Senior Climate Change Advisor
Save the Children UK is seeking a passionate and experienced Senior Climate Change Advisor to join our Global Outcomes Department and lead transformative climate adaptation work that protects children's rights and futures. In this pivotal role, you will provide technical leadership across the design and delivery of large‑scale, single and multi‑country climate adaptation programmes—particularly in developing countries and fragile contexts. A key focus of the role will be leading the development, delivery and learning of our climate and health portfolio, strengthening the evidence base and driving integration across programmes and policy.
Working closely with Country Offices, multilateral and bilateral development partners (such as the Green Climate Fund and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) and global partners, you will shape high‑quality, evidence‑based programmes, strengthen climate resilience across sectors, and influence global policy and practice on climate action. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the most urgent intergenerational challenges of our time. If you are committed to climate justice, child rights, and systems‑level change – and have the expertise to bridge climate science with practical, child‑focused solutions, we would love to hear from you.
About the Role
* Technical lead for GCF Malawi, Community Resilient Health and Wellbeing of Rural Communities in Southern Malawi (CHWBRC) Project
* Provide global thought leadership in climate change (adaptation primarily), climate‑induced health risks, environment & natural resource management to shape and drive shared influencing and impact agendas within the Save the Children movement and the wider sector, maintaining up‑to‑date expertise and monitoring relevant external trends.
* Develop and deliver very high‑quality policy, research and/or technical programme design and evaluation with minimal supervision, ensuring inclusivity and excellence in implementation.
* Contribute to a strong learning culture through leading or supporting research, evaluation, innovation and knowledge sharing.
* Support Country Offices to integrate climate change risk management and resilience outcomes into ongoing and future Sectoral and developmental programmes, strategies and policies.
* Contribute to and lead the development of climate‑related research, studies, evaluations, and documentation of good practice to build a body of evidence, based on best practices and lessons learned from global and national experiences, to support knowledge management, evidence generation and programme improvements.
* Facilitate capacity strengthening through mentoring, coaching and training, providing formal and informal support to colleagues and partners to build expertise and effectiveness.
* Work closely with colleagues across Save the Children UK and the wider movement to ensure climate is mainstreamed across all thematic areas, ensuring that colleagues are equipped with the latest climate‑related science and best practices.
* Build and maintain relationships with key decision‑makers, including donors, government agencies, multilateral partners and peer organisations, to enhance collaboration and secure funding for climate‑related initiatives.
* Support Country Offices in building relationships with GCF National Designated Authorities and other key stakeholders to advance climate finance access and impact.
* Work with partnerships and fundraising teams to identify and develop strategic partnerships with external organisations that align with Save the Children's climate‑related objectives, and to identify funding opportunities for climate‑related projects.
About You
* Proven experience and ability to design and implement large‑scale climate adaptation programmes in developing countries, for multilateral and bilateral development partners.
* Good understanding of climate change risks affecting global south communities, children and the marginalized.
* Proven ability to translate complex scientific evidence on climate change into practical programming and policy recommendations.
* Proven ability to strengthen evidence and learning uptake through analysis and collaboration, and produce high‑quality knowledge products (e.g. research, case studies, evaluations, etc.).
* Strategic thinker and demonstrated thought leader driven by impact and evidence, curious to keep up to date with new ideas and innovations, who sees the positive potential in change.
* Experience of strengthening the integration of climate resilience and environmental sustainability into sectoral programmes.
* Experience of designing and implementing nature‑based solutions and adopting evidence‑based ecosystem‑based approaches.
* Familiarity with global climate frameworks, funding mechanisms (e.g. the Green Climate Fund) and relevant policy processes.
* Experience supporting or managing multidisciplinary teams or consortia, ideally across countries or regions.
* The ability to be a thought leader in global or national adaptation planning such as climate and health; climate and nutrition; nature‑based solutions; locally led adaptation; climate and gender; food and water security, etc.
* Strong interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and authenticity that enable effective communication with different audiences.
* Collaborative team player capable of coaching, motivating and working through others to achieve outstanding results.
* Proven ability to build external relationships and partnerships, and to influence decision‑makers, policy audiences including politicians and donors, and other key actors globally.
Location & Ways of Working
The majority of our roles can be performed remotely in the UK, but at times you will be required to come to your contracted office (usually between 2–4 days per month, depending on the needs of your role, team or service). For many roles, this is likely to be the minimum required to deliver impact. This will be discussed and agreed with your manager/team, and we encourage candidates to discuss our ways of working in more detail at interview stage.
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