Head of Hunger and Nutrition At Save the Children

Based in any UK Office (Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London or Manchester)

Salary: £51,300 pa

The job of Save the Children’s UK Head of Hunger and Nutrition (Global Policy, Advocacy and Research) is varied and fulfilling.

• Are you an enthusiastic and experienced policy advocate?
• Are you a brilliant people manager?
• Do you have the ability to conduct policy research and communicate clearly with different audiences?
• Do you have expertise in the field of global hunger and nutrition?
• 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 Hunger and Nutrition (Global Policy, Advocacy and Research) you will directly impact on Save the Children’s Survive Global Breakthrough which aims to ensure that no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday by 2030. Addressing the barriers to ending hunger and malnutrition for all is central to us achieving this goal.

You will lead and drive Save the Children UK’s policy, advocacy and research on hunger and nutrition, with focus on equity and child rights, to influence key global and national policy makers to achieve policy and system change.

You will lead a team of expert policy and advocacy advisers to meet their goals in the key areas of our hunger and nutrition work, including on infant and young child feeding, access to health and nutrition services, adolescent nutrition, famine prevention and access to safe, nutritious and sustainable diets. An important aspect of your role will be to ensure your team’s wellbeing, continued professional development and learning.

You will also be responsible for relationship management with key donors and partners, and for high-level influencing to ensure that international commitments to end hunger and malnutrition for all are fulfilled. With this remit, you will be able to own professional relationships and grow your network, getting to know the development sector and architecture. Ending hunger and malnutrition is a significant priority for Save the Children, and this role will position you well for your future career and personal development opportunities.

As a rights-based organisation, we are committed to anti-racism and actively opposed systemic oppression of any form. The post holder 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.

Key accountabilities:

• Oversee the organisation’s policy, advocacy and research on hunger and nutrition 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 hunger and nutrition 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 hunger and nutrition 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
• Proven track record in policy and advocacy success and demonstrated leadership in advocacy development.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to inspire and engage with a wide range of audiences.

Personal Skills:

• Excellent networking and experience of building coalitions and working with civil-society actors to achieve change
• 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
• Commitment to Save the Children UK’s goals, mission, values and approach.
• 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.

Closing date: 21^st September

We intend to hold first round interviews for this position on Wednesday 29^th September. Interviews will be held online.