Deputy Chief Executive Officer, GPE

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) leads, manages, and represents GPE, translating Board direction and CEO vision into coordinated system operations across a complex partnership model. The DCEO oversees Secretariat operations, manages corporate governance, represents GPE internationally, and ensures organizational coherence and portfolio performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and policy direction alongside the CEO, shaping and approving strategic direction and policy development.
• Advise strategic, policy and operational matters before the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.
• Ensure programs and organizational units align with and maximize impact of strategic objectives on education reform, finance and partnership.
• Champion gender equality and inclusion in all aspects of GPE’s work.
• Represent GPE in international fora, including the Sherpa committee of the SDG4 High-level Steering Committee.
• Engage with senior government officials of donor and partner countries, and leadership in INGOs, foundations and private firms.
• Provide leadership to GPE’s efforts to raise critical resources for the GPE Fund and co-financing.
• Oversee Secretariat functions and operations related to regional/country programs, governance, personnel and organizational development, finance and grants, external relations, evaluation, monitoring and data management.
• Ensure internal alignment, cross-team coordination, clear workflows, and efficient processes.
• Drive efforts to improve coherence, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Secretariat operations.
• Manage the governance team and governance operations related to the Board of Directors and its committees.
• Support and advise the Chair and Vice Chair in their Board duties.
• Ensure the Secretariat provides strategic, high-quality and timely documentation to facilitate Board and committee deliberations.
• Support the Vice Chair in their role as Chair of the Executive Committee.
• Ensure the grant portfolio is on track and corrective action is taken as needed.
• Ensure quality and timeliness of partnership compacts, grant applications, and implementation progress.
• Intervene when programs stall; grant agents underperform or country processes break down.
• Ensure clarity on roles, decision rights and escalation pathways in the GPE operating model.
• Encourage partner alignment behind country priorities.
• Ensure coherence across funding windows.
• Strengthen the effectiveness of the model by reducing fragmentation, improving clarity and efficiency, and reducing competing incentives.
• Hold partners accountable for delivery timelines, quality of implementation, and results reporting.
• Ensure strong monitoring frameworks, reliable data flows from countries and grant agents, and performance tracking across the portfolio.
• Provide data and reporting to shape Board discussions and make strategic adjustments.
• Identify and mitigate political, operational, governance, financial, PSEAH and reputational risks to GPE.

Requirements

• Master's degree with at least 12 years of experience in increasingly responsible management roles.
• Previous managerial experience is desirable.
• Multi-year leadership experience in a growing, globally funded, operational entity with multiple donor, partner, and international trust fund relationships.
• Ability to recognize and interpret cultural nuances in language and action in international settings.
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrix management environment, both as a team leader and a team member.
• Proven track record of leading organizations and/or teams to achieve results.
• Ability to ensure group efforts produce clear actions and decisions and tasks to conclusion.
• Ability to adapt to changing circumstances by innovating and altering plans and communicating new courses of action.
• Ability to anticipate risks and plan to mitigate or minimize impact.
• Ability to take ownership of own and team mistakes, failures or oversights, and share credit for team accomplishments.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues with shared goals in mind.
• Ability to foster productive group dynamics and actively seek and consider diverse ideas and approaches.
• Extensive experience and success working in multicultural environments.
• Skilled at communicating complex information in succinct and digestible ways; coaching others to develop this skill.
• Ability to operate with transparency and build trust in a culturally diverse environment.
• Ability to maintain productive working relationships and hold team members accountable.
• Deep knowledge of assigned stakeholder groups and strong professional network with key players.
• Understanding of stakeholder perspectives, interests and needs and their intersection with GPE’s goals and interests.
• Extensive experience forging and managing relationships and developing partnerships.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills.
• Strong political judgment, diplomatic sense, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to represent GPE and its activities credibly and convincingly to external stakeholders.
• Experience defining organizational strategy and translating that to operational objectives and plans.
• Experience defining team and individual work programs, identifying key performance indicators and tracking and managing results.
• Proven ability to manage large and diverse business units or major functions.
• Extensive experience building and managing teams and creating an enabling work environment.
• Skilled at leading and inspiring team members.
• Ability to articulate a clear vision for the team and implement it fostering participation, shared ownership and delegation.
• Proven track record of taking tough decisions and addressing performance issues directly and timely.

Skills

• Leadership in global organizations
• Matrix Management
• Cross-Cultural Communication
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Partnership Development
• Negotiation Skills
• Conflict Resolution
• Strategic Planning
• Operational Planning
• Performance Management
• Team Building
• Organizational Governance
• Risk Management
• Political Judgment
• Diplomacy Skills
• Change Management
• Results-Oriented Management
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Accountability Management

Languages

English