[Hiring] Trustee - Policy, Advocacy & EDI @Hope and Homes for Children

Role Description

As our Policy, Advocacy & EDI Trustee, you will help shape and strengthen HHC's influence on the global stage, bringing senior expertise to bear on the policy and financing decisions that determine the pace of care reform worldwide. Working closely with our Chair, CEO and senior advocacy and programmes colleagues, you will contribute to our ambitious 2030 goal by:

• Advocacy strategy — providing strategic guidance and constructive challenge to strengthen HHC's global advocacy approach, helping sharpen our positioning, messaging and campaign strategy on care reform.
• Policy and financing influence — advising the Board and Executive on opportunities to influence the decisions of governments, regional bodies and multilateral institutions, and supporting efforts to shift public and donor financing away from orphanages and towards family-based care.
• EDI leadership — championing equity, diversity and inclusion across Board governance, organisational culture, safeguarding, and HHC's external voice, including how we portray the children, families and communities we support.
• Stakeholder relationships — using your personal networks and credibility to open doors with policymakers, multilateral bodies, coalition partners and international fora relevant to care reform.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in public policy, government relations or international advocacy, ideally connected to child protection, social welfare or human rights.
• Demonstrable track record of influencing policy or financing decisions at national, regional or international level.
• A strong, practical understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion principles and how to apply them to governance and organisational culture.
• An active network among policymakers, multilateral institutions, donors or the wider international child rights community.
• Experience working across cultures and in international contexts, including in lower income countries and fragile and conflict-affected states.
• The ability to translate specialist expertise into clear, practical guidance the Board and Executive can act on.

Requirements

• Share our belief that every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family.
• Commitment to driving change with courage, integrity, excellence and being deeply human.

Benefits

• This is a voluntary, unremunerated role.
• Engage with our work across nine countries.
• Contribute to systemic change at global scale, helping to shape the future for separated children worldwide.
• Be part of an organisation approaching its 2030 goal — a worldwide consensus that orphanages have no place in any child's life.

Time Commitment

The role requires approximately 12–18 days per year, comprising:

• Four Board meetings per year (in person, London or virtual).
• Five subcommittee meetings per year (virtual), as a key member of our Programmes, Advocacy, Research and Accountability Committee (PARAC).
• An annual two-day awayday, which may take place in one of our countries of operation.
• Additional time for preparation, ad hoc queries and induction in your first year.

The initial term of office is three years, with the possibility of two further three-year terms by mutual agreement.

Closing Date

The final cut off for applications is 17.00 UK time on Thursday 8 October 2026. Please get in touch if you have the right skills, experience and passion for our cause.

To apply, please upload your CV and a brief covering letter indicating why you are interested in joining the Hope and Homes for Children Board and how your experience, skills and values map to the requirements of this role.

Diversity

Hope and Homes for Children actively encourages equity, diversity and inclusion, and we look to recruit a diverse range of people to reflect the communities in which we live. We are keen to see a diverse membership of both the trustee body and committees as we believe diversity brings us closer to our mission of eliminating orphanages.

Thank you for considering this role. Every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family.