Senior Adviser – Protecting Children from Digital Harm

We are looking for a Senior Adviser – Protecting Children from Digital Harm to join our Child Protection & Child Rights Governance team. 

We aim to become one of the leading global organisations for ensuring children’s rights in the digital world and promoting a safe digital childhood.  In this newly created post you will lead Save the Children UK’s work to protect children from digital harm. You’ll contribute to the advancement of children’s rights in the digital environment, innovating across our programmes and advocating for change.

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

We stand side by side with children in the toughest places to be a child. We do whatever it takes to make sure they survive, get protection when they’re in danger, and have the chance to learn. 

About the Department

The Programme Quality and Impact (PQI) department works to ensure we deliver high-quality, evidence-based programmes and that we develop technical approaches to achieve positive sector-wide change for children. We work with partners and across the Save the Children movement to provide technical support to programme design and implementation, partnership development and in developing quality standards, technical approaches, and tools.

About the Team

The Child Protection & Child Rights Governance team aims to raise our ambition and commitment in these two areas and to provide strategic leadership across our portfolios of work. It supports the development and implementation of critically important, high-quality programmes; promotes internal alignment in policy & practice; develops and delivers capacity strengthening support; conducts technical advocacy; and builds strategic partnerships to further our goals.  There is a strong focus on quality evidence generation to underpin programme designs and for use in influencing the improvement of policy & practice.

About the Role

Save the Children aims to become one of the leading global organisations for ensuring children’s rights in the digital world, and promoting  a safe digital childhood.  Our mission is to unite children, private industry, civil society and government to accelerate children’s protection, participation and well-being online and offline.

As a Senior Adviser you will hold responsibility for leading Save the Children UK’s work to protect children from digital harm. You will contribute to the advancement of children’s rights in the digital environment, innovating across our programmes, advocating for change and amplifying best practices. You will work closely with children, as well as diverse stakeholders, such as our Taskforce for a Safe Digital Childhood, to develop training curricula, behaviour change strategies and digital solutions, and to influence laws, regulatory policies and technology industry standards to maximise benefits and minimise risks to children in the digital environment.

You will support engagement and partnership with external organisations, companies and constituencies that have skills and experiences in technology and the digital environment that can complement our own, extend our reach, increase our understanding of the issues, and enhance our ability to influence change in ways that make children safer online.

 Key Accountabilities include:

• Provide global leadership (e.g., in internal and external working groups) on protection from digital harm and safe digital childhood programming within the Save the Children movement and/or wider sector.
• Co-lead Save the Children’s Safe Digital Childhood Task Force
• Lead Save the Children UK’s work on protection from digital harm with minimum supervision, reflecting your high-level responsibilities, and articulate a compelling vision to inspire others to achieve our ambitious goals for children.
• Play a leadership role in ensuring programmes embed children’s rights in the digital environment into our existing strategies and initiatives, working collaboratively with stakeholders, and particularly with country office and partner staff.
• Champion and drive quality, inclusion, and impact across the work of Save the Children and the wider sector.
• Lead the development and implementation of technical strategies and products (such as best practice approaches, minimum standards, and publications) as they relate to protecting children from digital harm.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships in relation to safe digital childhood programming and advocacy, leading on engagement with partners to amplify impact.
• Deepen and expand relationships with key high-level external stakeholders and build strong working relationships with technical experts, partners and advocacy targets for technical exchange and policy and practice influence.
• Engage with relevant education staff leading on EdTech initiatives to ensure the inclusion of safety and protection considerations for children.
• Provide and facilitate support and capacity strengthening to other technical and programme staff, for example through mentoring, coaching, training, or guidance.
• Contribute to the wider success of Save the Children by providing programme evidence and technical expertise as required to inform and influence country strategies, advocacy, fundraising and communications.

 About You

To be successful, it is important that you have the following skills and experience:

• An in-depth understanding of the benefits and risks the digital world poses to children
• Experience and an in-depth understanding of how to protect children from online harm and promote a safe digital environment for children
• Experience of strategically driving programming to protect children from online/offline harm and abuse, monitoring its quality and impact
• A track record of building, maintaining, and developing relationships and networks with a wide range of stakeholders, including technology companies.
• Strong influencing skills, with the ability to influence peers and senior colleagues through the building of cross-organisational relationships and the mobilisation of support for key issues
• Ability to lead and work with colleagues to set a strategic vision, inspire others and securing cross-team engagement for delivery
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with an excellent ability to communicate with impact and adapt style for a wide range of audiences with diverse backgrounds and at all levels
• Ability and willingness to travel at least three weeks a year