Regional Director

Description (Public)

The Regional Director will provide vision, leadership, and strategic oversight to CARE’s programs across East and Southern Africa. The role is responsible for guiding country office strategies, ensuring operational excellence, strengthening partnerships, fostering local leadership, mobilizing resources, and managing regional risks and humanitarian responses.
The successful candidate will support Country Directors, engage with high-level stakeholders across government, donors, private sector, and development partners, and champion gender equality, diversity, and locally-led development. This role sits on CARE’s global leadership team and plays a critical role in shaping CARE’s long-term impact in the region.

Duties, Roles and Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership and vision for CARE’s work across 12 country offices
Drive the implementation of regional and country strategies aligned with CARE’s mission
Oversee humanitarian preparedness, rapid response, and program delivery
Ensure financial accountability, operational excellence, and donor compliance
Strengthen risk management and staff safety systems in fragile contexts
Lead regional advocacy, representation, and partnership engagement
Expand resource mobilization and diversify regional funding opportunities
Guide organizational transformation and locally-led development approaches
Manage, coach, and mentor senior leadership teams across the region
Promote CARE values including gender equality, inclusivity, and ethical leadership
Drive regional performance reporting, learning, and accountability systems

Qualifications, Education and Competencies

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or related field
7+ years senior leadership experience in humanitarian and development programs
Experience leading programs across complex and fragile environments
Proven success with donor engagement and institutional fundraising
Experience managing large multi-country operations and diverse teams
Strong knowledge of gender equality and working with women’s movements
Demonstrated experience overseeing compliance, safety, and risk management
Excellent stakeholder engagement and advocacy abilities
Proven emotional intelligence, cross-cultural leadership, and diplomatic skills
Fluency in English