Regional Director, Asia

Who We Are

Co-Impact brings together local changemakers and funders from around the world to make health, education, and economic systems stronger and more inclusive – creating impact that lasts. Our commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s leadership is central to this goal. By focusing on systems, we work at the scale of the problem - dismantling the root causes of inequality that disadvantage hundreds of millions of women, girls and marginalized communities. Spanning five continents, our team identifies partners that will create lasting progress when supported with the resources to work at scale. Pooling funding allows us to provide large, flexible grants and strategic support to locally-rooted partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America who know their systems best. Our partners' initiatives will benefit more than 600 million people, and we can go even further together. We aim to deploy over $1 billion by 2030 and achieve a world where everyone can lead fulfilling lives. For more information, please visit and take a look at our Handbook.

Co-Impact partners with Professional Employment Organizations (PEOs) to employ their staff.

The Role

Reporting to the Vice President, Programs you will serve as a senior program leader, responsible for sourcing, vetting and finalizing grant recommendations in Asia. You will support program partners (grantees) to develop effective strategies for gender equality, women’s leadership and systems change at scale, while enhancing organizational capabilities for sustainable impact. Additionally, you will contribute to advancing learning and practice among partners, within Co-Impact, the global development sector, and philanthropy.

You bring a strong commitment to gender equality, inclusion, and justice, demonstrated through strategic acumen, an abiding curiosity, and a desire to learn. You also bring excellent interpersonal and analytical skills, along with a high level of personal initiative and the ability to thrive in a distributed, diverse, deep-thinking, and fast-paced environment. You are driven by a focus on root causes, justice, and solving social issues at the systems level and at scale.

You have 15+ years of relevant experience in gender and global development, including at least 5 years in grant-making and supporting program partners. You possess substantial experience working within and understanding the political economies of your regional context. Fluency in English is required.

Responsibilities

As the lead for the region, you will be accountable for achieving Co-Impact’s goals at both the regional and global levels. Core responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Strategy Development and Implementation: Program Partners

Lead the regional team in developing, implementing and monitoring a contextualized Co-Impact program strategy and implementation at a portfolio level. Contribute to ongoing reflection and enhancement of Co-Impact’s strategy and programs, theory and practice of systems change, gender equality, and organizational strengthening. Support the overall model to achieve shared goals ensuring that the regional program strategy aligns with and contributes to global and cross-regional plans. This includes:

• Annual Program partner support plan: In consultation with the regional team, the Regional Director (RD) will lead the development of annual support plans for existing program partners – categorized by their grant phase – design phase and post-design phase. The RD will conduct regular check-ins with team members to ensure that support for program partner (PP) is on track, address any issues as they arise, and monitor PP progress throughout the grant.

• Develop external support streams for regional PPs: Working closely with cross-regional teams such as the Design Team and the LME Team, the Regional Director will identify various streams for support for PPs including coach support, communities of practice and LME support.

• Oversee the development and implementation of scalable systems and processes to ensure sourcing and PP support are well-planned, process-driven and institutionalized.

• Oversee the development of the regional sourcing strategy and approach document, designed to identify and engage new program partners. The RD is responsible for ensuring alignment with Co-Impacts’ overall goals, issue areas and regional priorities.

• Regional Learning Strategy: Take responsibility for consolidating lessons and insights for the region in partnership with the LME Director. Collaborate with the LME team, fellow Directors and account teams to distil key lessons and insights from evidence and data across themes, partners and regions.

• Serve as an account lead for select program partners (PPs) to ensuring a strong alignment with the programmatic work.

• Communications: Serve as a spokesperson for the organization representing Co-Impact regionally and with global stakeholders, working closely with the Communications team.

• Philanthropy: Working closely with the Philanthropy and Communications team and the Strategic Partnerships team, to cultivate relationships with key funders in the respective region.

• Engaging champions: Provide input and ideas on engagement plans in the region for funders and Boards.

• Play a key role in facilitating cross-learning and knowledge sharing across regions and sub-teams. Intentionally incorporate and disseminate lessons learned, particularly with other Program directors.

Management and Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for the region by establishing and expanding Co-Impact’s presence and cultivating partnerships in the region.

• Cultivate and maintain trusted relationships with senior government and public sector stakeholders, as needed, helping position Co-Impact as a credible long-term partner while navigating complex political, policy, and regulatory contexts across the region.

• Develop and oversee the regional budget on an annual basis.

• Lead and sustain a motivated, high-performing, inclusive and diverse team, fostering strong internal and cross-functional collaboration. Ensure their productivity, development, and overall performance align with Co-Impact goals. Monitor employee morale and implement initiatives to address concerns and improve the workplace. Collaborate with Human Resources to attract, recruit, onboard, mentor, and develop talent in the region.

• As a member of the Co-Impact Leadership Team, actively engage in shaping management decisions regarding the growth, strategy and priorities of Co-Impact and provide strategic guidance to the CEO and as part of the Leadership Team on initiatives and opportunities.

• Serve as a key leader in developing and modelling a personal and team culture that embodies Co-Impact values. Foster an outcomes-focused approach to achieve meaningful, lasting, and inclusive impact, prioritize program partners, maintain a beginner’s mind; leverage unity in diversity and build trusting partnerships.

Qualifications and Experience

• At least 15 years of professional experience and with deep expertise in advancing gender equality through an intersectional lens, and substantial knowledge in at least one of our sectoral focus areas (education, health, and economic opportunity).

• Extensive experience as an outcomes-focused, program partner-centered grant-maker, with a proven track record of supporting civil society initiatives in the Global South with a particular focus on Asia.

• Extensive experience of living and working in and understanding the political economies of the Global South with a particular focus on Asia.

• At least 5 years of experience managing a team and mentoring staff to achieve strong results while fostering a positive work culture.

• A university degree or equivalent in a relevant area (Masters’ degree preferred).

• Fluency in English is required.

Required Skills

• Strategic Agility: Ability to identify high-potential opportunities and the design of strategic approaches backed by evidence-based analysis.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrated experience building and managing relationships with senior government and other external stakeholders, with sound judgment in navigating complex political, policy and regulatory environments.

• Organizational Effectiveness: Proven track record of delivering results through strategic coherence, thoughtful business strategy, strong leadership, and a solid understanding of operations.

• Decision Making: Skillful in considering diverse perspectives, and making good judgements based on values and principles, data, experience, and risk assessment.

• Working with People: Experience in motivating, contributing to, and managing collaborative teams to achieve shared goals productively, effectively, and inclusively.

• Managing Action with Purpose and Values: Ability to inspire colleagues and drive initiatives in alignment with the organization’s core purpose and values.

• Results-orientation: Strong project management skills, including deadline management, a sense of responsibility and accountability, the ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities, and work effectively remotely.

• Interpersonal Savvy: Proficient in making and nurturing relationships both inside and outside the organization, with a keen appreciation of intercultural dynamics, and an inclusive style. Comfortable engaging with senior leaders and representing Co-Impact effectively.

• Dealing with Ambiguity: Capable of navigating uncertainty and risk with ease, making decisions and acting even without a complete picture.

• Learning Orientation: Intellectually curious, seeking evidence, openness to new ideas and diverse perspectives, and willing to admit and learn from failure.

• Strong Moral Compass: Upholds impeccable personal ethics and integrity, demonstrating kindness and care.

• Communications: excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to effectively manage and influence a diverse range of relationships in a multicultural environment.

• Global Flexibility: Ability to adapt to working across different time zones and be flexible with working hours and international travel. Proven effectiveness in collaborating with remote and diverse teams.

• Collaborative Focus: Demonstrates strong and infectious enthusiasm for collaboration and partnership and recognizes the value in fostering an environment that supports shared communications, efforts and results.

• Writing Ability: Ability to write and communicate ideas with clarity and precision.

• Perspective: Maintains a sense of humor and ability to not take oneself too seriously.

• Financial understanding: Basic knowledge of organizational financial models, financial statements, strategic financial analysis/ projections, and budgeting.

• Feminist Principles: Commitment to feminist core principles including power-sharing power, dismantling biases, promoting diversity, fostering self-awareness, practicing collective care, upholding accountability, encouraging collaboration, and demonstrating courage.

Benefits

Co-Impact’s compensation philosophy is guided by the following three principles:

• Equity and Fairness: Our approach to compensation and benefits are designed to ensure that our global team is treated equitably regardless of location and without regard to gender, race, or nationality.

• Transparency: We want Co-Impact’s employees to understand our salary structure and to feel confident that they are paid equitably, and potential job applicants to have an understanding of how the role for which they are applying will be compensated.

• Accountability: As stewards of the philanthropic resources entrusted to us so that we can support our program partners, we are accountable to our donors and our board, to our staff, and to the general public.

In accordance with that philosophy, we include the salary for each position in our job postings. To ensure equity within the organization and for all candidates, we do not negotiate salary or benefits. The role is remote and flexible for candidates who are authorized to live and work in India. As we work across multiple regions, candidates should be comfortable collaborating across time zones, including having late‑afternoon meetings. The annual gross salary is USD200,000 (paid in INR based on FX rate determined at the point of offer) plus a generous benefits package.

Application Details

You are welcome to express your interest by submitting a tailored CV and cover letter that speak directly to this role and highlight your relevant experience. Applications that are generic, non-specific, or clearly AI-generated will be less competitive.

Please apply online by 5:00 PM India Standard Time (GMT+5:30) on 19 August 2026. In your cover letter, please confirm that you are authorized to live and work in one of the locations listed above. Please note that Co‑Impact cannot cover relocation costs.

As we are a small team, we regret that we can only respond to applicants selected for an interview, and we are unable to participate in informational calls prior to interviews. Thank you for your understanding. We will review applications on a rolling basis. The position may close early if we receive a strong pool of candidates, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Shortlisted candidates can expect to hear from the recruitment team by mid-September 2026.

Originally posted on Himalayas