Pacific Director

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT Pacific Director Plan International is a rights-based development and humanitarian organisation working for better lives for all children. We are independent of government and have no political or religious affiliation. Our purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries Our global strategy has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalised and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 100 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality. Our organisation is transforming itself to meet this enormous challenge everywhere we work. We need bold, forward-thinking and innovative individuals to lead our operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls. The Pacific Director provides overall strategic, programmatic, operational and organisational leadership for Plan International's work across the Pacific. The role is responsible for delivering impact for children, particularly girls, through high quality programmes, humanitarian action, influencing, strategic partnerships and sustainable resource mobilisation. The Pacific Director ensures that Plan International's programming, operations, systems and people are aligned to organisational priorities, comply with local and international requirements, and contribute to lasting impact for children and communities. The role provides leadership across programme delivery, influencing, finance, people and culture, safeguarding, risk management, security and organisational effectiveness. The Pacific Director ensures strong governance, accountability and compliance frameworks are in place while fostering a high-performing, values-driven culture across the Pacific portfolio. The Pacific Director leads external engagement with governments, donors, civil society, regional organisations and development partners, and serves as the primary representative of Plan International's work across the Pacific. Dimensions of the Role Plan International began working in the Pacific in 2012, through a network of partners and under the auspice of Plan International Australia (PIA). Plan International Pacific now has offices and staff in Solomon Islands (SI) and PNG, in Bougainville. Management of the programme was transferred to Plan International in September 2020 after a 12 months transition period. The Pacific programme is implemented via three Plan controlled local entities in Solomon Islands, PNG and Fiji (under registration). The geographical scope of the role covers these three entities. The Pacific Director will be based in the management hub to be established in Suva, Fiji and be overall responsible for building a management team and expansion of the programme. Within the pacific program there are a number of matrix line management accountabilities in place, and the direct line management of the team will be discussed with the Pacific Director further following a staffing and structure review which is currently occurring. The Pacific Director will report to the Director for SE Asia and the Pacific, based in Bangkok and receives support from the Asia-Pacific Hub. The leadership scope of the role includes Overall accountability for programme, influencing and operational performance across the Pacific, and responsibility for organisational growth, sustainability and regional positioning. Financial scope also takes into account accountability for annual budgets, donor compliance and financial stewardship and oversight of grant management, funding diversification and resource mobilisation. The role will also have operational scope oversight for People & Culture, administration, supply chain, IT coordination, security, safeguarding, legal compliance and risk management functions. Do you have what it takes to be successful in this role? Technical Expertise and Knowledge Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience Significant senior leadership experience in international development, humanitarian or social impact organisations. Proven experience leading complex multi-country programmes and teams. Demonstrated experience in programme quality, strategy development and organisational leadership. Strong understanding of gender equality, child rights and humanitarian programming. Proven experience in donor engagement, partnership management and resource mobilisation. Strong financial, governance and risk management capability. Experience overseeing operational functions including people management, administration, compliance and organisational effectiveness. Proven ability to lead organisational growth, change and transformation. Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation and communication skills. Experience working in Pacific contexts or similarly complex operating environments. Desirable Postgraduate qualification in development, international relations, business, public policy, management or a related field. Experience leading regional portfolios. Strong understanding of Pacific political, social and development contexts. Experience working with institutional donors and humanitarian funding mechanisms. For your application to be considered, you must provide us with updated CV, a short covering letter outlining your capacity and academic certificates/transcripts to fulfil the requirements of the job. All applications will be reviewed on receipt. Only suitable candidates will be considered and they will be contacted if shortlisted. We promote diversity in our organisation in which we encourage women and the disable to apply. Application will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Closing Date: 13 October 2026