy from our website before that date. In such a case, any responses received after that time are not processed.
It could be that during our selection process the closing date for the vacancy is extended. If so, and you have not yet heard from us, your application will remain active.

Over ons

Onze organisatie
War Child is een dynamische organisatie waar een informele sfeer heerst en waar veel ruimte is voor creativiteit en eigen initiatief. Het imago dat War Child extern uitdraagt, is een blauwdruk van het werk op het hoofdkantoor: het is dynamisch, vernieuwend, integer en gericht op het behalen van resultaten tegen lage kosten. War Child besteedt zoveel mogelijk budget aan het helpen van kinderen in oorlog en doet er daarom alles aan om de kosten zo laag mogelijk te houden. Onze arbeidsvoorwaarden zijn op het niveau van de Nederlandse NGO sector. Het kantoor is gevestigd in de Amsterdamse wijk Watergraafsmeer. We werken in een hybride vorm, met de combinatie van thuis en op kantoor.

Veiligheid
War Child werkt vanuit humanitaire waarden en normen. Van mogelijke nieuwe collega’s vragen we hetzelfde. Voor War Child staat de veiligheid van de kinderen en jongeren die we steunen voorop. We bestrijden elke vorm van misbruik. Omdat we willen dat kinderen en jongeren geen enkel risico lopen komt dit uitgebreid aan bod bij de werving van nieuwe collega’s. Als onderdeel van sollicitaties vragen we daarom om referenties naar aanleiding van het Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme en een recente Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag (VOG).

Gelijke kansen
War Child droomt dat alle kinderen in vrede kunnen leven, wie ze ook zijn en waar ze ook opgroeien. Daarom is War Child trots dat we gelijke kansen bieden aan iedereen die met ons wil werken. We bevorderen diversiteit en willen dat iedereen zich bij ons thuis voelt. War Child selecteert mogelijke nieuwe collega’s ongeacht hun gender, ras, nationaliteit, beperking, leeftijd of seksuele voorkeur.

Sollicitaties
We besteden zoveel mogelijk van onze inkomsten aan de ondersteuning van kinderen en jongeren. Daarom werken we efficiënt. Dat betekent dat we alleen sollicitaties bekijken die we via onze websites ontvangen. Mochten we een geschikte persoon vinden vóór de sluitingsdatum, verwijderen we de vacature van onze websites. Sollicitaties die we later ontvangen, kunnen we dan niet meer in behandeling nemen.