Program Director, Francophone West Africa

About the role

Smile Train is seeking a Program Director for Francophone West Africa to provide strategic leadership and operational excellence across its cleft care programs in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The role ensures high‑quality, sustainable, and locally adapted comprehensive cleft care while aligning regional activities with the organization’s global mission.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee planning, implementation, and monitoring of cleft care programs across the three countries.
• Lead efforts to expand access to comprehensive cleft care, including surgery, anesthesia, speech therapy, orthodontics, psychosocial support, ENT, and nutrition.
• Align regional programming with Smile Train’s global goals, ensuring a “glocalized” approach.
• Manage fiscal year planning, budgeting, and performance monitoring for multiple countries.
• Supervise and support country managers, fostering a high‑performance, accountable culture.
• Support professional development and succession planning to ensure long‑term sustainability.
• Strengthen internal systems and processes to support effective program delivery.
• Serve as senior liaison for key partners such as hospitals, government institutions, NGOs, and academic entities.
• Design and implement onboarding, training, and ongoing support initiatives for partners.
• Monitor partner dynamics, resolve challenges, mitigate risks, and drive innovation.
• Lead end‑to‑end implementation of cleft care programs across the region.
• Ensure full compliance with Smile Train’s Safety & Quality Protocol and organizational guidelines.

Required profile

Required skills