Head of Impact and Strategy Performance - 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.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ROLE

Girls Not Brides is seeking an experienced Head of Impact and Strategy Performance to lead the organisation’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) and impact function. As a leader within the Learning, Evidence and Impact Directorate, you will oversee the Impact team and work closely with the Director to shape the organisation’s vision for monitoring strategy performance against our results framework and impact measurement. You will ensure Girls Not Brides has the systems, tools, evidence/data and compelling stories needed to demonstrate progress against our strategy. In this role, you will provide leadership on MEAL systems and organisational planning processes, reporting and collaborate across teams to ensure our work is impactful, aligned with our strategic priorities and results are tracked, shared and used to inform decision‑making. You will strengthen organisational MEAL and performance frameworks and ensure we generate and communicate clear, credible, and compelling evidence of our impact to key audiences.

About you

You are a seasoned MEAL, strategy performance and impact leader with a strong track record in shaping organisational impact strategies, designing complex measurement systems, tools and guiding teams to produce high‑quality evidence of results. You excel at turning data into insight to influence decision‑making and fostering a culture of accountability, learning and adaptation. You are an exceptional communicator with strong writing skills and a clear understanding of how to convey impact to diverse stakeholders, including funders and external allies. You thrive in international environments and bring a collaborative, inclusive and values‑driven leadership style. Above all, you are motivated by the mission of Girls Not Brides and committed to ensuring the organisation can clearly demonstrate its impact and contribution to meaningful change for girls around the world.

Job location

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 some international travel, as necessary.

Accountable To

Director of Learning, Evidence and Impact.

Salary range UK: £58,140 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 the country that they are based (Kenya, India or UK at the time of applying, and for the full duration of the two‑year contract).

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Girls Not Brides’ strategy performance and impact measurement.
• Lead the organisation’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) and impact measurement strategy, ensuring alignment with the organisational strategy.
• Oversee the design, implementation and continuous improvement of MEAL systems, tools and processes across the organisation, ensuring they are robust, coherent and consistently applied.
• Oversee high‑quality data collection, analysis, and reporting across all projects, programmes and organisational initiatives, enabling evidence‑based decision‑making and adaptive programming.
• Oversee organisational evaluations and impact assessments, ensuring methodological rigour and relevance.
• Working together with the Head of Research, Evidence and Learning, support the integration of evidence and learning into organisational planning, and strategy performance management, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Oversee strong coordination between portfolio management, MEAL, and organisational performance frameworks.

Lead organisational strategic planning, performance monitoring and reporting

• Lead the annual organisational planning process, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and cross‑team coherence.
• Support the Director of Learning, Evidence and Impact to shape and drive the organisation’s vision for evidence‑driven decision‑making.
• Advise (senior) leadership on strategic strategy performance trends, risks and opportunities.
• Oversee organisational reporting processes, including the preparation of regular progress report to senior leadership and the Board of Trustees, donor reporting and annual reporting.
• Oversee the development of robust, consistent portfolio management systems and processes to deliver against donor commitments in line with the organisational strategy.

Support Impact communication and storytelling

• Ensure close collaboration between the Impact, Development, and Communications teams to deliver consistent, high‑quality impact communication to various stakeholders.
• Oversee the development of the annual Impact Report and relevant inputs to the Trustees Annual Report, ensuring it reflects robust evidence, compelling insights and clear organisational accountability.
• Ensure the organisation has strong impact stories, case studies and data to communicate to donors, partners, members and the Board to demonstrate progress and influence change.

Team leadership and management

• Lead and manage a globally dispersed Impact team and set clear shared and individual performance goals to meet team and organisational objectives.
• Foster collaboration across cultures, geographies, and time‑zones; promote professional development, care, inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Represent Girls Not Brides in high‑level MEAL, evidence and impact spaces, contributing to thought leadership and sector learning.
• Stay abreast of emerging MEAL methodologies, accountability standards and sector innovations, ensuring Girls Not Brides remains at the forefront of impact practice.

Qualifications & Experience

Essential experience, skills and attributes:

• Demonstrated leadership of MEAL and organisational impact functions within gender equality, development or human rights contexts.
• Proven ability to design, implement and oversee organisation‑wide MEAL and performance frameworks, including complex evaluations and impact assessments.
• Advanced technical expertise in MEAL, including theory of change, results frameworks, indicators, evaluation design and mixed‑method approaches.
• Solid understanding of organisational performance management, including strategic planning and reporting processes.
• Proficiency in MEAL tools and systems (e.g. data collection platforms, dashboards, CRM systems).
• Strong track record of translating data, evidence and strategy performance into clear insights to inform decision‑making.
• Experience producing high‑quality, audience‑focused impact communications and managing external consultants or research partners.
• Strong people management skills, with experience building inclusive, high‑performing teams, supporting professional development, and overseeing planning and budgets.
• Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly to diverse audiences.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• A collaborative, inclusive and values‑driven leadership style, with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work across cultures, geographies and time zones.
• Strategic mindset, able to balance big‑picture thinking with attention to detail, and a strong commitment to the mission and values of Girls Not Brides.

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.

Please note: This is a single Head of Impact and Strategy Performance position. While the role is advertised in the UK, Kenya or India, it may be based in any of these locations, only one appointment will be made.