Jobs at Help Age International

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.

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Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities

• To make an impact and influence, the role holder will: provide strategic leadership and coordination for HelpAge’s global advocacy strategy to improve coverage, adequacy and financing of social pensions globally; enable and support internal teams and network members to strengthen their technical capacity on social protection through collaborative approaches such as training, mentoring, and access to practical tools and resources; manage the Advocacy Officer and oversee development of the Pension Watch platform; coordinate the strategic generation and use of evidence related to social pensions, collaborating with network members, researchers, and allies; and facilitate shared learning, visibility, and influence for network members and older people in key social protection forums.

Below are the specific responsibilities for this role:

• Leadership role (core):
• Provide strategic leadership for the development and delivery of HelpAge’s global advocacy strategy on pensions, ensuring strong engagement of teams and network members throughout its design and implementation.
• Engage in relevant external advocacy spaces and social protection networks, using stakeholder and power-mapping to build and maintain strategic relationships with relevant UN agencies, selected member states, like-minded INGOs, and social protection experts.
• Lead the development and promotion of the Pension Watch platform and supervise the Advocacy Officer (line-management and delegation).
• Promote the meaningful participation and leadership of older people, particularly those facing discrimination and exclusion, in social protection forums.
• Represent HelpAge and its network externally, and support and enable members to take the lead in strategic advocacy spaces to amplify their voice and influence.
• Provide technical support to staff and network members to strengthen quality, rights-based programming and advocacy initiatives on social protection, through tailored guidance, training, tools, and ongoing accompaniment— working in close collaboration with Regional Network Coordinators.
• Support network member-led advocacy efforts on social pensions and social protection issues, ensuring that approaches are grounded in local contexts, shaped by network member priorities, and aligned with HelpAge’s overall approach to social protection.
• Supportive and collaborative work (strategically selective):
• Facilitate the generation, synthesis, and use of evidence on social pensions by coordinating research initiatives, managing relationships with research partners, and drawing on practice and insights from across the HelpAge network.
• Produce and contribute to high-quality advocacy outputs, including policy briefs, reports, and tools, in collaboration with internal teams and network members.
• Work with the communications team to ensure timely messaging, updates, and public statements on social protection issues, aligned with advocacy goals and external developments.
• Monitor global trends and conduct horizon scanning in the social protection space to identify emerging risks, opportunities, and areas for engagement.
• Strengthen Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) related to social protection advocacy and programming outcomes, and promote the effective use of relevant data, evidence, and learning across the organisation and its network.

Skills and experience required

Essential

• Proven specialist expertise in social protection, particularly in social pensions, with the ability to provide thought leadership, policy guidance, and technical support.
• Deep knowledge of the global social protection landscape, including key policy debates, financing, data sources, and trends.
• Substantial experience working at national and regional levels, including supporting and positioning civil society actors and national advocates.
• Strong understanding of global frameworks and institutions relevant to social protection (e.g., ILO, UN, World Bank), with a track record of representing organisations in high-level international forums.
• Demonstrated ability to lead or commission research and translate findings into effective advocacy, policy influence, and learning tools.
• Experience in advocacy strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and influencing decision-makers at the national and global level.
• Familiarity with rights-based, inclusive, and intersectional approaches to social protection, particularly relating to ageing, gender, and disability.
• Understanding of and commitment to the principles of Partner-Led Programming and Locally-Led Development.