Our searches

Right To Play works to protect, educate and empower children to rise above adversity using the power of play. Right To Play operates in 15 countries, and as Global Director, Country Operations, you will provide leadership and operational support to programs and teams active in a cluster of 8 countries. You are a natural collaborator with a drive for excellence who knows how to coach and develop empowered teams. You are resilient and independent, and can successfully lead at both the field and headquarters level.

About Right To Play International

Right To Play is a global organization that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity using the power of play. By harnessing play, one of the most powerful and fundamental forces in a child’s life, we help 2.3 million children each week to stay in school and out of work, to prevent life-threatening diseases like HIV and malaria, and to stay safe from exploitation and abuse. Right To Play is the only global development organization focused exclusively on using play to transform the lives of children and youth impacted by poverty, war, disease, and inequality. Established in 2000, Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has operations in 22 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

About the Role

The Global Director, Country Operations reports directly to the Chief Program Officer, providing leadership, strategic guidance and technical support to the Country Directors in a global cluster of Right To Play country offices. As part of the Global Programs unit, this position plays an essential role in leading a portfolio of countries across Right To Play.  Ultimately, the position is responsible for the success of global operations by ensuring the optimization, standardization, and alignment of program operations, processes and projects across country offices with Right To Play’s mission and values. 

Significant international travel (50% – 60%) is required across the Global Director’s portfolio of countries. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and Support to Country Directors:

• Coach, develop, manage and build a high performing team of Country Directors supported by performance standards and accountability.
• Champion a culture of global collaboration, connection, empowerment and positive change to foster organizational unity. 
• Maintain constant and open lines of communication with country offices and provide timely support as needed.

Best Practices, Quality Assurance and Compliance:

• Provide strategic leadership through the facilitation of country-specific strategies and annual program plan development.
• Help country teams improve operational efficiency by monitoring program design and delivery against outcomes and indicators.
• Ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures and practices in all countries and projects.
• Keep abreast of possible impacts of political and regulatory changes at country-level in order to support country offices as they manage the impact of these changes.
• Develop global compliance evaluation criteria and conduct periodic audits to evaluate country-level compliance.
• Develop and implement a system for tracking and reporting on the progress of the global strategic plan, annual roadmap and budget.

Opportunity Assessment and Program Innovation:

• Lead the design and creation of new programs that better address the needs of children within the capacities of sport for development programming, in collaboration with HQ and country offices.
• Collaborate with country teams to develop and deepen programmatic thinking and design.
• Participate in relevant NGO forums or networks.
• Cultivate relationships and develop plans that will expand current funding channels.
• Troubleshooting Program Issues and Other Duties:
• Provide support and guidance to deal with unexpected challenges at the global and country-level.  
• Initiate internal investigations, as required.
• Collate global program issues and lead the design of mitigation plans against future occurrence.

Collaboration and Coordination:

• Work closely with relevant HQ, National Office and Global Programs team members to establish workflow processes and quality assurance mechanisms for timely and exceptional reporting on Program issues across RTP.
• Lead cross-country knowledge sharing amongst teams and lead the development of program accountability team resources. 
• Ensure sufficient resources to support successful partnerships globally and maximize synergies across program areas.
• Together with the NO lead/focal point ensures appropriate frequency and timing of field visits, within the established global field visit policy framework.

Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Social Sciences, Development studies or other related disciplines.
• 10 years’ experience in a leadership role within a large or international organization working on strategic planning, quality improvement, project planning and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, human resources and financial management.
• Proven record of effectively leading high performance, an outcomes-based organization on an international scale.
• Experience and excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage and develop teams.
• A leader with coaching, influencing and managerial skills in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and you are able to build rapport with staff, stakeholders, partners, government officials, donors and community leaders across various cultures.
• Excellent presentation and written communication skills are excellent.
• Fluency in oral and written English required.
• Fluency in oral and written French and/or Arabic is preferred.