Head of Programs

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Full-time Expires In -2 weeks Kampala Duty Station - Kampala with frequent travels to Nakivale Settlement and Nyakabande Transit Centre, Southwestern Uganda Bachelor's Degree 6 years experience NGO Management Administrative

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Job Details

IsraAID Uganda seeks a strategic and operational leader to oversee all programmes across its three geographical locations: Kampala, Nakivale Settlement and Nyakabande Transit Centre (Southwestern Uganda), with additional locations as prescribed by the Country Office. This is a 12-month contract with possibility of extension, reporting to the Country Director, with a start date of 1st November 2026. The Head of Programs is the primary programme lead within the Country Management Team, responsible for implementation, quality, coherence and impact of all projects across WASH, Nutrition, Child Protection and emerging sectors. The role works closely with the Country Director, donor focal points, MEAL department and HQ technical advisors to ensure programmes are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards, in line with IsraAID's global strategy and country priorities. Duty station is Kampala with frequent travels to the field.

Location: Kampala with frequent field travel
Duty Station: Kampala with frequent travels to Nakivale Settlement and Nyakabande Transit Centre, Southwestern Uganda
Contract Duration: 12 months with possibility of extension
Start Date: 1st November 2026
Reports to: Country Director
Employment Type: Full Time
Category: Administrative

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic oversight of all IsraAID Uganda programmes, including WASH, Nutrition, Child Protection, and other emerging sectors.
Lead programme planning, design, and implementation across all field locations in line with IsraAID's global strategy and country priorities.
Ensure all programme activities are delivered on time, within budget, and in compliance with donor requirements and IsraAID standards.
Provide oversight of programme quality through regular field visits, programme reviews, technical support to field teams and ensuring that monitoring data, evaluations, community feedback, safeguarding concerns and lessons learned are systematically reviewed and used to strengthen programme effectiveness and impact.
Lead the development and review of project work plans, monitoring frameworks, and programme reports.
Ensure timely and accurate internal programme reporting to the Country Director, Country Management Team, and HQ.
Work closely with the MEAL Officer to ensure robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) systems are in place and that programme teams effectively utilize evidence and recommendations for adaptive management and continuous improvement.
Directly supervise senior programmatic officers including WASH Officer, Area Project Officers, and Senior Nutrition Officer.
Provide regular performance feedback, coaching, and development support to programme staff.
Lead coordination of programme team meetings and ensure effective communication across all field locations.
Support recruitment processes for programme positions, including JD review, shortlisting, and panel interviews.
Foster a positive, collaborative, and accountable team culture across the programme unit.
Lead preparation of high-quality narrative reports for donors, in coordination with MEAL and field teams.
Maintain relationships with donor focal points and support donor visits and programme reviews.
Represent IsraAID Uganda in programme-related coordination forums, working groups, and partner meetings.
Lead programme design and contribute substantially to proposal development, donor engagement and resource mobilization efforts.
Build and maintain strong relationships with Government counterparts (OPM, district local governments), UN agencies, NGO partners, and community stakeholders.
Represent IsraAID Uganda at national and district-level coordination meetings as required.
Support capacity building of partner Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) in programme implementation.
Lead programme strategy development and contribute to the Country Strategic Plan, budgeting, and operational planning processes.
Monitor programme budget utilisation in coordination with the Senior Finance Officer and flag variances in a timely manner.
Ensure programme activities comply with IsraAID Uganda's policies, donor requirements, and applicable national regulations.
Identify, monitor, and mitigate programmatic, operational, and contextual risks affecting programme delivery across all field locations.
Maintain an up-to-date programme risk register and report risk status to the Country Director.
Work with the MEAL Officer to integrate risk monitoring into MEAL systems, including tracking contextual changes that may affect project assumptions or logframe indicators.
Flag emerging risks related to security, access, partner performance, or compliance to the Country Director in a timely manner.
Perform any other duties as assigned by the Country Director.

Qualifications, Skills and Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, International Relations, Social Work and Social Administration, Public Health, or a related discipline (Required).
Master's degree in a relevant field is an added advantage / preferred.
Additional training or certification in project management, MEAL, or humanitarian programming is an advantage.
Minimum 6 years' progressive experience in humanitarian or development programming, including at least 3 years in a senior management or programme leadership role.
Demonstrated experience managing multi-sectoral programmes (WASH, Nutrition, Child Protection, and/or MEAL) across multiple field locations.
Proven experience working in a refugee, displacement, or humanitarian-response setting — experience in the Ugandan refugee context is an added advantage.
Track record of successful programme design, implementation, and quality assurance against work plans, budgets, and donor agreements.
Experience with donor-funded grants management and compliance (institutional and/or private donors), including timely and accurate reporting.
Experience leading proposal development and resource mobilisation.
Demonstrated experience in staff supervision and team leadership, including managing field-based teams.
Experience in external representation and networking with government authorities (OPM, district local governments), UN agencies, donors, and coordination forums.
Strong command of the full project cycle management (PCM) approach — design, implementation, monitoring, and close-out.
Solid working knowledge of MEAL systems, including indicator and log-frame development, data use, and accountability to affected populations (AAP).
Budget management and financial oversight of programme grants.
Proposal and concept-note writing and donor reporting to a high standard.
Understanding of safeguarding / PSEA and safe programming, and how to embed protection mainstreaming across sectors.
Risk identification and management across programmatic, operational, and contextual risks.
Strong analytical, strategic-planning, and problem-solving skills.
Excellent written and spoken English; strong report-writing skills.
Proficiency in MS Office and comfort with data/reporting tools.
Ability to represent the organisation credibly with donors, government, and partners.
Key Behaviors: Ability and willingness to take instructions; honest, diligent and trustworthy; flexible and adaptable in time management; team player; proactive attitude in dealing with unexpected situations; commitment to IsraAID's values: Professionalism, Humanity, Collaboration, Flexibility and Adaptability, Resilience.
Zero tolerance to misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse; recruitment includes declarations and reference checks focused on misconduct and SEA. Equal opportunity employer.

About IsraAID

IsraAID (https://www.israaid.org) is an Israel-based international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization founded in 2001 as a coalition of Israeli organizations working in disaster relief and international development. It has grown into an independent NGO and the largest humanitarian aid organization in Israel, working in emergency and long-term development settings in more than 60 countries with around 300 staff worldwide at any one time.

Mission: To support people affected by humanitarian crisis. We partner with local communities around the world to provide urgent aid, assist in recovery, and reduce the risk of future disasters.

Vision: A world where vulnerable, disaster-affected communities have the strength, support, and opportunities they need to recover from humanitarian crisis and build a more resilient future.

Approach — Communities First: IsraAID collaborates at the deepest level with affected communities, combining local knowledge, experience and people-power with Israeli and global professional expertise in trauma, water scarcity, disaster preparedness, public health, protection, education and WASH. The organization stays for as long as it takes, emphasizes local capacity building, and enables communities to lead solutions and maintain them independently. The majority of each country office is nationally and locally recruited.

Relevance to this role: In Uganda, IsraAID supports recovery and restoration of people affected by humanitarian crises, cultivates resilience and agency, and establishes systems and partnerships to reduce risk of future disasters, with operations in Southwestern Uganda (Nakivale Settlement and Nyakabande Transit Centre) alongside the Kampala coordination office. The Head of Programs role directly advances this mission by leading multi-sectoral programming (WASH, Nutrition, Child Protection, MEAL) that embeds protection mainstreaming, PSEA/safeguarding, accountability to affected populations, and risk-informed, evidence-based programming.

Headquarters: Shaul Hamelech 8, Tel Aviv 6473307, Israel | US Office: Palo Alto, CA | Contact: info@israaid.org | Social: @IsraAID

Application Procedure

Visit the official application portal via Apply Now.
Click Apply on the IsraAID BambooHR careers page for Head of Programs (Kampala with frequent travels to the field).
Complete the online application form with accurate personal, education and work history details.
Upload your updated CV/resume and cover letter (and any other required documents) as prompted.
Ensure your application demonstrates alignment with the required qualifications, 6+ years humanitarian/development experience, multi-sectoral programme leadership, and MEAL/donor compliance expertise.
Submit your application before the deadline and monitor your email for shortlisting communication.
Note: IsraAID has zero tolerance towards misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse — declarations and SEA reference checks are part of recruitment. Only shortlisted candidates may be contacted.

Job Summary

Job Category: Administrative, NGO, Management
Job Type: Full-time
Deadline of this Job: 2026-09-21 (No deadline was listed; set to 1 week from processing date per ingestion rule)
Duty Station: Kampala with frequent travels to Nakivale Settlement and Nyakabande Transit Centre, Southwestern Uganda
Date Posted: 2026-09-11 (listed as 3 days ago on source as of 14 Sep 2026)
No of Positions: 1 (not specified)
Application Link: Apply Now
Location pin: 📍 Kampala, Uganda — with frequent field travel to 📍 Nakivale Settlement & 📍 Nyakabande Transit Centre, Southwestern Uganda