Orchid Project

Over 200 million girls and women worldwide today are living with the impacts of female genital cutting (FGC), and at least another 4.1 million girls are at risk of being cut within the next year. Orchid Project’s mission is to accelerate abandonment of FGC around the world.  

There are many complex reasons why FGC still happens, and we work closely in partnership with civil society and others, to enable local communities to decide to end FGC themselves. The three strands of our work – partnering with grassroots organisations, sharing knowledge, and advocating globally to governments and decision makers – aim to accelerate and catalyse an end to FGC around the world.   

Change is already happening, and we are proud of the progress we have made with our partners since Orchid Project was established in 2011, but the challenge is huge. Recent reports have highlighted the ‘gendered impact’ of the COVID-19 crisis on women and girls, which has brought pre-existing inequalities and gender-based violence into sharp focus.  

Against this background of challenge and opportunity we are looking for a new CEO to provide determined, inclusive leadership within our organisation, and the wider movement. Our new CEO will drive Orchid Project’s strategy, championing our goals on local and global stages, lead our fundraising efforts, and engage programme partners in a collaborative effort to protect women and girls and enable communities to end FCG for good. The role requires boldness and humility in equal measure, as well as confident communication and sensitive listening skills. Candidates will have CEO or senior leadership experience in international development, and preferably in the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls. We will look for someone with a natural ability to broker relationships, build trust amongst donors, partners and across the communities with which we work – particularly in Africa – and manage programmes guided by the evidence of what works. We are also looking for a strong leader to set the direction and drive the performance of our small but impactful internal team.  

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to Orchid Project on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/appointments using reference XAEACB. Alternatively, telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should be received by noon on Monday 1 November 2021.