Specialist, Wellbeing and Engagement at Save the Children

Role purpose

The Wellbeing and Engagement Specialist is responsible for designing, implementing and monitoring initiatives that enhance the health, wellbeing, and engagement of Save the Children’s global workforce. This role ensures that staff wellbeing is prioritised and integrated into organisational practices, enabling employees to thrive and perform at their best. Working collaboratively with internal stakeholders and partners, the Specialist focuses on addressing key areas such as mental health, resilience, engagement, and inclusivity. They play a pivotal role in evaluating the effectiveness of wellbeing strategies and fostering a workplace culture that supports physical, emotional, and mental health.

Principal Accountabilities

Design and Deliver Wellbeing Initiatives

• Design and implement holistic wellbeing initiatives that support the physical, mental, and emotional health of staff working in diverse and high-stress humanitarian contexts. Ensure initiatives are practical, culturally appropriate, and adaptable across office, field, and remote operational settings.

Build Capacity and Provide Support

• Develop and deliver tailored training and capacity-building activities on stress management, resilience, trauma awareness, and self-care. Strengthen staff and leader capability to proactively manage wellbeing challenges in demanding operational environments.

Promote Engagement and Inclusivity

• Lead engagement initiatives that respond to the realities of remote, emergency, and multi-cultural humanitarian operations. Foster inclusive participation, collaboration, and connection across geographies, time zones, and contexts, ensuring equitable access to wellbeing and engagement support.

Collaborate and Influence Policy

• Work closely with internal stakeholders (e.g. Safeguarding, Insurance, GSS, One Humanitarian Team) and external partners to strengthen wellbeing systems. Advocate for context-specific policies and practices that address systemic and operational barriers to staff health, safety, and wellbeing, particularly in high-risk and field-based settings.

Provide Contextualised Crisis Support

• Coordinate and deliver targeted crisis and critical incident support in collaboration with safeguarding and security teams. Ensure access to immediate psychosocial support, peer support mechanisms, and post-crisis debriefing to reduce trauma exposure, burnout, and long-term wellbeing risks.

Measure and Report Impact

• Design and manage wellbeing and engagement measurement approaches suitable for complex and sensitive contexts, ensuring staff anonymity and safety. Monitor, evaluate, and report impact to senior leadership, translating insights into actionable operational and strategic improvements.

Champion Continuous Improvement

• Stay informed of emerging trends, innovations, and best practices in wellbeing, engagement, and crisis support relevant to humanitarian contexts. Use evidence, learning, and staff feedback to continuously refine strategies and strengthen organisational resilience. 

Experience and Skills

Essential

• Global Wellbeing Programme Management: Experience managing wellbeing initiatives across diverse humanitarian contexts, ensuring strategic alignment and measurable improvement.
• Programme Design & Implementation: Ability to create and deliver holistic wellbeing and engagement programmes addressing psychological, emotional, and physical health, while fostering inclusivity.
• Data Analysis & Continuous Improvement: Strong skills in collecting, analysing, and leveraging data to evaluate wellbeing strategies, drive improvements, and align with organisational goals.
• Training & Capacity Building: Proficiency in designing and facilitating training sessions on wellbeing, resilience, and engagement tailored to varied audiences and cultural contexts.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with proven ability to articulate complex concepts clearly and build strong stakeholder relationships.
• Project & Initiative Delivery: Capable of planning, executing, and overseeing wellbeing and engagement initiatives (e.g., employee surveys), ensuring delivery within timelines and budgets.
• Cross-Cultural Competence: Demonstrated experience working with diverse cultural perspectives and embedding inclusivity into wellbeing and engagement activities.
• Problem Solving & Innovation: Strong ability to identify challenges and develop creative, practical solutions that enhance staff wellbeing and engagement.
• Ethics & Integrity: High level of accountability and commitment to organisational values of honesty, transparency, and ethical conduct.
• Project Management: Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, maintaining efficiency and ensuring timely delivery of objectives.

Desirable

• Experience in both wellbeing and engagement, ideally within global contexts.
• Practical background in mental health or employee engagement initiatives.
• Knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion principles, particularly in high stress or culturally diverse environments.  

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• A master's or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field such as Psychology, Public Health, International Development, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience
• Experience collecting, analysing, and interpreting wellbeing and engagement data, using both quantitative and qualitative methods to inform evidence-based decision-making.

Desirable

• Formal training or certification in wellbeing, mental health, or related areas (e.g., Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Trauma-Informed Care, or Stress Management).
• Qualifications or experience in humanitarian aid or crisis response, with an understanding of the challenges faced by staff in conflict or disaster settings. Familiarity with international health and safety standards, travel health protocols, or safeguarding frameworks within the humanitarian sector.
• Experience with data analysis software or dashboards (e.g. Excel, Power BI, SPSS, or survey platforms) to visualise and communicate wellbeing outcomes.