Job Description
Location: Global
Department: Global Impact
Reports to (Line Manager): Director of Global Impact
Responsible for ( Line managing)
- Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor
- Social Protection Advisor
- Health Advisor
- Rights Advisor
Grade: F
Contract Type: Open-ended contract
About the Department
The Global Impact Team drives HelpAge International’s mission to advance the wellbeing, dignity, and rights of older people, by championing locally led action and global solidarity.
- At the heart of our work is a thriving, resilient HelpAge Network—a powerful collective of national civil society actors driving change that is rooted in the priorities and experiences of older people.
- We lead the delivery of HelpAge’s strategic approach to support, convene, and influence, across humanitarian and development contexts, to achieve lasting and inclusive impact.
Our goal is to ensure that:
- Older people have inclusive, improved access to secure and adequate income
- Older people have safe and secure access to humanitarian assistance
- Older people have improved access to inclusive health, care, and support services
- Age-inclusive laws, policies and systems guarantee older people’s rights across all sectors
- A thriving locally led HelpAge Network drives collective action to uphold older people’s rights, dignity, and wellbeing.
About the Job
The Head of Advocacy & Evidencing plays a central role in driving HelpAge’s global influence by leading our advocacy, policy, and research agendas. This is a strategic leadership role focused on ensuring that our external engagement is grounded in rigorous evidence, shaped by the lived experiences of older people, and aligned with our organisational priorities.
Working in close collaboration with HelpAge network members, older people’s organisations, and internal and external partners, the postholder will champion an inclusive and partner-led approach to advocacy that centres rights, equity, and local leadership. The role will ensure that advocacy and research efforts are coherent, ethical, and strategically designed to support both national and global influencing goals.
The Head of Advocacy & Evidencing will lead a multidisciplinary team and work across functions to integrate evidence and influencing into programme design, policy development, and external engagement. They will play a key role in cultivating partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, civil society organisations, and donors, while supporting older people and network members to influence the decisions that shape their lives.
This role will also provide co-leadership on donor advocacy in partnership with the Fundraising Director, reflecting the importance of aligning HelpAge’s global advocacy and resource mobilisation strategies. Together, they will strengthen collaboration with supporting members and ensure coordinated approaches to shared advocacy priorities and strengthening donor influence and engagement.
The postholder will work as part of the Global Impact team and collaborate closely with the Leadership Group, Programme Support, Network engagement, MEAL, Fundraising, and Communications teams, as well as with a wide range of external stakeholders including UN agencies, governments, donors, coalitions, and research bodies. This role is pivotal in positioning HelpAge as a credible and values-driven voice on ageing, rights, and inclusive development.
Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities
To deliver impact, the Head of Advocacy & Evidencing will:
- Lead the delivery and evolution of HelpAge’s global advocacy and research agenda, ensuring it reflects lived experience and drives progress on rights, inclusion, and equity for older people.
- Strengthen the capacities of network members and older people to lead and participate meaningfully in advocacy efforts, and ensure inclusive engagement in the design and implementation of influencing strategies.
- Cultivate strategic partnerships with policy, academic, and research institutions to co-produce high-quality, policy-relevant evidence and promote HelpAge’s thought leadership on rights, healthy ageing, humanitarian inclusion, and social protection.
Key Responsibilities:
- Strategic Leadership and Advocacy
- Lead the development and implementation of a cohesive global advocacy and evidencing strategy, aligned with HelpAge’s impact areas and co-created with network members.
- Monitor and respond to global and regional policy trends, identifying strategic opportunities for engagement and influence.
- Champion inclusive, partner-led advocacy approaches that centre the voices and leadership of older people and civil society actors.
- Collaborate with the Fundraising Director and supporting members to align donor advocacy efforts with organisational priorities and global influencing strategies.
- Support senior leadership and the Board with external engagement and positioning.
- Evidence and Research
- Develop and oversee a coherent, ethical, and inclusive research agenda that strengthens the evidence base for HelpAge’s advocacy and programming.
- Foster partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and research bodies to co-produce and validate robust, policy-influencing evidence.
- Ensure that research outputs are accessible, actionable, and designed for strategic influence at global and national levels.
- Capacity Strengthening and Network Engagement
- Lead on advocacy capacity strengthening of HelpAge network members and older people through mentoring, training, and tailored support.
- Promote knowledge exchange and peer learning across the network, ensuring inclusive participation in advocacy platforms and decision-making spaces.
- Collaborate with regional colleagues to support the development and implementation of national and regional advocacy strategies led by network members.
- Team and Resource Management
- Lead, manage, and coach a multidisciplinary team of advocacy advisors, ensuring high performance and alignment with organisational goals. These are hybrid roles, with approximately 50% of their time dedicated to global advocacy and the remaining 50% focused on technical support to members and contribution to programme development.
- Manage advocacy and research budgets effectively, ensuring compliance with donor requirements and strategic resource allocation.
- Cross-Organisational Collaboration
- Work closely with Programme Support, Network, MEAL, Fundraising, and Communications teams to embed evidence and influencing in all areas of work.
- Coordinate joint advocacy and research initiatives that connect policy engagement with programme delivery and impact measurement.
- Represent HelpAge in key coalitions, alliances, and forums to promote the organisation’s priorities and strengthen external visibility.
- Oversee a globally connected and coherent portfolio of evidence generation, policy analysis, and advocacy initiatives across key impact areas (e.g., rights, health, humanitarian inclusion, social protection) —drawing on the network as a central source of evidence and insight.
Skills and experience required
Essential
- Proven strategic leadership 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 high-performing, diverse, and remote multidisciplinary teams.
- Deep understanding and practical application of rights-based, inclusive, and intersectional approaches—especially relating to age, gender, disability, and displacement.
- Demonstrated success in designing and implementing partner-led advocacy strategies that centre lived experience and community priorities.
- Experience influencing policy at national, regional, and international levels through coalition-building, stakeholder engagement, and strategic relationship management.
- Proven ability to translate evidence and lived experience into compelling advocacy and policy outputs (e.g., briefs, reports, toolkits) that drive systemic change.
- Strong analytical and research skills, with experience designing or overseeing ethical, participatory, and impact-oriented research.
- Demonstrated ability to build and sustain high-impact partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, and policy platforms.
- Experience working with and supporting civil society, networks, or grassroots movements, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
- In-depth understanding of global and regional policy environments, donor landscapes, and influencing mechanisms.
- Skilled in budget oversight and resource management, including accountability in donor-funded initiatives.
- Ability to monitor advocacy impact, policy trends, and funding landscapes, and to adapt strategies accordingly.
- Well-connected within international advocacy, policy, and media networks.
- Strong skills in capacity strengthening, mentoring, and supporting diverse stakeholders, including network members and communities.
- Lived experience of the Global South or extensive professional experience working in Global South contexts is essential.
Education and Qualifications
- Degree in international development, public policy, human rights, social sciences, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
- A postgraduate qualification is an asset but not essential where practical experience is strong.
Other Requirements
- Willingness to travel internationally
- Ability to work across cultures, sectors, and geographies in inclusive and equitable ways.
- Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written); additional languages used in the Global South (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic) are highly desirable.
- Deep commitment to locally led development and the principles of PartnerLed Programming.
- We actively value and encourage candidates with lived experience of inequality, marginalisation, or systemic exclusion—especially related to age, gender, disability, displacement, or economic injustice.
- Familiarity with ageing, inclusion, and rights issues in Global South contexts is a key asset.
Interested and qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply by sending their Cover Letter and CV only to Jobs@helpage.org not later than Sunday, 31 August 2025.
Deadline for Applications: August 31, 2025
“While we try our best to keep our information updated, the closing date of the actual job source may be changed by the recruiter without prior notice. With this, please make sure to check the official job link when submitting your application. Thank you.”
