Social Transformation Senior Advisor in London

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for a Social Transformation Senior Advisor to join our global team.

Team and Role Purpose

To lead the development and embedding of locally-led programming principles and practices within country programmes, promoting community ownership and sustainability, whilst ensuring alignment with Save the Children International's values of accountability and integrity. This team empowers communities, fostering their autonomy and participation in initiatives tailored to their unique needs. By doing so, we play a critical role in achieving the organisation's goal of creating lasting change for children through inclusive, community-focused initiatives.

Role purpose

To advance global thought leadership on locally-led social transformation in sponsorship programming, contributing to achieving equality and breakthroughs for all children. This role generates evidence and produces resources from the sponsorship programme to support impactful social transformation strategies by collaborating with children, communities, and partners, while leading cross-functional technical thinking on global goals. Additionally, the role builds from the learnings of the sponsorship programme, ensuring inclusive practices and ownership of social transformation are integrated in our programme delivery.

Principal Accountabilities

• Provide technical expertise to sponsorship programmes on social transformation to ensure their design and impact achieves the highest level of quality (including design, delivery and measurement of change).
• Advance global thought leadership, drawing from sponsorship programmes and external learning, on locally-led social transformation to achieve equality.
• Generate evidence from the sponsorship programmes and produce resources to support delivery of impactful social transformation strategies.
• Champion an inclusive approach to social transformation by integrating principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of strategy, design, and implementation of sponsorship programmes.
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of sponsorship social transformation programmes, using data-driven insights and participatory methods to continuously refine and improve strategies.
• Lead the strategic positioning, advocacy and scale-up of a proven social transformation model, drawing on evidence and learning generated through multi-country implementation, to influence policy, practice and investment decisions within Save the Children and across external stakeholder networks.
• Develop and implement a global dissemination and engagement strategy to promote the adoption and adaptation of the social transformation model across sponsorship and non-sponsorship contexts, ensuring learning is effectively translated into practical guidance, tools and resources.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with country offices, members, donors, technical networks, research institutions, local actors and external partners to strengthen ownership, visibility and uptake of social transformation approaches.
• Support Save the Children in global, regional and national forums, conferences and technical working groups, providing technical advice on locally led social transformation and community-driven change.
• Contribute to the development of compelling evidence, case studies, policy briefs and learning products that demonstrate programme impact and support influencing, fundraising and scale-up efforts.
• Provide strategic guidance to country programmes and partners on the adaptation, institutionalisation and sustainable expansion of the social transformation model, ensuring fidelity to core principles while enabling contextual flexibility.
• Identify and support opportunities for resource mobilisation, partnerships and innovation that contribute to the expansion and long-term sustainability of social transformation approaches.

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Significant experience in developing and leading social transformation initiatives that promote equality and inclusivity, in collaboration with children, communities, and partners.
• Considerable experience in drawing from both internal and external learning to advance thought global leadership on locally-led social transformation efforts.
• Proficient experience and skills in building social change movements within an organisation and ensuring the scaling of successful models and lessons learned, including with local partners.
• Strong research and analytical skills and expertise in generating evidence and producing resources to demonstrate and support social change.
• Extensive experience in embedding principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into strategy, design, and implementation efforts.
• Proven ability to monitor and evaluate the impact of social transformation programmes using data-driven and participatory methods.
• Technical Expertise: Proficient in cross-functional technical thinking on global goals and enablers to ensure ownership of social transformation in the Impact and Influencing function.
• Inclusive Strategy Integration: Capability to integrate principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of strategy, design, and implementation.
• Communication and Collaboration: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, along with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Cultural Competency: Deep understanding and respect for cultural differences and the ability to work effectively across cultural boundaries.

Desirable

• Other languages (French, Spanish).

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• A degree in a relevant field such as Development Studies, Social Sciences, Community Development, Public Health, or equivalent experience.
• Commitment to continual learning and development in areas related to social change, diversity, and inclusion.

Desirable

• A Master's degree in a relevant field is desirable.
• Relevant certifications in project management, monitoring, and evaluation, or organisational development are advantageous.

Working at Save the Children International

Save the Children is the world's leading organisation for children, employing ~25,000 staff. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Through our work in 116 countries, we put the most deprived and marginalised children first. We know that great people make a great organisation, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. The work here is challenging but is also immensely rewarding. At Save the Children, you will be in good company, working with talented, like-minded individuals who are determined to ensure that all children survive, learn, and are protected. Your contribution will help ensure children's voices are heard at the highest levels, and that we achieve our global strategy, Ambition for Children 2030, and reach every last child.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

DEI is core to our vision, values and global strategy. Save the Children is committed to creating a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, and one which will support us in our vision to ensure every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. We are committed to equal employment opportunities, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, caring or parental responsibilities, age, or beliefs and religion. We are committed to diversifying our staff to better represent the communities we serve and actively welcome underrepresented groups to apply. Reasonable adjustments will be made should any candidate invited to interview require this.

Application Information

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application. A full copy of the role profile can be found at SCI Careers. It is recommended that you save a copy of the role profile as it will no longer be available after the advert closes. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the job advert may be closed earlier than advertised subject to the volume of suitable applicants. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are successfully shortlisted should expect to hear from us within 2 weeks of the advert deadline.

Our Recruitment Process

• Application review by our recruiting team based on your CV and cover letter.
• Two-stage competency-based interviews with the hiring team.
• Some recruitment may include an additional assessment or case study stage, or a third stage interview.
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, followed by your contract subject to passing background checks.

We need to keep children and adults safe so our selection process includes rigorous background checks and reflects our commitment to the protection of children and adults from abuse. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our Code of Conduct and all policies and procedures relating to Anti-Harassment, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and DEI and Equal Opportunities.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.