Co-Head of Investigations

About the role

As Co-Head of Investigations, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and leading Global Witness’s investigations function, ensuring our work is ambitious, impactful and directly connected to our organisational priorities.

Working alongside the other Co-Head of Investigations, you will set strategic priorities, oversee a diverse pipeline of investigations and ensure our investigative expertise is deployed where it can have the greatest impact.

You will provide strong editorial leadership and judgement, balancing creativity and bold thinking with rigorous standards of accuracy, ethics, legal compliance and risk management.

You will work collaboratively across Global Witness, partnering closely with Campaigns, Policy, Strategic Communications, Partnerships, Data Investigations and Fundraising to turn evidence and investigations into meaningful action and change. You will also lead and develop a talented team of investigators, creating a culture that values curiosity, collaboration, creativity and inclusion.

As a senior leader and external ambassador for Global Witness, you will help strengthen the profile and influence of our investigations and ensure our work continues to challenge powerful actors and expose the systems driving environmental destruction, inequality and human rights abuses.

About you

You are an experienced investigations, journalism or campaign communications leader with a strong track record of delivering high-impact work in complex and fast-moving environments.

You bring excellent editorial judgement and the confidence to identify compelling opportunities, ask difficult questions and make decisions about where investigative work can have the greatest strategic impact.

You understand how to balance ambitious storytelling with accuracy, ethical standards and robust approaches to legal, security and reputational risk.

You are an inspiring and collaborative people leader who knows how to build high-performing teams where people feel supported, respected and empowered to do their best work.

You are comfortable navigating uncertainty, managing competing priorities and bringing people together across different teams and perspectives. You will share Global Witness’s commitment to courage, inclusion and belonging, kindness and collaboration, and be motivated by the opportunity to use investigations to create lasting change.

Working for Global Witness

Global Witness has a talented team of people worldwide with offices in London, Washington DC and Brussels.

We aim to be a diverse and inclusive place to work. We value new perspectives, original ideas and different ways of working. We believe that diverse views and experiences improve the way we do our work. We do our best to make our jobs accessible to all regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation or identity.

We offer an excellent benefits package including a competitive salary and 20 days annual leave (excl. Bank Holidays). We also offer healthcare insurance and policies to support you during key life events.

We have formalised our shorter working week where everyone works 30 hours Monday to Thursday, with Friday off with no impact on full time salary. We operate a hybrid working model which requires at least 2 days in the office.

How to apply

Please send in your CV (max 2 pages) and your responses to the shortlisting questions below to RecruitmentCampaigns, globalwitness by Midnight GMT Sunday 13 September.

Shortlisting questions

• Can you give us an example of a situation where you have had to apply strategic thinking and judgment to make decisions under time and capacity pressures on commissioning investigations? Please describe your rationale in pursuing specific lines of enquiry over other ideas and the outcome of your decision.
• Can you describe a situation where you had to respond to legal or security risks in relation to an investigation you were overseeing? How did you assess, mitigate and respond to the risks?

The answer should be 200-250 words for each question.

To help us track your application please use the following in the subject heading of the email: Co-Head of Investigations and please use the following file name protocol for your CV: ‘First Name_Last Name_CV’.

Interview process

Preliminary interviews with be held virtually, week commencing 28 September. You will receive the interview questions 1 week ahead of the interview via email to enable you to prepare.

At Global Witness, we are committed to making our recruitment process accessible to everyone. If you require any adjustments or support during the application or interview stages, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We want to ensure the process is an inclusive and supportive experience.

Equality and diversity

We would appreciate your participation in completing our Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form.

Global Witness wants to meet the aims and commitments set out in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy. This includes not discriminating under the Equality Act 2010 and building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce and candidates in encouraging equality and diversity.