Global Executive Director, People

Global Executive Director, People

Location: London-based but with some flexible working. Regular international travel

Reports to: Chief Executive, WaterAid UK, with a dotted line to the Global Director, WaterAid International

Member of: WaterAid Global Executive and WaterAid UK Executive Leadership Team

Budget responsibility: People function budgets (c£6m including London Office)

Salary: £110,000 per year with excellent benefits

The Opportunity

WaterAid exists to bring clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene within reach of everyone, everywhere. Achieving that mission requires an organisation where talented people are united by a shared purpose, led well and are able to perform at their best.

The Global Executive Director, People is a senior organisational leader who will help shape WaterAid’s overall direction and ensure that our people, leadership, culture and organisation are equipped to deliver it.

The role combines two important mandates: leading the People function for WaterAid UK and shaping a coherent and valued People agenda across the wider WaterAid federation. Success will require someone who can see the whole organisational and mission-focused picture, while ensuring excellence in people leadership and professional practice.

What You Will Do:

Provide Mission-Focused Organisational Leadership

• Contribute fully to the collective leadership, strategy and performance of WaterAid, looking beyond the People portfolio to what will best advance our mission.
• Help translate WaterAid’s ambitions into the organisational capabilities, leadership, culture and ways of working needed to deliver them.
• Act as a trusted strategic partner to the WaterAid UK Chief Executive and Board, the Global Director, WaterAid international and senior leaders across the federation.
• Bring clear judgement, constructive challenge and a whole-organisation perspective to complex decisions.
• Lead through relationships and influencing, recognising that progress across a federation cannot depend on formal authority alone.
• Lead major organisational development and change, helping WaterAid become more agile, connected and effective.

Build Exceptional Leadership and Culture

• Create the conditions in which people understand our purpose, take responsibility, collaborate across boundaries and perform at their best.
• Strengthen leadership quality, accountability, succession and talent development across WaterAid.
• Partner boards and Chief Executives on Board and Senior Executive level recruitment.
• Champion and embed diversity, equity and inclusion and a psychologically safe culture, grounded in WaterAid’s values. Model inclusive leadership, ensuring diverse voices are heard and valued in decision-making. Promote a culture in which people are able to raise concerns, with zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation or harassment.

Shape a Strong Global People Agenda and Lead a High Performing Team

• Set a clear and compelling direction for people and organisational development across the federation, balancing global coherence with member autonomy and local context.
• Lead and develop high-performing Global and WaterAid UK People teams with the depth, capability and confidence to deliver. Build trust, commitment and investment in a global People function that federation members value, use and help sustain.
• Ensure consistently high standards to ensure WaterAid can deliver its ambitious strategy through people and across the whole employee experience. This includes people planning, recruitment, reward, learning, employee engagement, internal communications, organisational development, leadership development and succession and diversity, equity and empowerment.
• Provide executive leadership for safeguarding, health, safety and security with responsibility for specialist teams serving the whole federation.
• Convene and guide People Team professionals across WaterAid, strengthening shared capability, learning and professional standards.
• Use evidence, insight and technology to improve decision-making, employee experience and organisational effectiveness.
• Partner with the IT Director and other senior executives to deliver our AI usage strategy, equipping colleagues with the fluency and confidence to use it in service of our mission.

What You Will Bring

We are looking for an outstanding organisational and people leader who combines strategic breadth with deep professional credibility.

You will bring:

1. Significant senior leadership experience in a complex, international organisation.
2. A strong commitment to WaterAid’s mission and values and the ability to connect people strategy directly to organisational purpose and impact.
3. A record of contributing to organisation-wide strategy and leadership, rather than operating solely as a functional specialist.
4. Exceptional people leadership skills, with experience of building strong teams, strengthening leadership capability and creating accountable, inclusive cultures.
5. Substantial expertise across organisational development, change and the major disciplines of people management.
6. The ability to hold two mandates successfully, delivering excellent leadership for WaterAid UK while advancing a shared agenda across an international federation.
7. The credibility and judgement to advise, support and challenge chief executives, boards and senior leaders.
8. Strong cultural intelligence and experience of influencing across countries, cultures and autonomous organisations.
9. The ability to build commitment and secure investment through trust, evidence and demonstrated value, rather than positional authority.
10. The courage to make difficult decisions, alongside humility, curiosity and a commitment to learning.
11. A strong understanding of equity, inclusion, safeguarding and responsible organisational practice.

Experience of the international development or non-profit sector, living or working in a country where WaterAid operates, or working in more than one language would be valuable but is not essential.

How You Will Lead

You will:

1. Put WaterAid’s mission and collective success at the heart of all decisions and priorities.
2. See the bigger picture while maintaining high standards of delivery.
3. Combine humanity and inclusion with clarity and accountability.
4. Build capability and confidence in others rather than creating dependency.
5. Work collaboratively while being prepared to challenge and decide.
6. Model WaterAid’s values of respect, accountability, courage, collaboration, integrity and innovation.

How to apply:

To apply for this role, please use this link and provide the following documents:

• An up-to-date CV. Please submit a PDF document labelled ‘CV’ with your name and the role title.

• A supporting statement. Please insert your supporting statement in the textbox provided (equivalent to around two pages) that outlines your interest in this particular organisation and role, and your fit against the essential experience criteria set out in the person specification and role description.

• A completed diversity monitoring form on the application link.

If you would like to know more about the role or selection process, please contact Isabela BetoretGarcia from our Executive Search partners, Green Park by emailing Isabela.BetoretGarcia@green-park.co.uk

Please submit your application by 11:59 pm on Sunday 29th November 2026

We understand the value of AI tools and recognise their benefit for people who may need help with their writing. However, please note our clients are increasingly rejecting CVs, expressions of interest, and applications where AI has left them generic, flat, or indistinguishable from others.

By using your own words, experience, and ideas to express your motivation to and alignment with this role, you give yourself the best chance of standing out in a highly competitive field.

Closing Date: 11:59 pm Sunday 29th November 2026

Interviews with Green Park: Throughout November

First Stage Interview with WaterAid (in-person): Friday 18th December 2026

Second Stage Interview with WaterAid (in-person): Thursday 7th January 2027

Our Benefits

• 36 days’ holiday (including eight Bank Holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10%
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

Our Commitment

Our People Promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change!