Senior Advisor, Country Program (GCC)

The Senior Advisor is the primary responsible executive for the success of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) program in-country. This role is accountable for delivering the full scope of the country program in alignment with AEPW Strategy 2030, ensuring that projects are designed and executed as part of a system-change agenda rather than isolated interventions. The Senior Advisor manages all in-country stakeholders - including government entities, DFIs, industry partners, and implementing organizations - and oversees AEPW staff, consultants, and contractors to ensure programs are delivered safely, efficiently, compliantly, and with measurable impact.

The Senior Advisor is both a strategic representative of AEPW to external stakeholders and an operational manager ensuring contract compliance, impact reporting, and staff performance.

Key Responsibilities

1. Program Strategy & Alignment

• Develop, maintain, and execute a comprehensive country strategy aligned with AEPW’s global Strategy 2030.
• Ensure that 80–90% of projects drive system-level transformation (e.g., integrated waste infrastructure, EPR alignment, circular economy enablers) with the remaining 10–20% focused on pilots for learning, impact generation, or stakeholder engagement.
• Identify opportunities for replication and scaling across the country and region.
• Anticipate regulatory, political, and market shifts that may affect the program; adapt strategy proactively.

2. Stakeholder Engagement & Representation

• Work very closely with AEPW Members, and facilitate all PAG, pre-PAG, and Member engagement relative to the Country Program Implementation.
• Serve as AEPW’s senior representative in-country, maintaining strong relationships with a) Local and national government ministries, regulators, and municipalities; b) DFIs and co-funding partners active in waste and circular economy infrastructure; c) Industry stakeholders including brands, recyclers, and waste operators; and d) Civil society groups, NGOs, and academic institutions.
• Represent AEPW in policy dialogues, conferences, and industry roundtables, ensuring the organization is seen as a co-creator of solutions.
• Work with the Central PA team to ensure alignment of government relations.
• Act as primary escalation point for all stakeholder issues arising within the program.

3. Project Development & Execution Oversight

• Guide development of new projects to ensure alignment with program objectives and system-change principles.
• Review and approve project proposals prior to submission to the Portfolio Management Committee / Governing Council.
• Oversee in-country execution teams and implementing partners to ensure adherence to AEPW’s global standards.
• Ensure strict compliance with AEPW’s E2E Program Implementation process, safeguard requirements, and contractual obligations.
• Conduct regular site visits, milestone reviews, and partner performance evaluations.
• Collaborate with Circular Solutions Centre to ensure technical due diligence and innovation pilots are rigorously assessed.

4. Contract Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure all projects adhere to the terms of their contracts, including milestones, disbursement conditions, reporting obligations, and safeguard actions.
• Work closely with Central Legal / Contracts to enforce compliance and resolve disputes.
• Maintain a country-level risk register and escalate risks (financial, operational, reputational, HSE) to the Central Risk team.
• Ensure world-class HSE standards are embedded in all project activities, in line with AEPW expectations and international best practices.

5. Financial Structuring & Oversight

• Collaborate with Impact Finance to co-structure deals with DFIs, private investors, and corporate co-funders.
• Monitor financial performance of all projects (grants, loans, blended finance) including repayment obligations.
• Ensure transparent and timely financial reporting for donors, DFIs, and AEPW central finance.

6. Impact Measurement & Reporting

• Ensure all projects deliver on AEPW’s impact metrics: plastic waste collected, sorted, and valorized; access to waste management; jobs created; safety performance, etc..
• Work with Global Support to provide accurate and timely reporting for impact metrics, PMC / GC, donor, and member communications.
• Facilitate external audits, evaluations, and lessons-learned reviews.

7. People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and manage all AEPW employees and consultants in-country.
• Ensure teams operate safely, efficiently, and productively with clear accountability.
• Foster a culture of compliance, transparency, and impact delivery.
• Build local capacity by coaching and developing staff and ensuring knowledge transfer across teams.
• Ensure strong collaboration across functions (Execution, Circular Solutions Centre, Support, Finance, Legal, Public Affairs and Strategy / Planning).

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Advanced degree in business, engineering, public policy, or a related field.
• Minimum 20+ years’ experience in senior leadership roles within infrastructure, development, or circular economy sectors.
• Proven experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder programs with government, DFIs, corporates, and NGOs.
• Strong contract management, compliance, and risk oversight skills.
• Demonstrated financial acumen in structuring and monitoring large-scale projects.
• Experience working in international development, public-private partnerships, or donor-funded projects highly preferred.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and diplomatic skills.
• High integrity, resilience under pressure, and ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on operational management.