Senior Managing Director, Culture, Engagement & Inclusive Growth (M4)

Save the Children

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been fighting for the rights of children. The right to a healthy start in life. To have access to education. To be in a safe environment, protected from harm. We work in some of the world's hardest-to-reach places - over 100 countries, including the U.S. No matter what your role is, when you join Save the Children, you're creating positive, irreversible change for children, and the future we all share.

The Role

The Sr. Managing Director of Culture, Engagement & Inclusive Growth provides strategic leadership to advance a workplace culture rooted in inclusion, belonging, and shared purpose. Reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer, this role serves as the senior advisor for culture, inclusion, and engagement-bridging internal values with external growth strategies to ensure our brand and partnerships authentically reflect the diversity of our staff and communities.

This position is designed to be a growth driver, with a direct impact on funding and partnership development. It is expected to generate value that exceeds its cost through growth strategies that align with organizational objectives.

Location

Hybrid - Washington DC, Fairfield, CT or Lexington, KY office locations

What You'll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Leadership & Advisory

• Serve as the lead advisor on culture, inclusion, and engagement, offering strategic guidance to senior leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Provide thought leadership on inclusive practices, representation, and stakeholder engagement across the organization.

Inclusion & Belonging Strategy

• Steward the development and implementation of the Inclusion & Belonging strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational values.
• Monitor progress and impact through data-informed insights, adjusting strategies to meet evolving staff and community needs.
• Develop and track measures that report on execution of strategy and related initiatives.
• Align culture and engagement initiatives with business objectives, ensuring they contribute to revenue generation, brand equity, and stakeholder trust.

Internal Engagement & Impact

• Design and lead initiatives that foster trust, morale, and connectedness, such as staff listening sessions, recognition programs, and inclusive events.
• Build feedback loops that promote transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement in workplace culture.
• Reduce turnover and recruitment costs by fostering a high-engagement culture, improving retention rates and productivity.

Strategic Collaboration & Impact

• Partner with Marketing and Growth teams to ensure inclusive messaging and outreach that resonates with diverse audiences.
• Align internal culture efforts with external brand positioning to create a unified and authentic organizational voice.
• Build and maintain connections with external vendors need to forward overall strategy and positioning.
• Deliver quantifiable growth outcomes, including increased funding, sponsorships, and strategic partnerships that advance organizational priorities.

Shared Planning

• Facilitate joint planning sessions to align inclusive growth goals and identify strategic partnership opportunities.
• Ensure cross-functional strategies are mutually reinforcing and reflect shared values of equity and inclusion.

Outreach & Partnerships

• Lead outreach efforts to cultivate new partnerships that expand our reach and unlock new funding sources.
• Build and maintain relationships with mission-aligned organizations, funders, and community leaders.
• Year-over-year increase in new strategic partners and renewal rates for existing relationships.
• Leverage partnerships to unlock new funding streams, ensuring the role contributes directly to organizational sustainability.

Amplifying Impact

• Connect internal culture work with external engagement to build a brand presence that reflects the diversity of our staff and stakeholders.
• Ensure that our public-facing initiatives authentically represent our values and foster trust with external audiences.
• Monitor and report on impacts related to external facing initiatives.

Required qualifications for the role

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organization Development, Marketing, Sales, Business Administration or a related field or equivalent experience, plus at least 13 years of relevant experience
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in culture, Inclusion, employee engagement, Sales and marketing, or organizational development.
• Proven track record of designing and implementing successful inclusion and engagement strategies in complex, mission-driven organizations.
• Proven track record of designing and implementing successful inclusion and engagement strategies in complex, mission-driven organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives that align internal culture with external growth strategies.
• Experience using data and metrics to assess impact, drive decision-making, and refine engagement strategies.
• Strong understanding of inclusive communications, stakeholder engagement, and brand alignment.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and build trust across diverse teams.
• Experience advising executive leadership on culture, inclusion, and organizational change.
• Ability to lead with empathy, authenticity, and strategic foresight.

• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English

Preferred qualifications for the role

• Master's degree or higher in Organizational Psychology, Public Administration, Business, or a related discipline.
• Experience working in or with nonprofit, philanthropic, or social impact sectors.
• Familiarity with funding and partnership development, especially in equity-focused initiatives.
• Recognized thought leader in the fields of DEI, culture transformation, or inclusive growth.
• Experience presenting at conferences, publishing insights, or contributing to industry best practices.
• Proficiency with tools for employee engagement, pulse surveys, and data visualization (e.g., Qualtrics, Culture Amp, Tableau).
• Experience leveraging digital platforms to foster inclusive communication and engagement.

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $170,850 - $190,950 base salary

• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $154,275 - $172,425 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $138,975 - $155,325 base salary

The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here).

About Us

We are looking to build an inclusive team at Save the Children. We offer a range of outstanding benefits to support this goal:

• Flexible schedules and time off: Flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in you.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to applicantsupport@savechildren.org.