Public Affairs and Stakeholder Management Trustee

Overview

We are looking for a new trustee, preferably with public affairs and stakeholder management expertise, to help us deliver on our ambitious new strategy.

What difference will you make?

As part of our Board, you will be key in helping us to set our strategy particularly with regards to influencing and informing public policy on family reunification and supporting children in care. There are more than 100,000 in care today and we estimate more than 30,000 have family overseas.

What are we looking for?

• Public Affairs Strategy
• Experience developing and advising on public affairs strategies that influence policy and public service priorities.
• Understanding of how to align public affairs with organisational goals and impact measurement.
• Policy Understanding
• Strong grasp of local government structures, priorities, and decision-making processes.
• Knowledge of policy areas relevant to the charity’s mission (e.g. safeguarding, family services, children’s welfare).
• Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement
• Ability to identify, map, and prioritise key stakeholders including local authorities, elected officials, council executives, and public sector partners.
• Strategic thinking around managing and nurturing high-value relationships over time.
• Local Authority Relations
• Experience working within or alongside local authorities.
• Understanding of commissioning processes, partnership frameworks, and funding mechanisms in local government.
• Advocacy and Influence
• Experience in shaping public debate, contributing to consultations, or influencing policy outcomes.
• Confidence in representing the charity at public meetings, sector forums, or roundtables.
• Communication Skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for engaging with senior stakeholders, writing policy briefings, and contributing to thought leadership.
• Ability to distil complex policy issues into accessible messages.
• Strategic Governance Insight
• Understanding of the role of a trustee in public affairs oversight (e.g. ensuring activity is compliant with charity law).
• Ability to challenge and support the executive team in shaping an ethical and impactful engagement strategy.
• Political Acumen
• Awareness of the political landscape at local and national levels, including the ability to identify risks and opportunities for engagement.
• Insight into how local priorities may shift due to political changes or economic pressures.
• A clear commitment to CFAB’s values and beliefs and the fulfilment of its mission

What will you be doing?

What Makes CFAB Special

CFAB is the only charity in the UK with a specially qualified children’s international social work team. We use expertise gathered over 70 years to ensure that vulnerable children are cared for and protected, no matter where they come from. We operate through our International Social Service network to professionally evaluate care options in more than 120 countries – giving children with family overseas the best possible chance of a secure, stable and loving home – and wherever possible reuniting them with family members.

CFAB runs the UK’s only professional, free Advice Line dedicated to international child protection, and provides specialist consultancy to help resolve complex international cases. CFAB also provides training to disseminate learning on how best to manage inter-country social work cases involving children and families. We also advocate for legislation and best practice to meet children’s needs and to ensure families separated by international borders are supported to reunite when this is in the child’s best interests.

Who We Are Looking For

If you have an interest in child protection or children’s rights, as well as a background in public affairs or stakeholder management, we’d love to hear from you. This is a chance to be a trustee for a well-known charity that is making a real difference in children’s lives. You’ll be joining a dedicated and friendly group of trustees with a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. The board recently agreed on an ambitious new strategy that emphasises the enhancement of CFAB’s public profile. We are looking for trustees who can help us deliver on that, through their expertise and enthusiasm.

We welcome applications from those who are experienced trustees as well as those who do not have previous experience as a trustee, but who have relevant personal experience and are willing to show a commitment to CFAB and our mission.

To make an application, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining how you meet the Person Specification requirements. We will be holding interviews on a rolling basis, with a view to appointing someone by October 2025.

Apply

To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining how you meet the Person Specification requirements. We will be holding interviews on a rolling basis, with a view to appointing someone by October 2025.