Our searches

Since the independence of Bangladesh as a nation, BRAC has played a defining role in the country’s economic and social development. As Executive Director for BRAC Bangladesh, you will work closely with BRAC’s Founder, Board and senior management to lead the strategic shift of the organisation, both as BRAC transitions into a global organisation, and as Bangladesh transitions to a middle-income country and adapts to development challenges such as urbanisation, climate change and migration. You are a mission-driven, strategic leader who is able to inspire and manage a high-performing team, oversee complex programmes and business operations, and cultivate and sustain senior government, donor and other stakeholder relations, meanwhile offering a vision for the future of BRAC in Bangladesh.

About BRAC

BRAC was established in 1972 in a remote village in Bangladesh as a limited relief operation. Today it is the largest development organisation in the world, ranked by Geneva-based NGO Adviser as the world’s top NGO for the third year running.  Sharing successful solutions in 11 other countries in Africa and Asia, BRAC implements large-scale and impactful interventions in the areas of livelihoods, health, education, micro-finance. climate change and community development, with a strong commitment to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls across all its work.

BRAC works on changing the systems of inequity by creating platforms to empower individuals and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. Every year, BRAC engages 60,000 employees and more than 100,000 volunteers in Africa and Asia. BRAC touches the lives of an estimated 130 million people, with staff, volunteers and BRAC-trained entrepreneurs numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

BRAC is many things, it is a social enterprise, an NGO, a public forum, a knowledge hub, a social investor, a policy advocate, a university and a crisis responder.  It brings together changemakers, activists, heroes and mentors who want to build a world that works for everyone.

About BRAC Bangladesh

Bangladesh is on its way to becoming a middle-income country and the 2007 World Bank report credits NGOs like BRAC for the country’s incredible development over the past three decades.

With an annual income of 812 Million USD, full-time staff of 50 000 and over 100,000 volunteers, BRAC Bangladesh is a key player in the development sector of the country, carrying out more than 20 programmes and running several large social enterprises. BRAC remains at the cutting edge of sustainable development in Bangladesh, both in terms of innovative programming and scaling up for impact.

BRAC Bangladesh is actively engaged, together with BRAC International and BRAC Affiliates in the UK and USA, in developing a new BRAC Global Strategy (2020 -2030), the overall aim of which is to establish a global organization with a shared vision, coherent goals for sustainable development and strong, ambitious organizational growth targets. BRAC Bangladesh is expected to continue to play a significant role in Bangladesh’s development in the next decade, innovating, adapting and scaling up programmes, policy advocacy and social enterprises to meet evolving development challenges in the country, while also sharing its rich experience and learning with other BRAC entities in other parts of the world.

Purpose of the Role

The Executive Director will work in close consultation with the Founder and Governing Board, as well as with a wide range of internal and external constituencies, to provide overall leadership and direction to BRAC Bangladesh.

The Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh will:

• Develop the vision and strategic plan of BRAC Bangladesh, working in close collaboration with the Founder, the Governing Board and senior management.
• Lead the execution of the Strategic Plan, encouraging innovation, adaptation and expansion to address development challenges and exploring new opportunities for growth.     
• Promote a high-performing culture based on BRAC’s values: integrity, innovation, inclusiveness, effectiveness.
• Work in close partnership with BRAC International and other BRAC entities to achieve organizational change under BRAC’s global strategy and advance BRAC’s key goals and objectives for sustainable development.

General Responsibilities

• Lead BRAC Bangladesh in a manner that achieves the organisation’s mission as defined by Strategy 2020 – 2030 and under the guidance of the Founder and the Board.
• Lead, inspire and gain the respect of a high performing team, supporting them to innovate, adapt and focus on results.
• Guide the overall execution of the strategic plan for BRAC Bangladesh, including growth strategies for adapting and scaling up programmes to take account of social and economic changes taking place in Bangladesh.  
• Provide vision and leadership for strengthening partnerships and securing substantial funding from institutional donors, governments, foundations and other sources.
• Oversee the implementation of BRAC’s complex and diverse social enterprises and programmes, including in education, health, human rights, microfinance, livelihood, land rights, gender justice and migration.
• Enhance the image of BRAC Bangladesh, championing its vision, mission and values internally and externally and working actively and visibly with partners and other stakeholders, including community groups, civil society organisations and local, regional and national government departments.
• Oversee appropriate implementation of BRAC Bangladesh’s operations and support services.
• Oversee the management of financial and human resources, ensuring adherence to highest standards of integrity and transparency of BRAC Bangladesh.
• Encourage and support research and learning to enhance the high quality of BRAC’s programs and its leadership of development programming in Bangladesh and globally.
• Ensure accountability to and communications with the Governing Board including through effective reporting and communications and support the Board to make informed and timely decisions.
• Work in partnership with BRAC International and BRAC affiliates to advance shared values, goals, objectives and programs, including the transformation of BRAC into an effective global organization.

Skills and Experience

The successful candidate will have an advanced degree from a reputable institution and be an accomplished leader with considerable experience in the field of international development and organizational change. S/he will have:

• Track record of strategy development and change leadership in large and complex organization/s in the public and/or private sector.
• Demonstrated experience of working in multicultural environments and developing and leading high-performing senior teams.
• Deep knowledge of international development and thorough understanding of Bangladesh, including fluent knowledge of Bangla language.
• Proven ability to raise funds and further sound and sustainable growth strategies and programme development.
• Commitment to and experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment, inclusion and diversity programmatically and organizationally.
• Strong influencing skills and experience of nurturing and managing relationships with diverse stakeholders including governments, business, donors, academia, media, and civil society.
• Thorough knowledge, practical experience and business skills to solve complex development challenges, including social business.
• Ability to analyse and apply research, data and learning to improve programs and operations.
• Financial skills with experience in overseeing large budgets and resource optimization.
• Previous field experience, preferably in community-driven programming and Southern-led development initiatives.
• Excellent communication and relationship skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English skills.
• Willingness to travel to Bangladesh and internationally.