• Are you an enthusiastic and experienced policy advocate?
• Do you have the ability to conduct policy research and communicate clearly with different audiences?
• Do you have expertise in the field of global health?
• 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

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

Job purpose

As Head of Health Policy and Advocacy you will directly impact on Save the Children’s Survive Breakthrough which aims to ensure that no child dies before their fifth birthday by 2030. Addressing key barriers to accessing quality health care and promoting the right to health for all are critical to achieving our goal and you will work to influence key global and national policy makers to achieve policy and system change. Our goal is to ensure that the most marginalised and vulnerable children and their families have access to quality health care based on their needs and not on their ability to pay or the country they live in.

As Head of Health Policy and Advocacy, your focus will be on leading a group of expert health policy and advocacy advisers to meet their goals in the key areas of universal health coverage, health financing, primary health care, reproductive maternal and child health, social accountability and global health governance, immunisation and the COVID-19 response. You will also be responsible for relationship management with key donors and partners. In addition you will be responsible for high-level advocacy and policy to ensure that international commitments to access are fulfilled, with a focus on international institutions such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organisation, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the GFF among others.

In this role, you will lead the SCUK Health Global Policy Advocacy and Research team for a year as a maternity cover . This is a fantastic opportunity to be able to own professional relationships and grow your network, getting to know the development sector and architecture. Health Policy is a significant priority for the organisation and this role will position you well for your future career and personal development opportunities.

Key accountabilities:

• Oversee the organisation’s policy, advocacy and research on Health by supporting the highest quality analysis and delivery
• Provide excellent management support, including performance management, pastoral care and ensuring that line reports have development and career-progression opportunities
• Contribute to the success of SCUK’s multi-disciplinary teams by providing resource and technical expertise as required
• Ensure close working with key internal stakeholders, including programming, humanitarian, fundraising, comms and other colleagues across Save the Children UK and the Save the Children movement
• Lead a community of practice for technical experts that keeps abreast of best practice and external trends and innovates to maximise impact for children
• Represent the organisation externally including in meetings, media and other opportunities as required
• Be a visible and credible voice externally, strengthening Save the Children’s global profile
• Build relationships with and influence key decision makers and opinion-leaders
• Give strategic leadership on grants for advocacy including liaison with donors
• Carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way that reflects:
  • Save the Children’s commitment to safeguarding children in accordance with its Child Safeguarding Policy
  • A commitment to Save the Children’s vision, mission, values and approach
  • A commitment to effective management of risk, by operating within the Charity’s code of conduct, policies, procedures and controls and by carrying out the risk management and assurance responsibilities of the role as set out in the Risk Policy and Procedures

Person specification

The ideal candidate would be an enthusiastic and experienced policy advocate, motivated by a desire to make children’s rights a reality for all and address inequality. They will have expertise in the field of global health and have managed a team of policy experts to deliver change at a global and national level. The candidate will be a strong project and people manager with policy experience and strong networking skills. The candidate will have experience of leading teams and matrix working within organisations.

The candidate should be a team-worker, thriving on collaborating with others to achieve shared objectives within dynamic and agile teams. Excellent communication and influencing skills are essential, coupled with technical expertise global health and  the ability to conduct policy research and communicate clearly with different audiences.

Technical skills:

• World-class knowledge and analysis of global debates in international development, children’s rights and your area of expertise, especially for low- and middle-income countries with the highest inequalities
• Effective line-management experience or clearly evidenced potential, including in setting direction, performance management and feedback, with the ability to matrix-manage staff across teams, in order to lead, motivate, retain and manage a diverse team of professionals
• High-level knowledge of human rights, international relations and politics and the international humanitarian system.
• Exceptional understanding of the role of NGOs in influencing change and ability to negotiate and strategize to ensure impact

Personal skills:

• Proven successful track record in policy and advocacy and demonstrated leadership in development of advocacy strategies and approaches
• Excellent networking and experience of building coalitions and working with civil-society actors to achieve change
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to inspire and engage with a wide range of audiences
• Proven ability to build relationships with and influence decision-makers and policy specialists, including politicians and donors, and other key actors globally
• Outstanding interpersonal communication skills
• Ability and willingness to travel for up to six weeks per year
• Ability to operate within a predominantly self-servicing administrative environment

Education/Professional skills:

• Masters’ degree or equivalent experience in your area of expertise.

 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.

Please note – whilst this role is advertised as office based, Save The Children UK will remain a remote-working organisation until at least 30 June 2021.

We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, LGBT+ and from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds, as these are underrepresented at Save the Children UK.

Jobs are positioned within the salary structure on the basis of evaluation. New employees would normally be appointed at the bottom of the grade, however the appointed salary may also take into account the relevant experience a candidate brings to a role. Save the Children is committed to paying staff in a fair and equitable way and will benchmark all salary offers in line with the pay of existing staff.

Save the Children UK is committed to creating an inclusive working environment, promoting and providing equal opportunities in employment. To see our full statement please visit this link: https://jobs.savethechildren.org.uk/our-policies/diversity/

Save the Children UK has a comprehensive benefits package. To see our full offer please visit this link: https://jobs.savethechildren.org.uk/what-we-offer/

Interview expenses: Candidates should note that unfortunately it is not our policy to reimburse expenses accrued when attending interviews at Save the Children UK unless you are requested to attend an interview in an alternative location to where the role is based.

Pre-employment Checks: Any Employment with Save the Children UK will be subject to the following checks prior to your start date:

• a satisfactory police record check to include a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and/or an International Criminal Record Check (If applicable)
• receipt of satisfactory references
• proof of eligibility to work in the national location for this role

More information and apply for this role