Are you a strategic leader ready to drive impact through strong partnerships and fundraising? WaterAid Sweden is hiring a Head of Programme Partnerships, a key role supporting our global mission for clean water, and sanitation and hygiene for all. Join us and make a real difference.

About WaterAid
WaterAid Sweden is part of the international WaterAid federation. Together with our more than 1,400 colleagues, we work across 30 countries. We are a global organization with a wide range of expertise, united by a clear mission: to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene.

At WaterAid, we lead differently, and we put people at the centre. We’re looking for leaders who are agile, decisive and empowering. In a fast-changing environment, you need not just to manage complexity – but to thrive in it. We expect our leaders to create space for experimentation and innovation, to fail fast and share what you have learned openly. We want you to build strong relations and lead with transparency and empathy, but don’t shy away from honest and frank conversations and decisions when necessary. Outstanding results and green KPI’s come from sustainable and diverse teams, where people feel trusted, included, and empowered to do their best.

About the role
Join a dynamic and expanding environment at WaterAid in a new role as Head of Programme Partnerships, within the department of Policy and Programme Partnerships. You will lead a dedicated team of four, possibly expanding in the near future, working at the intersection of fundraising, programme implementation, and partnership management. The position reports to the Director of Policy and Programme Partnerships and has staff and budget responsibility.

In this role, you will lead our institutional fundraising efforts as we enter a strategic phase of engaging with new Nordic donors. Your team is responsible for developing high-quality funding proposals, managing WaterAid Sweden’s project portfolio, and ensuring strong partnerships with WaterAid’s country programmes. The team works in a collaborative manner and the role includes sometimes hands-on tasks such as contributing to the development of high-quality funding proposals..

You will play a key role in delivering results and maintaining WaterAid’s position as a reliable and value-adding partner to both donors and country teams. Together with the Head of Policy and the Director of Policy and Programme Partnerships, you will foster integration between expertise, advocacy, institutional funding, and project delivery – in line with the teamsour new fundraising strategy.

You will be working daily and closely with many different sections of WaterAid, as a part of a global federation. This includes country programmes, regional offices and central support functions.

Your responsibilities

• Lead and support a team responsible for institutional fundraising, bid development, grant management, and partnerships.
• Ensure the team has competence, routines and mandate to conduct quality assurance and monitoring of a portfolio of projects in collaboration with WaterAid’s country programmes.
• Strengthen partnerships with donors and programme teams by promoting accountability, transparency, and learning.
• Expand engagement with institutional donors in other Nordic countries.
• Ensure WaterAid Sweden contributes effectively to the federation-wide strategy and learnings processes.
• Work closely with the Head of Policy and Director of Policy and Programme Partnerships to align efforts across influence, funding, and programming.
• Close collboration with the Communications and Fundrasing department to ensure quality communication on the impact WaterAid makes in our country programme.

Your Profile
You are a strategic and empathetic leader with a clear drive to make an impact. You bring clarity and structure to complex processes and have the ability to lead with both confidence, kindness and humility. Your leadership style is grounded in trust and collaboration – you listen actively, welcome diverse perspectives, and build strong, respectful relationships across cultures and roles.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in a dynamic, fast-changing environment and embraces both challenges and opportunities with curiosity and courage. You’re not afraid to test new ideas or learn from mistakes, and you value transparency, accountability, and inclusion as drivers of team success.

You understand the nuances of working in an international federation and are comfortable navigating power dynamics and cultural differences. You have a sharp eye for detail and know how to move complex work forward, while also creating space for innovation, shared learning and growth.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience, preferably within international development, NGOs, or donor-funded programming.
• Solid track record in institutional fundraising, proposal development, and management of donor relations.
• Experience in grant management and monitoring & evaluation.
• Excellent collaboration and team management skills, with the ability to motivate and guide cross-functional teams.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills, with a focus on results and continuous improvement.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English.

It is a bonus if you have

• Experience working with Nordic institutional donors.
• Knowledge of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) or related fields such as health, gender equality, or climate adaptation in the context of low income countries.
• Experience of working with funding from Sida’s civil society strategy.
• Experience from working within a global federation.
• Proficiency in Danish, Norwegian or Finnish.

Application
For this recruitment process Wateraid Sweden is collaborating with Novare Interim & Recruitment. Please note that, in accordance with GDPR guidelines, we do not accept applications via email.

The recruitment process includes background checks of the final candidates.

For questions, please contact Elin Hansen at elin.hansen@novare.se or Kristin Högdahl at Kristin.hogdahl@novare.se

We look forward to receiving your application!