Country Director - Nepal

The Organisation

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 country operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls.

The Opportunity

Plan International is seeking an experienced, values driven and strategic leader to serve as Country Director for Nepal. This is a pivotal leadership role, responsible for setting the overall direction of Plan International’s work in Nepal and ensuring high‑quality programme delivery, strong influencing impact, and sustainable organisational performance.

As Country Director, you will lead a diverse team of approximately 130 staff and oversee a country programme with an annual budget of around €10 million. You will represent Plan International at the highest levels with government, donors, civil society, media and partners, while ensuring the organisation delivers tangible, gender transformative impact for the most vulnerable children, especially girls.

This role requires a leader who is comfortable driving organisational transformation, strengthening culture and accountability, and positioning Plan International Nepal as a credible, influential and effective development and humanitarian actors

In this pivotal role, you will:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for Plan International’s development, humanitarian and influencing work in Nepal, aligned with the Global Strategy 2023–2027 and the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and girls’ rights.
• Lead the development and implementation of an ambitious Country Strategy grounded in gender transformation, child rights and participation.
• Ensure high quality programme delivery at scale, linking community level action with national‑level influencing and advocacy.
• Drive effective emergency preparedness and response, ensuring Plan International is ready to respond to both sudden‑onset and protracted crises.
• Strengthen resource mobilisation across bilateral, multilateral, corporate and innovative funding sources, ensuring long‑term sustainability.
• Lead and develop a high‑performing, inclusive and values‑driven team, embedding Plan International’s standards on safeguarding, gender equality, accountability and ethical practice.
• Ensure strong financial stewardship, compliance with donor and legal requirements, and effective planning, budgeting and performance management systems.
• Act as Plan International’s senior in‑country representative, building trusted relationships with government, donors, UN agencies, INGOs, national NGOs and other stakeholders.
• Contribute as an active member of the Regional Leadership Team, supporting regional collaboration, shared services and organisational learning.

Do you have what it takes?

To excel in this role, you will need among other things:

• Senior leadership experience (minimum 5 years) in international development and/or humanitarian contexts, with increasing levels of responsibility.
• A strong understanding of child rights, gender equality and girls’ rights, and the ability to translate these commitments into impactful programmes and influencing strategies.
• Proven experience in resource mobilisation and donor engagement, including in complex or resource‑constrained environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate diverse teams, manage organisational change, and build positive employee relations.
• Strong political acumen, networking and negotiation skills, with experience engaging government, donors, media and civil society.
• Solid knowledge of donor compliance, financial management and accountability systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• A relevant Master’s degree in development studies, social sciences, business administration or a related field.

For a detailed job description which includes the full list of accountabilities and requirements, please click on this LINK

Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

Length of role: 5 year fixed term contract

Reports to: Director of Sub Region

Closing Date: 05 April 2026

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy.

As an international child centred community development organisation, Plan International is fully committed to promoting the realisation of children's rights including their right to protection from violence and abuse. That means we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. We must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for. Our organisation is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We will provide equality of opportunity and will not tolerate discrimination on any grounds. We foster an organisational culture that embraces and exemplifies our commitment to gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion while supporting staff to adopt good practice, positive attitudes and principles of gender equality and inclusion.

If candidate is Nepalese and/or based in Nepal, local terms and conditions will apply