Global Strategic Policy Lead

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Global Strategic Policy Lead to join our global team.

Team purpose

This is a high profile, externally facing team, with responsibility for the global influencing agenda, which will actively engage in global politically linked engagements on development, humanitarian and global issues. This team will coordinate and lead the development of a proactive global policy and advocacy agenda to unify and amplify our strategic voice and influence across all thematic areas and contexts, while ensuring consistent and coherent external representation. By fostering collaboration within the organisation and engaging effectively with international bodies and influencing spaces including UN, Gulf and African Union, we aim to establish Save The Children as a key partner in shaping international norms and influencing national policies. Our work supports and enhances the movement's local to global advocacy efforts, ensuring our message and tactics are consistently applied, and our high-level external engagements reflect a unified stance. 

Role purpose

The Global Strategic Policy Lead will serve as the primary strategist and advocate, seconded to support a civil society–led campaign engaging global policy and diplomatic spaces to advance humanitarian and political efforts aimed at securing a sustained and definitive ceasefire, improving humanitarian access, and enabling the principled and inclusive recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. The Lead will work in close coordination with core campaign partners and coalitions, ensuring that advocacy and diplomatic engagement reflect shared priorities and strengthen collective impact on collective priorities across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Working closely with the Campaign Coordinator and core NGO partners, the Lead will shape and advance advocacy pathways, ensuring all diplomatic engagement aligns with the campaign’s strategy, coalition priorities, and communications. The role will drive the campaign’s global political engagement, positioning the coalition as a credible and authoritative actor in international policy spaces.

Based in New York, the Lead will cultivate and manage high-level relationships across governments, UN entities, NGOs, and regional bodies, and provide strategic oversight of coalition advocacy in key markets, linking these efforts to New York as a central hub for global influence. The role will also pursue targeted bilateral advocacy with missions and states beyond partners’ existing access, expanding the campaign’s reach and influence. 

Job Title: Global Strategic Policy Lead

Reports To: Head of Global Strategic Influencing and Policy

Work Pattern: Hybrid with flexible working options available 

Contract Length: Fixed Term Contract (January 2026- December 2026)

Grade: P5

Location: New York

Time Zone (that the role holder must be available to work in): New York, EST/CET

Right to Work: The successful candidate must possess the unrestricted right to work in their current or preferred location for the duration of employment.

Language Requirements: English, Desirable: French, Arabic 

International Travel Requirements: up to 5% 

People Management Responsibility: Number of people managed in total: 0

Manager of a team: No

Principal Accountabilities

Strategic Advocacy and Diplomacy

• Design and implement a 5-year global advocacy and diplomacy strategy to advance the campaign’s objectives into 2030 with the support of the Campaign Coordinator and Steering Committee. 
• Lead high-level engagement with governments, Permanent Missions, UN agencies, regional bodies, while ensuring synergies across key capitals where coalitions are active 
• Identify opportunities for influence within international fora and processes, and through bilateral advocacy with missions to broaden access to states, particularly those not otherwise reached by campaign partners and positioning the campaign strategically. 
• Provide strategic support to doctor delegations and other healthcare workers to advance advocacy related to Gaza’s healthcare system and related priorities (around 10% of total time)

Campaign Leadership 

• Facilitate and Co-Chair the Steering Committee together with the Campaign Coordinator. 
• Design, coordinate, and implement advocacy priorities across a diverse global coalition, ensuring alignment and coherence. 
• Provide political analysis and recommendations to the Steering Committee and alliance members. 
• Represent partners at international meetings, conferences, and media engagements. 
• Ensure regular feedback loops and accountability to campaign partners, including coalition leads in key markets.

Partnerships & Coalition Building 

• Strengthen relationships with civil society allies, humanitarian actors, and policy influencers. 
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with key external stakeholders, including UN agencies and UN-led coordination mechanisms, local authorities, local NGOs and civil society organizations, donor/diplomatic community and media. 
• Facilitate dialogue and build consensus among partners with diverse mandates and perspectives. 
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant external stakeholders and coalitions, including but not limited to NGO fora in OPT as well as other market-level and global coordination groups, to proactively identify influencing local and international opportunities and promote joint advocacy. 
• Provide strategic oversight and support to coalition-led advocacy in key markets (e.g., EU and Netherlands), ensuring coherence and linkages with New York-level advocacy. 

Communications & Influence 

• Oversee production of advocacy materials, policy briefings, and diplomatic talking points. 
• Draft, update and contribute to policy and advocacy documents including briefing notes, position papers, press releases and operational guidelines. 
• Work closely with the campaign and NGO partners’ communications and media teams to align messaging across public and private diplomacy channels. 
• Develop and disseminate advocacy products for members and external stakeholders. 

Monitoring, Learning & Adaptation 

• Follow relevant local, regional and international political developments, humanitarian trends, human rights issues and development policy to inform the campaign’s work. 
• Track political developments, risks, and opportunities relevant to the campaign. 
• Ensure real-time adaptation of advocacy tactics based on evolving context. 
• Integrate monitoring, evaluation, and learning into advocacy strategies. 
• Conduct policy/advocacy research, present findings and recommendations to the Steering Committee and relevant committees/working groups. 

Experience and Skills

Essential

1. Exceptional political judgment, coalition-building skills, and the ability to operate in a sensitive and fast-moving geopolitical context are essential.
2. Strong relevant experience in international advocacy, humanitarian diplomacy, or foreign policy. Experience working in advocacy for a consortium or coordination platform is strongly preferred. 
3. Strong existing networks within the UN system, governments, and international NGOs, with the ability to open new entry points to states less engaged at the capital level 
4. Demonstrated track record of influencing global or regional policy processes, ideally in conflict or humanitarian contexts. 
5. Strong reporting and analytical skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data and political developments into clear, actionable insights. 
6. Strong understanding of international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and multilateral diplomacy. 
7. Proven ability to design and lead advocacy strategies with measurable outcomes. Exceptional negotiation, and consensus-building skills. 
8. Experience working with diverse coalitions, including Palestinian partners and those from the region. 
9. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills. Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, politically sensitive environment, balancing discretion and impact. 
10. Commitment to humanitarian principles, conflict sensitivity, and inclusive approaches. 
11. Deep understanding of the operational culture, priorities, and constraints of humanitarian and development actors, particularly INGOs and local/national partners. 

Desirable

1. Familiarity with the Palestinian context.
2. Experience managing and improving established processes, including advocacy planning cycles, coordination mechanisms, or donor engagement routines. 
3. Ability to resolve diverse, often non-repetitive challenges through sound judgment and contextual understanding. 
4. Experience addressing occasional complex or politically sensitive issues, with an ability to recommend adaptive strategies or procedural changes. 
5. Capacity to manage and interpret diverse sources of information, identify inconsistencies, and provide accurate analysis under pressure. 
6. Understanding of how advocacy and policy work can influence broader organizational or inter-agency dynamics. 
7. Experience engaging in internal and external negotiations, particularly within multi-agency coordination frameworks or with governmental stakeholders. 

Education and Qualifications 

Essential

• Degree or equivalent experience in International Relations, Human Rights, Political Science, Social Sciences, Humanitarian Policy, or related field.

Desirable

• Master’s degree in relevant discipline. 
• Proficiency in Arabic or another UN language highly desirable. 

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first.

We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply.

Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found here via the job listing. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our recruitment process:

1. Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter
2. Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team
3. Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview
4. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.