Deputy Team leader -The East Africa Border Security Programme (BSP)

Role Overview

This senior leadership position sits within the FCDO-funded East Africa Border Security Programme, working alongside the Team Leader to drive strategy and oversee delivery across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The programme takes an integrated approach to irregular migration and organised crime, partnering with national governments, local communities, and consortium members to disrupt human trafficking and smuggling networks operating across land borders. In practice, the Deputy Team Leader coordinates country and outcome leads, keeps workplans and budgets aligned, ensures evidence and learning are used to adapt programming, and represents the programme to the donor and government stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate programme implementation across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, working closely with consortium partners, outcome leads, and country leads to ensure delivery is technically robust, coherent, and aligned across all outcome areas.
• Support the Team Leader in shaping strategic direction, advancing the research and learning agenda, and creating an environment where innovation and alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of integrated programme workplans, ensuring they are realistic, risk-informed, and responsive to changing operational contexts, operational capacity, and budget realities.
• Monitor delivery progress, identify operational bottlenecks, and recommend practical solutions that maintain timelines, quality, and programme standards.
• Work with the MERLA Manager to establish and embed monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and adaptation systems that generate evidence, enable course correction, and demonstrate impact on criminal networks.
• Act as a primary point of contact for donor compliance and programme assurance, ensuring timely and accurate financial, operational, and performance reporting, and responding to ad hoc information requests.
• Manage and coach programme teams across consortium and downstream partners, promoting accountability, clear performance expectations, mutual respect, and effective integration of all team members into decision-making.
• Support programme governance and coordination by contributing to senior management decisions, ensuring strong communication plans, convening learning and reflection events, and representing the programme in senior external forums.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Master’s degree in stabilisation, security studies, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, or a related discipline.
• At least 15 years of experience working on similar regional programmes, particularly those focused on security, migration, border operations, peacebuilding, counter-trafficking, or violence prevention.
• Proven experience establishing and maintaining programme quality, robust work-planning, performance oversight, and MERLA systems in complex, evolving operating environments.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee high-risk programmes and navigate politically sensitive contexts, with a strong understanding of safety, compliance, and donor requirements.
• Strong experience in work-planning and adaptive management, including supporting programme start-up, scale-up, and expansion across multiple locations.
• Demonstrated experience managing programmes funded by major institutional donors such as FCDO, USAID, EU, or equivalent, including meeting reporting and compliance obligations.
• Proven effectiveness in leading diverse, multi-location teams that include consortium partners and local implementing partners, and in building cohesive, results-oriented working relationships.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, writing, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with demonstrated cultural sensitivity and the ability to work effectively with governments and communities across diverse contexts.