We support people in overcoming emergencies and we strive to guarantee that everyone can have a decent and dignified life as well as opportunities and a better future. We work in more than 20 countries around the world, including in Italy, with more than 166 emergency, humanitarian aid and development projects. Our activities mainly involve women, girls and young people, actors of change in every community for a fairer and more inclusive world.
We operate in several natural and man-made crisis in various regions of the world. The emergency response is composed by multi-sectorial interventions comprising of WASH, EiE, CVA, Food Security, Protection, and others. We operate also in protracted crisis with provision of humanitarian aid through a prevention, emergency relief and rehabilitation approach. In the last 4 years we have strengthened the regions and the countries where we have been working, we have created new programs, developed new quality and compliance systems and now we need new people who want to join us to build the world we want in the coming years. We believe in a world where everyone has equal opportunities and rights and we work everyday to make it happens. Join us.
Position: International Programmes Department – Operations specialist
Reporting Relationship: Head of International Programmes Department (IPD)
Location: hybrid working in Italy (home / Milan or Bologna offices), with travel to country offices as required, including short-notice field deployment where feasible
Type of contract: Fixed-term, full-time employee contract (12 months)
Deadline: 13/08/2026
Starting date: ASAP
The International Programmes Department (IPD) oversees all international programmes at both the country and regional levels. Within the Department, this role acts as the operational right hand of the Head of Department, ensuring country offices and cross-functional priorities receive timely, practical, high-quality support.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
Reporting to the Head of International Programmes Department, and acting as their deputy on operational matters, this role provides hands-on operational support across a diverse portfolio of international operations. It filters and synthesises information from country offices and internal stakeholders, follows up on agreed actions, supports decision-making and directly carries forward tasks that require coordination, judgement and momentum.
The post holder will be particularly involved in backstopping Ukraine and Afghanistan country offices, coordinating roving/surge capacity, supporting cross-departmental coordination and prioritisation with Partnership, Grants and Operations colleagues, and contributing to a time-bound initiative to strengthen IPD's internal tools and processes — while ensuring that urgent operational issues are escalated with clear options and recommendations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Country Office Backstopping and Operational Support
- Serve as the first operational filter for selected country offices, initially Ukraine and Afghanistan, and multi-country programmes (such as Akelius Language), ensuring that information reaching the Head of Department is concise, decision-oriented and prioritised.
- Follow up directly with Country Directors, Heads of Programmes, HoSS and other key staff to clarify issues, unblock bottlenecks and ensure timely action.
- Prepare short decision notes, issue briefs, risk summaries and recommended options for the Head of Department.
- Track key deliverables, deadlines, donor commitments, internal actions and unresolved operational issues for assigned countries.
- Support country offices with operational planning, internal coordination and problem-solving while respecting country office authority and accountability lines.
Cross-Departmental Coordination and Prioritisation
- Support the Head of Department in coordinating with Partnership, Grants, Operations and other central departments, helping prioritise support requests and emerging issues based on risk, strategic relevance and country office capacity.
- Translate cross-departmental discussions into clear action points, responsibilities and follow-up mechanisms.
- Ensure timely follow-up after meetings with Country Directors, Heads of Region and central departments, maintaining visibility on decisions and pending issues.
IPD Tools and Process Improvement
- Contribute to a time-bound initiative (approx. 6–12 months) to map, centralise and improve existing IPD tools, trackers and planning documents, including support to a shared platform or dashboard to strengthen coordination and decision-making.
- Monitor the regular use and update of key departmental tools (e.g. BEAM, risk trackers, roving planners), flagging gaps or opportunities to simplify processes.
Roving and Surge Team Coordination
- Oversee the planning, prioritization and coordination of roving staff deployments and remote support, across country offices and thematic needs.
- Maintain an overview of roving team availability, ongoing deployments, terms of reference, deliverables and post-deployment follow-up.
- Review and prioritize deployment requests, ensuring appropriate justification and clear terms of reference.
- Coordinate with HR, Administration Finance and Control, Global Security Manager and relevant functional leads on deployment planning, duty of care and accountability.
- Capture lessons learned from deployments and remote support, recommending improvements to strengthen the roving support model.
Requirements
Education
- University degree in Political Sciences, International Relations, International Development, Business Administration or related fields.
- Post-graduate qualifications in humanitarian or development studies are considered an asset.
Experience
- At least 3 years of progressively responsible experience in international programmes, humanitarian operations, programme management, grants, partnerships or country office support, ideally from Headquarters.
- Experience working with or backstopping complex country programmes; experience with Ukraine, Afghanistan or comparable high-risk operating contexts is an asset.
- Experience in engaging in internal work focussing on coordination mechanisms, shared tools and processes.
Skills
- Strong understanding of INGO country office operations, including programme delivery, donor compliance, security constraints, support functions and field realities.
- Demonstrated ability to synthesise large volumes of information into clear recommendations and decision points.
- Strong ability to work across departments and build effective cross-functional relationships.
- Sound judgement, discretion and emotional intelligence.
- Ability to represent the Head of Department in internal discussions, knowing when to escalate decisions.
- Good working knowledge of Power BI or similar dashboard/reporting tools is an asset.
Languages
- Excellent written and spoken Italian and English; French is a strong additional asset.
Availability to travel requested (estimated 10–20% travel).
WHAT WE OFFER
Type of contract: Fixed-term, full-time employee contract (12 months)
Level: 1°/2° CCNL Commercio, depending on the candidate's profile and experience
Compensation: €35,000 – €45,000 RAL
This salary range reflects the expected compensation for this role. Most candidates are hired within this range, with opportunities for progression over time. Final compensation is determined based on relevant experience, skills, and qualifications aligned with the position.
We are committed to supporting career development and internal growth. Base salary represents one element of the Total package, which includes additional benefits.
Hybrid working model with up to 39 remote working days every 3 months
Paid menstrual leave: 1 day per month
Daily meal vouchers worth €6
People-first culture: a supportive, inclusive workplace where wellbeing, respect and collaboration come first
Equal Opportunities
We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace where everyone has equal access to opportunities. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and organizational needs, without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, age, family or parental status, disability or any other status protected by applicable law.
We are committed to building talented teams and welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
The selection process may be closed earlier than planned should a candidate matching the required profile be identified.
Due to the high number of applications, we apologize in advance that only candidates deemed suitable for the role will be contacted.
