4 Policy and public affairs officer volunteer roles in Edinburgh

Settle is a charity that supports young adults as they leave the care system and move into their first home. We provide intensive one-to-one coaching support, helping young people develop the skills and confidence they need to sustain their tenancies, manage their finances and live independently. Our preventative approach to homelessness helps care-experienced young people build stable foundations and thrive in adulthood.

All our Trustees bring different personal experience and professional expertise to support our work. To make sure we keep young people at the centre of our decision-making, we aim to always have at least two Trustees with care experience.

We are now looking for new Trustees to help us deliver our mission. We are seeking people with experience in one or more of the following areas:

· Policy influencing and/or strategic communications

· Support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness

· Support for people seeking asylum and refuge

Our aim is to recruit at least two new Trustees, who between them bring experience across all three areas. We don’t expect you to lead an area of work at Settle – that’s the responsibility of the staff team. We are keen to benefit from your advice, insight and understanding of the key issues we’re dealing with.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and Board team, and we particularly welcome applications from people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, or with other lived experience of discrimination. We are proud to be a member of the Care Leaver Covenant, and care-experienced applicants who meet the criteria for this role will be guaranteed an interview.

The RSAA is seeking up to four new trustees to join its board at the most exciting moment in the Society’s recent history. In our 125th anniversary year, we are renewing our mission:  promoting Asian Studies and deeper public understanding of Asia, and we are looking for exceptional people to help us deliver it.

About the Society

Founded in 1901, the RSAA is an independent, international network for informed debate about Asia, engaging experts, policy makers and the wider public with experience, analysis and scholarship. Our geographical remit runs from the eastern Mediterranean to the Pacific. We publish the quarterly journal Asian Affairs (in print continuously since 1914), the Asian Review of Books and the magazine Caravanserai.  We run a programme of public lectures and events in London and online, are digitising our historic archive, and support younger scholars through our awards and recently created mentoring scheme. The Society is wholly independent: it accepts no state funding and takes no institutional positions on issues of public policy. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (no. 1179300).

A new chapter

The board has set an ambitious direction for the Society’s next quarter-century: building the RSAA into a leading force for the study and understanding of Asia in the UK. Plans include a permanently endowed programme of research and travel awards, strengthened publications, and expanded collaboration with leading institutions in Asia and the United States. To underwrite this, the Society is preparing a major philanthropic fundraising programme. Alongside it, the board and executive will together shape a new five-year business plan to take effect from 2028.

Who we are looking for

We wish to strengthen the board with senior figures who share our commitment to Asia and can bring some of the following:

· Fundraising leadership. Substantial experience of philanthropic fundraising: major gifts, trusts and foundations, or corporate giving,  and the appetite to play an active part in a significant campaign alongside the President, Chairman and CEO.

· Networks and standing. Strong personal connections in philanthropic, business, academic, diplomatic or cultural circles in the UK, in Asia or in the United States, and the credibility to open doors at the most senior level.

· Commitment to the field. A demonstrable commitment to Asian Studies, whether from an academic, publishing, cultural, business or public-service background, and enthusiasm for deepening understanding of Asia.

· Strategic planning. Experience of setting strategy and building organisations, to help the executive draft and deliver the Society’s next five-year business plan.

We would also particularly welcome candidates offering skills in charity finance and accountancy, charity law and governance.

What is involved

The board meets quarterly online, with additional work through sub-committees and involvement in fundraising activity and events.  Trustees are appointed for a term of three years, renewable once. The role is unremunerated; reasonable expenses are paid.

 Diversity

The RSAA seeks to reflect, in the diversity of its board, the breadth of the communities, regions and disciplines with which the Society engages. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, and particularly from people of Asian heritage.

How to apply

Please submit a CV and a short covering letter, explaining what you would bring to the board by Friday 30 October 2026. Candidates are warmly invited to have an informal, confidential conversation with the Chairman or the CEO before applying.  To arrange one, please get in touch through the contact page on our website.  Interviews for shortlisted applicants will be held in November.

Role overview

Trustee — Policy, Advocacy & EDI

About us: Could you help us get millions of separated children Back to Family?

Orphanages don’t protect children, they harm them. Put simply: the last thing an orphanage can provide is the first thing a child needs - someone to love them. 

Right now, 5.4 million children around the world are locked away in orphanages — even though over 80% of them are not orphans. Orphanages expose children to abuse and trafficking, and physical and psychological trauma that can last a lifetime. A century of evidence shows that the bond between a child and their family is what every child needs to grow, thrive and be safe. 

The role

As our Policy, Advocacy & EDI Trustee, you will help shape and strengthen HHC's influence on the global stage, bringing senior expertise to bear on the policy and financing decisions that determine the pace of care reform worldwide. Working closely with our Chair, CEO and senior advocacy and programmes colleagues, you will contribute to our ambitious 2030 goal by:

• Advocacy strategy — providing strategic guidance and constructive challenge to strengthen HHC's global advocacy approach, helping sharpen our positioning, messaging and campaign strategy on care reform. 
• Policy and financing influence — advising the Board and Executive on opportunities to influence the decisions of governments, regional bodies and multilateral institutions, and supporting efforts to shift public and donor financing away from orphanages and towards family-based care. 
• EDI leadership — championing equity, diversity and inclusion across Board governance, organisational culture, safeguarding, and HHC's external voice, including how we portray the children, families and communities we support. 
• Stakeholder relationships — using your personal networks and credibility to open doors with policymakers, multilateral bodies, coalition partners and international fora relevant to care reform.

Who we are looking for

You will bring senior-level experience in public policy, government relations or international advocacy, ideally connected to child protection, social welfare or human rights, and a demonstrable track record of influencing policy or financing decisions at national, regional or international level. Beyond that, we are looking for someone who brings:

• A strong, practical understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion principles and how to apply them to governance and organisational culture
• An active network among policymakers, multilateral institutions, donors or the wider international child rights community
• Experience working across cultures and in international contexts, including in lower income countries and fragile and conflict-affected states
• The ability to translate specialist expertise into clear, practical guidance the Board and Executive can act on

Above all, you will share our belief that every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family, and our commitment to driving that change with courage, integrity, excellence and being deeply human. 

What we offer

This is a voluntary, unremunerated role. In return you will:

• Engage with our work across nine countries 
• Contribute to systemic change at global scale, helping to shape the future for separated children worldwide
• Be part of an organisation approaching its 2030 goal — a worldwide consensus that orphanages have no place in any child's life

Time commitment

The role requires approximately 12–18 days per year, comprising:

• Four Board meetings per year (in person, London or virtual)
• Five subcommittee meetings per year (virtual), as a key member of our Programmes, Advocacy, Research and Accountability Committee (PARAC)
• An annual two-day awayday, which may take place in one of our countries of operation
• Additional time for preparation, ad hoc queries and induction in your first year

The initial term of office is three years, with the possibility of two further three-year terms by mutual agreement.

Closing Date: The final cut off for applications is 17.00 UK time on Thursday 8 October 2026 so please get in touch if you have the right skills, experience and passion for our cause.

To apply, please upload your CV and a brief covering letter indicating why you are interested in joining the Hope and Homes for Children Board and how your experience, skills and values map to the requirements of this role.

Diversity

Hope and Homes for Children actively encourages equity, diversity and inclusion, and we look to recruit a diverse range of people to reflect the communities in which we live. We are keen to see a diverse membership of both the trustee body and committees as we believe diversity brings us closer to our mission of eliminating orphanages.

Thank you for considering this role. Every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family

Contract type

Volunteer

Hours

12 - 18 days per annum

Salary

Voluntary (expenses paid)