Policy & Advocacy Advisers At Save the Children

The job of a Save the Children’s UK Policy & Advocacy Adviser is fast-paced and fulfilling.

• Do you have high-level expertise in global development policies?
• Do you have a proven track record of carrying out high-quality research, policy and/or advocacy?
• Do you have very strong written and oral communication skills?
• Are you motivated by our vision of creating a world where every child doesn’t just survive, but thrives, and can go on to change the world?

If the answers to these questions are yes, we would love to hear from you!

About Us From Syria to Yemen, boys and girls are being killed and maimed as their home towns are bombed and placed under violent siege. Schools, hospitals and other places where children should be safe are being targeted in horrific attacks.

The nature of conflict – and its impact on children – is changing. We are witnessing deliberate campaigns of violence against civilians, including the targeting of schools, the abduction and enslavement of girls, and deliberate starvation.

This must stop. Even wars must have limits.

We’re pushing for governments around the world to make sure that children caught up in conflict are protected. But war is putting children at risk as never before.

Today, one child in six lives in a conflict zone – and in wars across the globe, children are on the frontline. Hundreds of thousands of children are dying every year as a result of indirect effects of conflict.

We work relentlessly to defend children against the horrors of war and to uphold their right to protection. A right that our founder helped establish.

Operating as part of a movement that works in 120 countries, our department designs and implements change-making strategies. We use all our skills to combine lobbying, policy, research, campaigning and media into one agile, powerful engine for change.

Job Purpose As a Policy & Advocacy Adviser, you will carry out a broad range of assignments and/or projects in line with the strategy and policies for your professional area and under overall managerial direction. You will hold responsibility for driving work on specific parts of the Save the Children strategy, often working with minimal supervision, including representing the organisation regularly with external experts and high-level decision-makers. In addition, you will produce high-quality policy analysis and research and/or planning, delivery and evaluation of advocacy to influence duty-bearers to uphold the rights of children in low- and middle-income countries.**

A recognised specialist in your field, you will have experience working on complex assignments and projects, and providing technical guidance to others in resolving complex issues in a specialised area.

As a rights-based organisation, we are committed to anti-racism and actively opposed systemic oppression of any form. The Policy & Advocacy Adviser will also support our commitment to celebrate diversity, challenge inequality, and build an inclusive environment for every one of our employees so we can better represent the children we protect.

Main Accountabilities

• Design, lead and deliver policy, advocacy, research or MEAL strategies and products, to a high standard and often with minimal supervision
• Identify policy and research needs and influencing opportunities in your thematic area, at the country level and/or internationally
• Maintain and develop high-level knowledge and expertise in your specific area and advise colleagues across the global movement, including at a senior level, as well as external stakeholders
• Develop and maintain relationships with key external stakeholders and build strong working relationships with partners and advocacy targets
• Represent the organisation externally, including in high-level meetings and events
• Build strong relationships with our country programmes and other colleagues across our global movement to ensure that national-level advocacy is delivered and informs international debates and decision-makers
• Write advocacy briefings, reports, externally published articles and blogs, as well as assist in the drafting of press releases, Q&As and opinion pieces
• Contribute to the wider success of Save the Children’s teams in the UK and across our global movement, including our country offices and colleagues working on programmes, fundraising and communications, by providing policy, advocacy and/or research expertise as required
• Undertake other tasks as required

Person Profile

Experience/Education:

• High-level expertise in global development policies, including national developing-country government policies, donor behaviour, international institutions and NGOs
• High-level knowledge and expertise in a specific area
• A proven track record of carrying out high-quality research, policy and/or advocacy
• Strong networking and experience of participating in coalitions and working with civil-society actors to achieve change
• Knowledge of human rights, international relations, political analysis and the international humanitarian system
• An academic qualification at post-graduate level/equivalent in international development or a related subject or equivalent experience.

Abilities

• Ability and willingness to travel up to six weeks a year
• Ability to operate within a predominantly self-servicing administrative environment**
• Ability to think creatively, innovate, strategize, set priorities, manage a workplan and evaluate progress with minimal supervision

Aptitude

• A demonstrable commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion and their practical application and integration in the work environment
• A commitment to Save the Children UK’s aims and core values of accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity, and integrity

Save the Children UK is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work both external and internal. We strive to be an inclusive employer and particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, and from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.