Director of Development and Communications

Appointment of Director of Development and Communications

Malnutrition is everyone’s business and everyone’s responsibility.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Due to COVID19, conflict in Ukraine and climate change, malnutrition and hunger have worsened significantly since 2019, reversing a decade of progress. There is growing recognition that our food systems need to change if we are to reverse these trends.

GAIN’s Strategy aims to transform food systems to make healthier diets from sustainable food systems accessible to all people and especially those whose are most vulnerable to shocks. By 2027, we aim to improve the access of 1.5 billion people to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, improve the access of 25 million people to healthier diets, and support positive food system change in 10 countries. This is hugely ambitious, bold and complex. To achieve this, we work together with partners including governments, businesses, and civil society at the country and global level. These goals, and the ways of achieving them, build on our twenty-year legacy of transforming people’s lives with improved nutrition through concerted action and effective policy change. Critical to achieving our new Strategy (2023-2027) we plan to expand and diversify our income to strengthen our influencing role and achieve impact at scale.

We are therefore seeking to appoint a new Director of Development and Communications (DDC) who will focus on three main tasks over the initial appointment:

• Creating and implementing a strategy for income diversification including Foundations, and Trusts and HNWIs
• Leading our external Communications team
• Join the Strategic Management Team (SMT) which leads GAIN’s executive management.

From January 2026, following the retirement of our current Director of Policy in December 2025, the DDC will also assume responsibility for GAIN’s full resource mobilisation activity including official bilateral and multilateral donors.

We hope that in learning about our strategy, reviewing our website - including reading what our staff say about us – and reading this, and our brochure, it will excite you about the challenges and the opportunities of this role. For the right candidate, it offers an exciting mix of initial high responsibility for a new area that is critically important to us, supported with strong mentoring, followed by assumption of responsibility for all our resource mobilisation and external communication work. You will be a member of our C-suite and therefore exposed to and contribute to all our strategic decision making.

To apply, please submit CV and covering letter, detailing how you fulfil the role description and specification director6805@gainrecruitment.com quoting reference6805.

The deadline for applications is Friday 2nd February 2023 at 09:00 CET.

The role will require travel and communication across global time zones. As an international, multicultural and inclusive organisation, GAIN is willing to consider candidates with the right to work in one of the countries where it has an office, and who will be based at that office. The salary is commensurate with the seniority of the appointment and location dependent. GAIN is unable to support visa sponsorship or relocation for this role and candidates must have the existing right to live and work in their country of application to be eligible.

A list of GAIN’s country offices is outlinedhere.

GAIN values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture, a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. We aim to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity. For our full diversity, equity and inclusion statement please see here.