Head of Advocacy and Evidencing

The Head of Advocacy and Evidencing will provide strategic leadership and organisational accountability for HelpAge International’s global advocacy, policy, and research agendas.

The successful candidate will ensure that external engagement is grounded in rigorous evidence, informed by the lived experiences of older people, and aligned with the organisation’s strategic priorities.

The role involves leading global advocacy initiatives, strengthening research and evidence generation, influencing policy, building strategic partnerships, and ensuring that the voices and rights of older people are represented in global and regional decision-making.

Lead the development, implementation, and delivery of HelpAge International’s global advocacy and evidencing strategy, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s impact areas and collaboration with network members.

Monitor global, regional, and national policy trends and advise colleagues and network members on opportunities for engagement and influence.

Promote inclusive, partner-led advocacy approaches that place older people and civil society actors at the centre of decision-making.

Work with the Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships Director and supporting members to align donor advocacy initiatives with organisational priorities.

Advise the Executive Leadership Group and Board on advocacy positions and external engagement, and oversee the preparation and quality of relevant papers and briefings.

Represent HelpAge’s positions externally alongside senior leaders where appropriate.

Lead and coordinate influencing activities in priority global and regional policy and donor markets, including Europe, to strengthen the visibility of ageing and older people’s rights in development and humanitarian agendas.

Work with the Fundraising team to strengthen engagement with institutional donors and partners.

Be accountable for achieving agreed advocacy and evidencing income targets, contributing to the development of fundable proposals, donor engagement, pipeline development, and relationship management.

Ensure advocacy, research, and evidence-generation activities comply with ethical standards, safeguarding requirements, data protection rules, and organisational policies.

Represent HelpAge at senior level in global and regional coalitions, alliances, and policy forums, building relationships with governments, multilateral institutions, donors, and other influential stakeholders.

Lead HelpAge’s global research and evidence agenda, ensuring that it is coherent, ethical, inclusive, and aligned with advocacy and programme priorities.

Provide strategic oversight of evidence generation, policy analysis, and advocacy initiatives across the organisation’s key impact areas.

Ensure research activities are consistent with organisational strategy and draw on the knowledge and experiences of network members.

Develop partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and research organisations to produce and validate robust evidence that can influence policy.

Ensure research outputs are accessible, actionable, and designed to support strategic influence at global and national levels.

Lead advocacy capacity-strengthening initiatives for HelpAge network members and older people through mentoring, training, and tailored technical support.

Promote knowledge exchange and peer learning across the global network.

Ensure inclusive participation in advocacy platforms and decision-making processes.

Collaborate with regional colleagues to support the development and implementation of national and regional advocacy strategies led by network members.

Lead, manage, and coach a multidisciplinary team of advocacy advisers to achieve high performance and organisational objectives.

Support a team whose roles are structured to dedicate approximately 50% of their time to global advocacy and 50% to technical support for network members and programme development.

Manage advocacy and research budgets effectively.

Ensure compliance with donor requirements and the strategic allocation of financial and other resources.

Work closely with Programme Support, Network Development, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), Fundraising, and Communications teams to integrate evidence and influencing across organisational activities.

Coordinate joint advocacy and research initiatives that connect policy engagement with programme implementation and impact measurement.

Proven strategic leadership experience in global advocacy, policy influencing, and research within the international development, humanitarian, or human rights sectors.

Strong leadership, planning, and performance management skills, with a track record of delivering results through diverse, high-performing, and remote multidisciplinary teams.

A deep understanding and practical application of rights-based, inclusive, and intersectional approaches, particularly concerning age, gender, disability, and displacement.

Demonstrated success in designing and implementing partner-led advocacy strategies that prioritise lived experiences and community needs.

Experience influencing policy at national, regional, and international levels through coalition-building and senior-level relationships with governments, multilateral bodies, and donors.

Strong analytical and research skills, including experience designing or overseeing ethical, participatory research and translating evidence into compelling policy and advocacy outputs.

Proven ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and policy platforms.

Experience securing funding for advocacy or research initiatives, including developing fundable proposals and engaging institutional donors in collaboration with fundraising teams.

Strong budget oversight and resource management skills, including accountability for donor-funded initiatives.

Ability to monitor advocacy impact, policy developments, and funding landscapes and adapt strategies accordingly.

Experience strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations, networks, or grassroots movements, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, through mentoring, training, and tailored support.

Lived experience of the Global South or extensive professional experience working in Global South contexts.

Strong knowledge of and established networks within European and global institutional policy and donor environments.

Experience engaging with the media to support advocacy initiatives.

A degree in International Development, Public Policy, Human Rights, Social Sciences, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

A postgraduate qualification is an advantage but is not essential where practical experience is strong.

Willingness to travel internationally.

Ability to work effectively across cultures, sectors, and geographical regions in inclusive and equitable ways.

Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.

Additional languages used in the Global South, such as Spanish, French, or Arabic, are highly desirable.

Strong commitment to locally led development and the principles of Partner-Led Programming.

Familiarity with ageing, inclusion, and rights issues in Global South contexts is a key asset.

HelpAge values and encourages applications from candidates with lived experience of inequality, marginalisation, or systemic exclusion, particularly in relation to age, gender, disability, displacement, or economic injustice.

Build mutual trust and respect with external organisations and partners, work collaboratively to achieve strategic objectives, and remain accountable for joint activities and outcomes.

Respond effectively to changing organisational priorities and emerging opportunities, using feedback to learn, improve, and adapt working approaches.

Promote behavioural and cultural change by fostering a supportive, collaborative, and inclusive working environment in which everyone feels respected and engaged.

Identify new business development opportunities and build relationships with new partners to expand the organisation’s reach and influence.

Promote a culture that ensures older people’s voices are represented across organisational support, convening, and thought leadership activities, with particular attention to people experiencing discrimination based on gender, economic status, disability, or other factors.

Demonstrate effective leadership, manage the department responsibly, build trust, and create an enabling environment where staff can contribute effectively and develop their potential.

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities it serves, its partners, staff, and all other people who come into contact with its work.

Preventing harm and abuse arising from the organisation’s personnel, operations, and programmes.

Reporting safeguarding incidents that they witness, hear about, or suspect through the established internal reporting mechanisms.

Complying with all safeguarding policies, frameworks, and practices.

Completing mandatory safeguarding training and complying with relevant human resources vetting procedures.

All appointments at HelpAge International are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. These may include misconduct disclosure schemes and terrorism finance checks.

Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in one of the stated locations. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Important: Ensure that the role title is clearly indicated in the email subject line and that both the CV and cover letter are submitted before the deadline.

How to apply

Submit an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Cover Letter by email to [email protected]. Use the subject line: Head of Advocacy and Evidencing. Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in one of the stated locations. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.