Save the Children is seeking a transformative Chief People Officer (CPO) to help shape the future of one of the world’s most influential humanitarian organisations. Operating across 90 countries and supporting approximately 25,000 staff worldwide, Save the Children continues to strengthen its commitment to protecting children, advancing equity, and building resilient communities.
This newly advertised executive leadership opportunity reflects the organisation’s ambition to modernise its global workforce strategy while fostering an inclusive and high-performing culture.
A Strategic Leadership Role at Global Scale
Reporting directly to the CEO and serving on the Senior Leadership Team, the Chief People Officer will play a central role in driving organisational effectiveness and cultural transformation. The successful candidate will oversee a Global People Team of approximately 70 full-time employees and support more than 12,000 staff members working across 50 country offices.
The position is designed for an experienced leader capable of balancing strategic oversight with operational excellence in a highly complex international environment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading the global people and culture strategy
- Strengthening leadership capability and talent pipelines
- Modernising HR systems and workforce operations
- Enhancing employee engagement and wellbeing
- Supporting organisational transformation initiatives
- Advising senior leadership and the Board on workforce matters
The role demonstrates how people leadership has become increasingly critical to achieving humanitarian impact at scale.
Driving Transformation Across Global HR Operations
One of the most significant priorities for the incoming CPO will be the transformation of Global People Services. Save the Children is aiming to stabilise and modernise its HR infrastructure to better support a globally distributed workforce.
The successful candidate will work closely with transformation and IT teams to improve workforce systems, streamline service delivery, and strengthen employee-centred operations.
Core transformation priorities include:
- Rebuilding and improving HR shared services
- Strengthening workforce analytics and people data
- Enhancing enterprise HRIS systems, ideally Oracle-based
- Creating efficient and scalable global people operations
- Supporting future workforce planning and capability models
This emphasis on digital transformation highlights the growing importance of data-driven people management within international NGOs.
Building a High-Performance and Inclusive Culture
Beyond systems and operations, the role places strong emphasis on organisational culture and inclusive leadership. Save the Children is seeking a leader who can foster trust, collaboration, and empowerment across diverse teams and regions.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Significant senior HR leadership experience
- A strong track record in organisational change management
- Experience working across multicultural environments
- Emotional intelligence and resilience
- Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills
- A values-led leadership approach
Experience within international NGOs, federated organisations, or complex matrix structures will be advantageous. However, candidates from the private sector with expertise in large-scale global transformation are also encouraged to apply.
The organisation particularly values leaders who combine strategic thinking with empathy and integrity.
Supporting Save the Children’s Global Mission
Founded to protect vulnerable children and communities, Save the Children continues to operate in some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian environments. The Chief People Officer will contribute directly to advancing the organisation’s long-term global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030.
The role will support efforts to ensure that employees worldwide feel:
- Safe and supported
- Empowered to perform effectively
- Included and respected
- Connected to organisational values and purpose
The organisation’s leadership believes that strong people systems and inclusive workplace cultures are essential to delivering sustainable impact for children.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Core
Save the Children has reinforced its commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as a central pillar of its organisational strategy. The organisation actively welcomes applications from underrepresented groups and is committed to creating equitable opportunities throughout the recruitment process.
The CPO will play a critical role in embedding DEI principles across global operations, helping ensure that workplace practices align with the organisation’s humanitarian mission and values.
This includes strengthening:
- Inclusive leadership practices
- Employee wellbeing initiatives
- Fair recruitment and advancement opportunities
- Safeguarding and anti-harassment standards
- Cross-cultural collaboration and representation
The role therefore extends beyond operational HR management into broader organisational stewardship.
An Opportunity for Transformational Leadership
The Chief People Officer opportunity at Save the Children represents more than a traditional HR leadership role. It is a strategic position focused on enabling global humanitarian impact through people, culture, and organisational effectiveness.
With international travel required and collaboration spanning multiple regions and time zones, the role is suited to a leader comfortable navigating complexity while maintaining a strong focus on people and purpose.
Applications are being managed in partnership with Perrett Laver, with the application deadline set for 15 June 2026.
For experienced global HR leaders seeking meaningful impact, this role offers the chance to shape the future of one of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations while supporting lasting change for children worldwide.
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Disclaimer: Remote Job Opportunities (RJO) is not the organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the responsible organization directly. Please do not send your applications to RJO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.
