Roving project manager

Position information: 

• Scope:  Global
• Reports to: CEO
• Team: Director’s Office
• Location: All locations
• Hours:  Full-time
• Application deadline: October 25th, 2026
• Provisional Grade: ZIM 6,7, KEN 12,13, TUN: 12 CR: 7, NL: 12,13

About Hivos

Hivos is an international human rights and social justice organization founded in 1968, guided by strong humanist values. The organization is committed to promoting freedom, dignity, and equal opportunities, and to ensuring that people can actively participate in decisions that affect their lives and communities. Hivos works in partnership with civil society actors, activists, and communities to amplify diverse voices, strengthen agency, and address structural inequalities. Particular focus is placed on supporting marginalized groups to organize, advocate, and claim their rights.

Through its programs and partnerships, Hivos contributes to building inclusive, equitable, and sustainable societies where people have equal access to rights, resources, and opportunities. Read more about Hivos.

About the role

The Roving Project Manager is a senior project leadership role within the Director’s Office responsible for delivering high-priority, cross-functional strategic initiatives on behalf of the CEO and Core Leadership Team (CLT).

The role is designed to ensure that critical organisational priorities, transformation initiatives, and strategic projects are successfully implemented when ownership spans multiple functions and cannot be effectively managed by a single department. These initiatives may range from organisational transformation, operating model changes, digital transformation, systems implementation, governance improvements, and strategic partnerships to special projects emerging from the Ten for Ten Strategy.

The role acts as a catalyst, coordinator, and delivery lead, ensuring that strategic projects move forward while enabling functions to continue delivering their core responsibilities. Success depends on strong project leadership, stakeholder management, influence without formal authority, and the ability to navigate complex organisational and individual interests to achieve shared outcomes.

Purpose of the role

The Roving Project Manager is responsible for leading and delivering cross-functional strategic initiatives that contribute to Hivos’ organisational effectiveness, transformation agenda, and strategic objectives.

Working directly with the CEO and CLT, the role translates strategic priorities into actionable plans, coordinates implementation across functions, manages dependencies and risks, drives accountability, and ensures delivery of agreed outcomes.

The role enables a One Hivos approach by connecting functions, facilitating collaboration, removing barriers, and ensuring that organisation-wide projects achieve measurable impact while balancing operational realities, stakeholder expectations, and organisational priorities.

Responsibilities and duties

Strategic Project Leadership

• Lead and deliver CEO and CLT-sponsored strategic projects and transformation initiatives.
• Translate strategic decisions into actionable project plans, milestones, governance structures, and delivery roadmaps.
• Coordinate organization-wide initiatives that span multiple functions, teams, and geographies.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned to intended organizational outcomes.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work across Programs, Business Development, External Engagement, Finance & IS, People & Culture, and Administration functions.
• Facilitate collaboration and alignment between functional teams.
• Manage competing priorities, dependencies, risks, and stakeholder expectations.
• Support effective decision-making by escalating issues and providing recommendations to the CEO and CLT.

Organizational Transformation

• Lead implementation of organizational change initiatives arising from strategic reviews, restructuring efforts, process improvements, and digital transformation programs.
• Support the implementation of the Ten for Ten strategy and other strategic priorities.
• Drive adoption of new ways of working, systems, and organizational practices.
• Facilitate change management, communication, and stakeholder engagement activities.

Strategic Monitoring and Delivery Assurance

• Track progress against strategic objectives and key delivery commitments.
• Develop and maintain project dashboards, reporting frameworks, and performance indicators.
• Monitor benefits realization and organizational impact of projects.
• Identify delivery risks and recommend corrective actions.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build productive relationships with senior leaders, project teams, external partners, consultants, and service providers.
• Facilitate workshops, planning sessions, and strategic discussions.
• Navigate organizational dynamics and competing interests to achieve consensus and maintain project momentum.
• Represent Hivos in strategic partnerships, innovation initiatives, and external project-related engagements where appropriate.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and collaboration.
• Lead process simplification and standardization initiatives.
• Capture lessons learned and ensure organizational learning from strategic projects.
• Promote innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement.

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred in Business Administration, Organisational Development, Project Management, Public Administration, International Development, or a related field.
• Minimum 8-10 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years leading complex cross-functional projects or organisational transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience delivering strategic projects involving multiple stakeholders and functions.
• Experience in organisational change, transformation, operating model implementation, or digital transformation.
• Proven experience working with senior leadership teams and executive stakeholders.
• Strong project governance, risk management, and delivery management experience.
• Experience working in international, mission-driven, or civil society organisations is highly desirable.

Skills and competencies

• Ability to collect, analyse, and interpret data to support strategic insights and integrated monitoring frameworks.
• Strong capability in business case development, feasibility analysis, and strategic justification of new initiatives.
• Proficiency in strategic planning, organizational development, and cross departmental alignment.
• Expertise in innovation methodologies, digital transformation tools, and change management practices.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and complex organizational dynamics.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling collaboration with leadership, cross-functional teams, and external partners.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, resources, and stakeholders in fast-moving strategic projects.
• Competence in knowledge management, systems thinking, and leveraging digital tools to support organizational innovation.
• Fluency in English required; additional languages relevant to Hivos operating contexts are an asset.

How to apply

Please click the Apply button below.

Please submit the following documents in English no later than October 25th, 2026: résumé/CV (maximum two pages, PDF format), and a letter of interest (maximum one page, PDF format).

What we offer

We offer a stimulating work environment in a professional international organization with very dedicated staff.  We offer a labor contract based with remuneration commensurate with the experience and expertise. Contract renewable depending on performance.

Background checks for final candidates

If you get selected for the final stage of the selection process, please note that professional references will be asked from your previous employers, and a safeguarding vetting will be done, in accordance with the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme’s requirements, which Hivos has endorsed.

Police clearance may be required (where the position requires it, and national laws allow it). Exceptions will only be made if there is prohibition of local legislation or when the candidate is unable to obtain police clearance due to activities on LGTB+ and Human Rights.  https://www.hivos.org/who-we-are/our-organization/integrity/

Candidates are highly encouraged to provide a clear track record of results in their CV and to use their cover letter to clearly and concisely address the requirements of the role elaborated above.