External Engagement Coordinator - UK

Girls Not Brides is a global partnership working to end child marriage and ensure every girl can shape her own future. Since 2011, we’ve brought together more than 1,400 organisations in nearly 100 countries, all united by one goal: to stop child, early, and forced marriages and unions everywhere. We envision a world without child marriage, where girls in all their diversity decide if, when, and whom to marry, one where their rights and futures are fully realised. In 2025, 1 in 5 girls were married under 18. By 2030, we will contribute to reducing that to 1 in 7. We will do this by mobilising and influencing international actors to unlock commitments and resources to end child marriage and by driving impactful collective action in ten focus countries.

The External Engagement Coordinator plays a vital role connecting and supporting shared work across the Girls Not Brides External Engagement directorate, including the Policy & Advocacy, Communications, and Development teams, and links with the broader organisation. The role supports directorate planning and task management, and the planning, tracking, and delivery of significant cross-directorate projects and priorities, including major external events. Reporting to and working closely with the Director of External Engagement, the postholder provides backbone coordination that enables all members of the External Engagement directorate to work cohesively towards shared goals. This is a fantastic opportunity for an organised, proactive, and collaborative individual to gain broad exposure to international advocacy, communications, and fundraising work within the global movement to end child marriage.

About you

You are a highly organized and proactive coordinator who thrives on keeping multiple moving pieces on track. You enjoy working across teams and building relationships with colleagues of different disciplines and working styles, and you take pride in the quality of your planning, logistics, and follow-through. You are an excellent communicator to internal and external stakeholders, comfortable managing complex projects and tasks, and you remain calm and solutions-focused when timelines are tight or plans change. You are motivated by Girls Not Brides’ mission and keen to build your career in international advocacy, communications, and development by supporting the connective tissue that makes a high-performing directorate work well together.

Job location

London (United Kingdom)

Working as a global team, all Girls Not Brides’ team members may from time to time be expected to work outside normal working hours (e.g., early morning or early evening); this is not a regular occurrence and is only to accommodate collaboration of teams across different time zones. This role may require occasional international travel to support events, as necessary.

Accountable To

Director of External Engagement. While the Director is serving as Interim Co-CEO, line management for this role will be temporarily provided by another member of the External Engagement team.

Salary range

UK: £34,915 rising on an annual incremental basis. Girls Not Brides also offers a generous 10% pension.

Contract

This is a fixed term contract for 2 years. The successful candidate must have the right to work in United Kingdom at the time of applying, and for the full duration of the two-year initial contract.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Cross-Directorate Project Coordination: Support the Director of External Engagement and Heads within the Directorate in coordinating cross-directorate projects and project teams, tracking milestones, deliverables, and dependencies across Policy & Advocacy, Communications, and Development teams. Maintain shared project trackers, calendars, and workplans on Monday.com and other tools, flagging risks, delays, or resourcing conflicts to relevant team members and leadership in the directorate. Coordinate inputs and timelines across teams for joint deliverables, such as moments-based campaigns, key reports, or donor and partner-facing materials. Help ensure that cross-directorate projects are well documented, with clear ownership and accountability across teams.
• Event & Logistics Coordination: Coordinate event project teams to ensure cohesive, cross-team, and high-quality delivery of highest-priority events (in-person and virtual). Coordinate logistics, scheduling, outreach, and content preparations for Girls Not Brides’ most significant external events, including virtual webinars, convenings, high-level meetings, and partner or donor engagements, working closely with Policy & Advocacy, Communications, and Development colleagues. Manage event timelines, run-of-show documents, venue and vendor logistics, registration, and, where relevant, on-the-day coordination. Support invitation lists, stakeholder/speaker outreach (including Girls Not Brides members) and preparations, and follow-up communications, ensuring external contacts have a smooth and professional experience. Liaise with external partners, suppliers, and venues to ensure events are delivered to a high standard, on time, and within budget. Maintain post-event documentation, including attendee records, feedback, and lessons learned, to inform future event planning.
• Directorate Coordination & Team Support: Coordinate the rhythm of the External Engagement directorate, including organising and preparing agendas for regular directorate meetings, away days, and planning sessions. Capture action points from directorate meetings, tracking follow-up and ensuring accountability across Policy & Advocacy, Communications, and Development. Support information-sharing across the three teams and with the wider organization, ensuring colleagues are aware of relevant activities and opportunities. Support knowledge management, monitoring, and impact capture within the directorate, coordinating with the Impact Team to ensure quality capture of best practice and tracking and timely reporting. Support onboarding and inductions about the External Engagement directorate for new team members.
• Wider Organisational Responsibilities: Commit to the mission and vision of Girls Not Brides, putting these at the forefront of all planning, work and actions. Uphold the core values of Girls Not Brides in all areas of work and interactions with colleagues, members, partners, and other stakeholders. Comply with Girls Not Brides’ policies and processes, including for safeguarding, diversity and inclusion, the code of conduct and data protection. Ensure that internal databases and monitoring information are kept fully up-to-date and compliant with GDPR. Commit to ongoing personal development and learning. Fulfil any other reasonable requests for the advancement of Girls Not Brides.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Experience in event coordination, project coordination, or administrative support, ideally within an international NGO, advocacy, communications, or development environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously, with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Excellent organisational and logistics skills, with experience planning and delivering in-person or virtual events.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to liaise confidently and professionally with colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams with different priorities and working styles, building trust and effective working relationships.
• Proactive, solutions-focused approach, with the judgement to know when to elevate issues and when to resolve them independently.
• Strong digital literacy, including confidence with project management tools, event management tools, virtual meeting platforms, shared calendars, and standard office software.
• Strong commitment to Girls Not Brides’ mission, values, and vision.
• Willingness to work flexibly and undertake occasional travel as required.
• Experience supporting cross-functional or cross-team coordination within a complex or matrixed organization.
• Experience using project management software, specifically Monday.com.
• Experience working within advocacy, communications, or fundraising functions, or interest in developing a career across these areas.
• Interest in or experience of gender justice, human rights, or girls’ rights issues.

Safeguarding

Girls Not Brides is committed to ensuring all staff and partners operate in safe environments. The postholder must uphold safeguarding standards at all times and report any concerns promptly through the appropriate channels.

Diversity and Inclusion

We value diversity and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities. Girls Not Brides is committed to creating an inclusive work environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and able to thrive.

How to apply

The closing date for applications is 17:00 BST on Friday, 31 July 2026. Interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 10 August 2026. To apply, please click the "Apply Now" button on the job page and submit your CV along with a brief cover letter clearly demonstrating how you meet the role requirements. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage interested candidates to apply early. Please note that the vacancy may close before the advertised closing date if enough suitably qualified applications is received. Due to the anticipated volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please note: This is a single External Engagement Coordinator position. While the role is advertised in the UK or Kenya it may be based in any of these locations, only one appointment will be made.