Humanitarian policy adviser jobs in London

The Vacancy

Are you a committed compliance and risk professional looking to apply your expertise to improve humanitarian action? Join Start Network — a growing, values-driven network transforming the way crises are anticipated and responded to globally.

WHAT IS START NETWORK?

Our purpose is to be a catalyst for system-level change that improves the efficiency, effectiveness

and ethics of humanitarian action. We do this by working as a network to develop, test & spread

new ways of collaborating and resourcing locally-led crisis response and anticipation.

Our current membership is made up of over 130 local, national and international NGOs based all

around the world. We also support 10 national and regional hubs made up of civil society

organisations and NGOs as our vehicle for devolving power, resources and accountability

THE ROLE

The Risk and Compliance Advisor forms a key part of the Assurance Team, which provides confidence to senior leadership and the Board that Start Network’s risk management and control environment is effective.

The postholder will support organisation‑wide risk management, compliance processes and member capacity strengthening. This role requires excellent communication skills, sound judgement, and the ability to navigate complex issues calmly and logically.

Risk Management: Support organisation‑wide risk identification, assessment and monitoring; maintain risk registers; embed risk processes in planning and decision‑making.

Investigations: Coordinate external investigations into fraud, corruption and anti-money laundering, including managing specialists.

Sanctions & Vetting: Support vetting processes and keep vetting data accurate and up to date.

Compliance: Deliver compliance spot checks, ensure donor due‑diligence commitments are met

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

We’re looking for someone with solid experience in risk, assurance and compliance, who can confidently support teams across a fast‑moving, values‑driven humanitarian network. You’ll bring strong analytical skills, excellent communication, and the ability to manage complex cases, including fraud and corruption matters. You’ll be comfortable working with diverse stakeholders, handling sensitive information, and supporting organisation‑wide risk processes.

You should be confident using data and digital tools, able to explain complex issues clearly, and proactive in strengthening risk management and compliance systems.

Experience in the humanitarian or nonprofit sector, professional risk qualifications, or experience in capacity strengthening are a bonus but not essential.

OUR VALUES

WE PUT PEOPLE FIRST: Communities come first in our decision-making and programming.

WE ARE BRAVE: We have great ambition and are willing to explore new things and take risks to achieve it

WE OPERATE COLLECTIVELY: We leverage the value of working as a network, sharing risk and resources, and learning together.

WE ARE INCLUSIVE: We see the value in diverse perspectives and work to remove the barriers that prevent voices from being heard.

WE ARE OPEN: We work transparently and with integrity, building mutual trust in all levels of our work, from governance to programming.

WE ARE ETHICAL: We behave and operate based on key principles of anti-racism, non-discrimination, and anti-colonialism. This is a work in progress.

OUR OFFER TO YOU

• Being a part of a network involved in bringing change to the humanitarian sector.
• Hybrid working with options to work from home and remotely to support your work/life balance
• Employee Assistance Programme through Smart Health (depends on the country based)
• Family friendly policies, e.g., flexible working, maternity policy, parental leave and more!
• 25 days’ holiday (if UK based) plus 2 company days over the End of Year period for all staff (depends on the country based)

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

Our roles are open to discussion about flexible working. For part-time working and job-shares, please get in touch with us before putting in an application.

Start Network is committed to protecting people, particularly children, at-risk adults and affected populations from any harm. We are also committed to safeguarding staff from any forms of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse of power as outlined in the Dignity at Work policy. Start Network embraces diversity, promotes equality of opportunity and eliminates unlawful discrimination. We are an equal opportunities employer and treat every application on merit alone. We particularly encourage applications from disabled, BAME, LGBTQ+ and non-binary candidates. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet our essential selection criteria set out in the Person Profile.

APPLICATION

Please contact the People and Culture Team if you have any questions or need support with your application. Please email P&C team. 

We use Be Applied, our online recruitment platform which uses anonymised applications and predictive, skill-based assessments which are blind- reviewed to reduce bias.

Closing date: 10th April 2026

Date for 1st Interview:  Week commencing 13th April (Subject to change)

Date for 2nd Interview: Week commencing 27th April (Subject to change)

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications and we may review candidates on an ongoing basis, so please apply early where possible to avoid disappointment.

Any offer of employment will be conditional subject to relevant checks. Please refer to our privacy candidate privacy notice regarding treatment of your data. Start Network also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. The core of the scheme is that participating organisations share information about safeguarding-related misconduct (i.e., sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment) that a candidate has been found to have committed during employment, or incidents under investigation when the candidate left employment. For more information regarding this scheme, please visit our website. 

The Company

Start Network is made up of more than 90 non-governmental organisations across five continents, ranging from large international organisations to local and national NGOs. Our programmes allow members to deliver humanitarian action around the world.

Our mission is to create a new era of humanitarian action that will save even more lives. We aren’t driven by media headlines or political will, we’re here for the communities affected by and at risk of crises.

We are an organisation committed to doing things differently. For some roles, we need more technical humanitarian expertise, but for other roles, we are looking for relevant transferable skills, the right attitude, and a passion to bring change.

Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor

Be a champion for children in UK foreign and development policy.

Join an international children’s charity working with children, their communities, and with supporters and partners, in almost 100 countries.

Position: Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor

Location: London / Hybrid 2 days a week in the office

Hours: Full time 36.5 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £40,000 - £43,000

Closing Date: 3rd April 2026. We reserve the right to interview candidates and close the ad ahead of the closing date should a strong candidate be identified.

About the Role

We are seeking an authentic advocate for children’s rights to help drive our influence with government and other stakeholders. You will develop and implement policy change strategies across a range of thematic areas, underpinning the advocacy strategy. Your expertise will shape the development of research, policy and campaign materials to be used by the charity in advocacy for children’s rights and wellbeing.

Key Responsibilities

• Help shape policy research. This will include: researching statistics; collecting data and research from other sources; supporting briefing development; and engaging with other offices and youth advocates to gather evidence and stories.
• Lead advocacy within campaigns, including in the development of campaign materials, ensuring policy agenda is accurately embedded
• Work collaboratively cross-organisation to advise on campaign activities, assets and events
• Ensure the voices of children and young people are central and well represented in policy and advocacy
• Represent with external stakeholders, including with government and civil society, and build strategic relationships in alignment with advocacy priorities
• Support senior leaders and other colleagues to engage key external stakeholders, providing briefing where required
• Monitor political and policy developments and disseminate across relevant teams

About You

We’re looking for someone with demonstrable experience influencing policy change, including through campaigning or social mobilisation, and who has a genuine commitment to promoting children’s rights, including their right to participation.

As an active Christian, this role offers you the opportunity to integrate your Christian faith and be sensitive to its various expressions across cultures and denominations. Inspired by the Christian faith, the team serve alongside children of all faiths and none through long-term development projects, emergency responses and advocacy in almost 100 countries.

Please note that you MUST have the Right to work in the UK documentation as unfortunately, this role is not sponsored, and your application cannot be considered any further without it.

Please note the organisation can only consider applicants who presently have the right to work in the UK and all candidates must be personally committed to the Christian faith and be able to respect, uphold and work within our client’s Christian mission, values, culture and faith statements. This individual will represent and speak on behalf of a Christian charity and as such the Occupational Requirement for an active Christian faith is justified under the Equality Act 2010 Schedule 9, Part 1, clause 3.

Benefits include: a flexible and supportive working culture, pension scheme (with employer contributions), generous holiday allowance, free parking (Milton Keynes office), opportunities for faith-based gatherings, prayer, and devotionals and a welcoming, purpose-driven team who are passionate about making a difference.

About the Organisation

Joining the charity means becoming part of an energetic and flexible team committed to making a positive impact in the world. As an employee, you will play a crucial role in supporting Fundraising efforts, helping to drive the mission forward. You will have the opportunity to work in an environment that values collaboration, innovation, and dedication to humanitarian causes.

Our client values diversity and aspires to reflect this in their workforce. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented sections of the community. The organisation also operates flexible working policies and practices. As a Disability committed employer we encourage qualified individuals with a disability to apply and request a reasonable adjustment if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access as a result of your disability.

You may also have experience in areas such Advocacy, Policy, Policy and Advocacy, Advocacy Advisor, Policy Advisor, Policy and Advocacy Advisor, Senior Advocacy Advisor, Senior Policy Advisor, Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor. #IDNFP

Please note this role is advertised by the recruitment agency acting for the client – Not For Profit People.

Salary: £62,651 per annum

Contract Type:                         Fixed Term Contract – Maternity Cover (up to 12 months)

Closing date:                         12 April 2026 at 11pm

Interview date:                      4 – 15 May 2026

About CARE

CARE International is a global humanitarian organisation leading the fight to end poverty in the world’s most challenging situations. Women and girls are at the centre of our work, because we cannot overcome poverty and inequality until all people have equal rights and opportunities. We know that when a crisis erupts, women are often the first to pick up the pieces, so we work alongside women, so they have the power to make change where it’s needed most. Founded in 1945, CARE currently works in over 100 countries and last year alone reached 53.4 million people through nearly 1,500 projects.

Why work for CARE International UK?

CARE International UK is currently developing its new 4-year Strategy working within the CARE International Vision 2030, which will launch in July 2026. The strategy will build on our focus on women’s leadership in crisis, seeking to work more directly with women’s rights/women-led organisations. The post-holder will be joining us just as we begin implementing the strategy, and this will be an exciting time to shape new and evolving ways of working with women’s rights activists from across the globe. The Advocacy and Influencing team are central to achieving the goals of the strategy by encouraging the UK  Government and other UK-based stakeholders to use their power on the world stage to counter the rollback on women’s rights.

The Head of Advocacy and Influencing is a key organisational leadership role and will be part of the CIUK Extended Leadership Team working with other heads of team and the senior leadership team to help run the organisation effectively and deliver the 4-year strategy.

About you

You will have significant experience of advocacy and/or public affairs with a track record of driving strategies that achieve measurable policy, attitude or legislative change. You will be a strategic thinker with excellent communication skills in English, and the ability to translate complex issues into plain English. You will have experience of project management and preferably budget management, particularly team or donor-funded project management. You will be media trained and confident speaking to and influencing a range of external senior stakeholders.

In past roles, you will have line managed colleagues and may have managed teams, and will know how to work with others, including in coalition with other organisations, to design and deliver advocacy campaigns. You will understand how to motivate your team to deliver against an organizational strategy. Your leadership style will be aligned with CIUK’s feminist leadership principles and values. You will have strong understanding of, and preferably experience working on, international development issues, in particular with reference to gender equality.

About the role

The Head of Advocacy and Influencing is a leadership role with significant responsibility for external analysis and positioning for CIUK - including through regular updates to the board Impact and Transformation Committee. The role is responsible for providing strategic direction for CIUK and CI’s advocacy and influencing and leading the team to deliver UK and globally facing advocacy campaigns. The role is responsible for ensuring high quality publications and managing sign off and profile risks as part of CIUK’s risk management strategy. The Head of Advocacy and Influencing will also act as a senior external spokesperson for the organization to the media, parliament and public events. The role has significant responsibility for positioning and meeting expectations of donors who fund the team’s work.  The Head of Advocacy and Influencing is critical for ensuring the CEO and SLT have up-to-date power analysis, political analysis and policy lines for external engagement with high level targets.  

As the manager and contract holder for the Centenary Action Group campaign and fundraising coordinator and a standing member on the Steering board of the Centenary Action Group, the role also manages CARE UK’s role as a convener and ally of the UK women’s rights movement in line with our global commitment to shift the power and localization.

The role covers four main areas of responsibility:

Strategic Leadership & Delivery

Play a key role in the delivery of CIUK’s new 4-year strategy. Lead cross-organisational teams to deliver high quality policy analysis, advocacy and campaign strategies to UK government, parliamentary and private sector targets. Work with communications to design and deliver integrated campaign plans.

External representation and relationship management

Build the visibility and reputation of CIUK by building and managing key external relationships in government, parliament, private sector and across the sector, including in coalitions and alliances. Provide strategic advice on political developments, external opportunities, and risks, ensuring timely and well-informed positioning, and prepare the CEO/SLT for high-level external engagements. Serve as a senior spokesperson for CIUK in political, media, and public forums. Work with the CARE confederation to develop advocacy lines and approaches.

Thought leadership and Policy Development

Provide strategic leadership of the Gates Foundation partnership, delivering against expectations and securing further funding from this and other donors. Ensure a rigorous evidence base for CIUK’s policy agenda, both by working with CIUK’s team of thematic experts, as well as commissioning and managing research projects where needed. Prepare and approve briefings, position papers, op-eds and other communications in support of CARE UK’s influencing goals. Oversee CIUK’s strategic role in Centenary Action, including representation on the Steering Group and overall coordination. 

Team and line management

Set and drive the advocacy and influencing team’s annual plans and contribution to the organisation’s strategic priorities. Be accountable to delivering on team KPIs and organisational KPIs that link to the team’s work, and for managing the team’s budget. Play a key role in the leadership of the Programme and Policy department. Provide strong line management to direct reports and demonstrate a strong personal commitment to CIUK’s equity, diversity and inclusion goals and feminist leadership principles.

Right to Work in the UK

All applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom at the time of appointment. Proof of right to work will be required as part of the recruitment process. For more information, please visit the UK Government's guidance on right to work. Where you do not have current right to work in the UK, then this will be discussed with you as part of the recruitment process. Please note that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship and further information (should you require sponsorship to work in the UK) on eligibility can be found here.

Safeguarding 

CARE International UK has a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse to, sexual harassment of or exploitation of, a vulnerable adult or child by any of our staff, representatives or partners. CARE International UK expects all staff to share this commitment through our Safeguarding Policy (link here) and our Code of Conduct (link here). They are responsible for ensuring they understand and work within the remit of these policies throughout their time at CARE International UK.

Safeguarding our beneficiaries is our top priority in everything we do, including recruitment. All offers of employment at CARE International UK are subject to: 

· Satisfactory references. CARE International UK participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (link here).  In line with this Scheme, we will request information from successful applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. 

· Appropriate criminal record checks (including a Bridger check, link here).

By submitting an application, the applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures. 

Equality and Diversity

We are committed to Equality and value Diversity. We are a Disability Confident Employer and particularly welcome applications from disabled people. We guarantee interviews to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role (see person specification). If you require the candidate brief or need to submit your application in an alternative format, because of a disability, please do get in touch by sending an email to HR.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We particularly welcome applications from people of underrepresented backgrounds, including those from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities, and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

We want a world where no one dies from hunger. Life-threatening hunger is predictable, preventable and treatable. Join Action Against Hunger and together we will stop it in its tracks.

Action Against Hunger is an optimistic, inspiring place to work. We want passionate and dedicated people to help build a better world. We’re a creative team made up of people with a wide range of talents, styles and expertise. But we are united in our relentless dedication to end world hunger. No challenge is too big. With you we can do it. Join us.

We are looking for a Partnerships Officer to join our busy and ambitious Corporate Partnerships team.  You will help build and grow meaningful relationships with businesses that support our mission to tackle hunger. You will manage a portfolio of small to medium-sized corporate partners, providing excellent stewardship to maximise fundraising, deepen engagement and ensure partnerships continue to grow in value and impact.

You will also support the development of key strategic partnerships and contribute to the delivery of high-profile campaigns with the hospitality and restaurant sector. Alongside this, you will help identify and cultivate new corporate supporters through prospect research, proposals and outreach, working collaboratively across the organisation to strengthen partnerships and generate sustainable income for our work.

You will be joining our Partnerships team at an exciting time as we continue to deliver against our outcome focused strategy, which puts partnership at the heart of all that we do. The right candidate will be a self-starter, with excellent written and verbal communications skills, who is highly motivated and passionate about ending world hunger.  For more detailed information on the roles, please download the attached pdf Job description.

Closing Date: 19-April-2026 23:30 Interview Date: w/c 27 April 2026

Please read the following carefully before making your application:

Then all you need to do is send your CV and write a covering letter explaining why you want the job and how your skills and experience make you the right person for the role. Please specify in the application which role you are applying for.

• For further information on pay and employee benefits please visit our careers page on our website
• As a UK based position, candidates must have the right to work in the UK
• We welcome applications from all sections of the community and we encourage as broad a range of candidates as possible. If you need any additional support to help you through this process, please let us know (contact details in the job pack)
• Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we will only contact shortlisted candidates, within two weeks of the closing date Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual feedback
• If you experience any technical difficulties in submitting your application, please contact the CharityJob helpdesk