Child Rights and Government Relations Senior Advisor (Ukraine Nationals Only)

Save the Children International

Save the Children International is a leading global humanitarian organization that has been protecting children's rights worldwide for over 100 years. We operate in more than 100 countries, responding to emergencies, implementing innovative development programs, and advocating for children's rights on a global scale.

Our work in Ukraine began in 2014. Since then, we have significantly expanded our presence, providing support to children and families affected by war. Our key areas of focus include education, child protection, food security, social support, and advocacy to drive lasting change in children's lives.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Child Rights and Government Relations Senior Advisor will provide strategic leadership to advance children’s rights through policy influence and strong engagement with government institutions. The role strengthens the integration of international child rights standards into national policies and systems, leading high-level advocacy with decision-makers, and positioning the organization as a credible technical partner. The Advisor will lead on policy analysis, government engagement, and evidence-based influencing, and represent the organization in key coordination and policy forums to drive meaningful improvements for children.

SCOPE OF ROLE: The Child Rights and Government Relations Senior Advisor will lead organization’s strategic engagement with national and local authorities, parliamentary bodies, and key government institutions to advance child rights and strengthen child-sensitive governance. The role will provide high-level technical expertise on the application of international child rights frameworks, including the UNCRC and its optional protocol, across national policies, legislation, systems reforms, and coordination mechanisms. This includes guiding policy analysis, developing evidence-based recommendations, and ensuring the organization’s influencing agenda is coherent, credible, and aligned with national priorities and global standards.

Working closely with senior leadership, programme, advocacy, and technical teams, the Advisor will drive strategic partnerships and strengthen the organization’s position as a trusted partner for government and policy stakeholders. The role holder will oversee the development of policy briefs, technical submissions, and advocacy strategies; support cross-departmental coordination on government engagement; and ensure that child participation, safeguarding, and inclusion principles are embedded within all policy dialogue and influencing efforts.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Child Rights Leadership

• Ensure international and national child rights standards—including the UNCRC and related frameworks—are integrated across policy influence, strategic planning, and government engagement.
• Provide technical leadership to embed child rights principles and meaningful child participation in advocacy, campaigns, and organisational influencing work.
• Support the development of child-sensitive, rights-based key messages, policy recommendations, and sector positioning.
• Collaborate with MEAL, programme teams, and safeguarding specialists to ensure evidence and learning related to children’s rights inform all influencing objectives.
• Promote ethical and safe engagement of children in policy processes and ensure adherence to child safeguarding and participation standards.

Government Engagement & Institutional Relations

• Lead strategic engagement with national and local government institutions, including ministries, parliamentary committees, and thematic working groups.
• Analyse government policy priorities, reform agendas, and budget decisions to identify implications for children and opportunities for influence.
• Support the development and implementation of government affairs strategies for priority sectors, aligned with the Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns Strategy.
• Maintain and expand strategic relationships with government, civil society networks, and institutional actors to strengthen the organisation’s positioning as a credible technical partner.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder maps, engagement strategies, and relationship management plans across the Ukrainian institutional landscape.
• Ensure senior leadership is informed of political developments, risks, and opportunities for government engagement.

Policy & Advocacy Influencing

• Lead and coordinate the development of high-quality advocacy, policy, and research products, including briefs, key messages, reports, talking points, recommendation and policy papers, etc, while ensuring they remain accurate, up-to-date, and aligned with global organisational standards.
• Support thematic teams to define clear policy objectives and evidence-based influencing priorities.
• Identify national, regional, and international opportunities to advance policy goals and position the organisation as a leading agency on children’s issues.
• Monitor national and global policy developments related to Ukraine, providing analysis and recommendations for strategic organisational action.
• Facilitate cross-team coordination to ensure coherent policy messaging and unified advocacy approaches.

Humanitarian Advocacy

• Provide analysis and advocacy guidance on humanitarian policies, access constraints, and operational challenges affecting children and families.
• Support the development of humanitarian advocacy products for national, regional, and international audiences, including crisis briefings and protection trend analyses.
• Monitor shifts in the humanitarian context and government decision-making to inform response strategies and influencing priorities.
• Ensure humanitarian advocacy aligns with humanitarian principles, child safeguarding, and conflict-sensitive approaches.
• Support representation in humanitarian coordination mechanisms where policy change is required to improve outcomes for children.

De-institutionalisation (DI) & Child Protection System Reform

• Lead advocacy efforts promoting the transition from institutional care to family-based care in line with national reform commitments and international standards.
• Analyse government DI strategies, social policy reforms, and budget allocations, providing recommendations to strengthen child-centred, evidence-based reform processes.
• Engage with key government authorities, national stakeholders, and civil society actors to advance policy frameworks that accelerate DI and enhance child protection systems.
• Promote inclusive DI reforms that address the needs of children with disabilities, children in conflict-affected areas, and other vulnerable groups.
• Ensure alignment between programme delivery, policy advocacy, and government engagement to promote sustainable, system-level change for children in alternative care.

General

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• To perform such other responsibilities as agreed with your line management.

Additional job responsibilities

• The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience. In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability

• Takes personal responsibility for decisions, effective use of resources, high-quality results, and acting in alignment with Save the Children values.
• Supports colleagues and partners to take ownership of their responsibilities by providing guidance, opportunities for development, and constructive feedback.
• Addresses underperformance proactively and fairly, ensuring accountability for outcomes.

Ambition

• Sets clear, ambitious goals for themselves and contributes to a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.
• Actively promotes and communicates the vision of Save the Children to inspire, motivate and engage others.
• Thinks creatively and strategically to drive progress and long-term impact for children.

Collaboration

• Builds positive, trusting, and inclusive relationships with staff, partners, and stakeholders.
• Values diversity and different perspectives as strengths that enhance the organization’s collective impact.
• Demonstrates strong communication skills, showing empathy, openness, and willingness to support others.

Creativity

• Proactively seeks and encourages innovative, practical solutions to improve effectiveness and staff experience.
• Confident in proposing new ideas and taking responsible, well-considered risks to enhance results.

Integrity

• Acts with honesty, fairness and professionalism in all interactions.
• Promotes an environment of transparency, trust, and mutual respect, upholding the highest ethical standards.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education

• University degree in Public Policy, International Relations, Human Rights, Social Sciences, Law, International Development, Political Science, or a related field.
• Additional training or certification in child rights, public administration, advocacy, government relations, humanitarian policy, or child protection systems is a strong asset.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of international child rights frameworks, including the UNCRC, General Comments, Optional Protocols, and global standards for child protection and de-institutionalisation.
• Excellent knowledge of Ukrainian public administration, government structures, policy-making processes, and political landscape.
• Proven ability to develop policy briefs, advocacy strategies, key messages, and evidence-based influencing products.
• Strong skills in strategic communication, representation, and external engagement with senior officials and institutional partners.
• Ability to interpret and analyse policy, legal frameworks, child rights issues, and budgetary documents.
• Demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively across teams, networks, and sectors, including with government, civil society, donors, and technical actors.
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in Ukrainian and English

Experience (Required)

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in advocacy, public policy, government relations, child rights, social policy, journalism, foreign affairs, or related fields.
• Track record of engaging effectively with government ministries, parliament, national agencies, or other institutional partners.
• Experience analyzing public policy trends, political developments, and government reform agendas, especially within social protection or child rights sectors.
• Demonstrated experience producing high-quality policy/advocacy outputs, including policy briefs, strategy documents, and research-based reports.
• Practical experience in relationship and stakeholder management, particularly with institutions, donors, foundations, or high-level partners.
• Experience conducting policy, donor, or contextual research, including synthesizing complex information and producing actionable recommendations.
• Experience applying child rights standards, safeguarding, or ethical principles in programming or advocacy contexts.
• Proven ability to work under tight deadlines, manage multiple priorities, and deliver high-quality outputs in fast-paced or politically sensitive environments.

Experience (Desirable)

• Experience working directly on de-institutionalisation, child protection system reform, or alternative care advocacy and/or in humanitarian advocacy, conflict-affected settings, or emergency response.
• Direct engagement with child-led or youth advocacy groups or experience supporting meaningful child participation in policy processes.
• Experience working in or with (I)NGOs, UN agencies, government ministries, or international organisations on policy influence.
• Experience contributing to national policy consultations, legislative processes, or reform working groups.
• Understanding international diplomacy or multilateral engagement relevant to Ukraine.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Save the Children is committed to create a truly inclusive, effective and representative organisational culture, encouraging equity and diversity among its employees and eliminating discrimination. Having a diverse profile of employees, different age groups, backgrounds, cultures, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientation etc., including a range of different experiences and capabilities helps us understand, represent and serve children better. Therefore, all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

Child Safeguarding Policy:

We are committed to ensuring children's safety. Our recruitment process includes strict background checks and reflects our commitment to protecting children from harm.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Safeguarding, Code of Conduct and other policies.

Health and Safety:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Application Information:

If you are interested in this position, please submit your CV and cover letter in English and include details of your salary expectation and English proficiency.

We need to keep children and their families safe, so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the safeguarding of children from abuse.

Disclaimer:

Please be cautious of individuals who may misuse the Save the Children name to solicit fees from job seekers. We do not engage third parties or agencies to recruit candidates. If someone contacts you promising recruitment or placement at Save the Children for a fee, please do not proceed.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.