<h1>Chief Research, Policy, Advocacy & Strategic Communications Officer (CRAO)</h1><p><strong>Application Deadline: </strong>14 June 2026</p><p><strong>Department: </strong>Communications & External Relations</p><p><strong>Employment Type: </strong>Full Time</p><p><strong>Location: </strong>United Kingdom</p><p><strong>Reporting To: </strong>International Chief Executive Officer</p><br><br><h3>Description</h3><div> <strong>Location</strong><br><br>Applicants must be located and have the right to work in one of the following locations (we do not offer relocation packages or visa sponsorship):</div><ul> <li> <strong>Africa </strong>(DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Malawi,  Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda only), </li> <li> <strong>Europe </strong>(Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey only), </li> <li> <strong>UK</strong> </li> <li><strong>US</strong></li> </ul><div> <strong>Purpose</strong><br><br> </div><div>The Chief Research, Policy, Advocacy & Strategic Communications Officer is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and the senior leader responsible for shaping Women for Women International’s global external voice, policy influence, evidence-informed thought leadership, and strategic communications.<br><br> </div><div>The CRAO leads the organization’s global communications, advocacy, and thought leadership agenda so that WfWI’s program experience, evidence, and the voices of women affected by war and conflict are translated into stronger public influence, sharper external positioning, and more compelling engagement with donors, partners, policymakers, media, and allies.<br><br> </div><div>In the future structure, this role provides executive leadership for communications, advocacy, R&D for revenue, and thought leadership. They will work in close collaboration with the Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer (CPPO) to ensure WfWI’s external positions are grounded in program reality and evidence, and with the COO to ensure communications, advocacy, and external engagement are managed with appropriate risk, compliance, and safeguarding discipline.<br><br> </div><div>The role is not the owner of core program operations, country office management, Monitoring Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) systems, or internal operational systems. Instead, it ensures those areas are translated into powerful external narratives, policy positions, thought pieces, campaigns, and partnership propositions that strengthen WfWI’s visibility, credibility, and resource mobilization.<br><br> </div><div><strong>Engagement</strong></div><ul> <li>Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and Global Leadership Team, contributing to enterprise-wide strategy, leadership, culture, and decision-making.</li> <li>Act as a strategic adviser to the CEO on external positioning, reputation, policy moments, thought leadership opportunities, and high-profile communications.</li> <li>Work closely with the CPPO to ensure WfWI’s advocacy and external positioning are grounded in program evidence, country realities, and organizational priorities.</li> <li>Work closely with regional fundraising leaders to strengthen communications, thought leadership, donor narratives, and market-facing materials that support the Global Revenue Strategy.</li> <li>Work closely with the COO to ensure crisis communications, reputation management, compliance-sensitive messaging, and external risk issues are handled with discipline and good judgment.<br><br> </li> </ul><br><br><h3>Key Responsibilities</h3><div><strong>Delivery</strong></div><div> <strong><br>1.</strong>         <strong>Strategic Leadership and Organizational Positioning</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead the development and execution of WfWI’s global strategy for policy, advocacy, strategic communications, and thought leadership.</li> <li>Shape how WfWI is positioned externally across major global conversations on women’s rights, women’s economic empowerment, conflict, protection, localization, and related issues.</li> <li>Ensure WfWI has a coherent and differentiated external voice that is aligned with its mission, values, program reality, and long-term strategy.</li> <li>Support the CEO and Board with strategic external positioning, key messages, priority forums, and reputational considerations.</li> <li>Oversight authority over global narrative, messaging standards, and brand positioning across all markets.</li> </ul><div> <strong>2.</strong>         <strong>Research, Evidence Translation, and Thought Leadership</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead the organization’s external research and evidence agenda insofar as it supports thought leadership, public influence, donor positioning, and policy engagement.</li> <li>Commission, curate, and translate research, learning, and evidence into high-quality thought leadership products, policy positions, media content, donor narratives, and external engagement materials.</li> <li>Build strategic partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, coalitions, and knowledge partners that strengthen WfWI’s intellectual leadership and public credibility.</li> <li>Work in close partnership with CPPO and MERL leadership so that external thought leadership is grounded in high-quality program evidence, while core MERL ownership remains within the program pillar.</li> <li><strong>Own the research‑for‑influence agenda, including flagship publications and global insights products.</strong></li> <li><strong>Maintain clear boundaries with MERL: MERL generates evidence; CRAO translates it for influence.</strong></li> </ul><div> <strong>3.</strong>         <strong>Policy and Advocacy Leadership</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead the development of WfWI’s global advocacy and policy agenda, ensuring it is ambitious, practical, evidence-based, and grounded in women’s lived experience and WfWI’s program work.</li> <li>Oversee the development of organizational policy positions on women’s rights, economic empowerment, conflict, protection, and related themes.</li> <li>Lead high-level advocacy planning, campaign direction, and external engagement with policymakers, multilateral actors, donor platforms, coalitions, and civil society networks.</li> <li>Ensure strong collaboration with country and regional leaders so advocacy priorities are informed by context and do not become disconnected from delivery realities.</li> <li>Final approval authority for all global policy positions and advocacy messages.</li> </ul><div> <strong>4.</strong>         <strong>Global Communications and Strategic External Engagement</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead WfWI’s global communications strategy across brand, media, strategic external communications, digital positioning, and key campaigns.</li> <li>Ensure that communications support both organizational influence and fundraising by turning research, program experience, and impact evidence into compelling content and clear external narratives.</li> <li>Oversee high-quality messaging, media engagement, thought pieces, speeches, campaign materials, digital storytelling, and executive communications.</li> <li>Serve as or designate senior spokespersons for WfWI, ensuring consistency, quality, and alignment across markets and functions.</li> <li>Lead crisis communications and reputational risk messaging in coordination with CEO and COO.</li> <li>Ensure global alignment of brand, narrative, and digital presence across all markets.</li> </ul><div> <strong>5.</strong>         <strong>R&D for Revenue and Revenue Enablement</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead the communications and thought leadership components of R&D for revenue, identifying new narrative, audience, partnership, and content opportunities that can strengthen WfWI’s revenue diversification efforts.</li> <li>Support the development of external propositions, cases for support, campaign concepts, and strategic messaging that enable regional fundraising teams, major donor work, corporate engagement, and institutional positioning.</li> <li>Work with regional leaders, the CEO, and relevant colleagues to test and refine new externally facing concepts that support the Global Revenue Strategy.</li> <li>Support, but do not directly own, fundraising portfolios or regional revenue targets unless specifically delegated. The role’s primary contribution is strategic enablement, narrative development, external positioning, and influence.</li> <li>Ensure all donor‑facing narratives are evidence‑grounded and strategically positioned for market differentiation.</li> </ul><div> <strong>6.</strong>         <strong>Endowment Research, Positioning, and Strategic Development</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead the research, conceptualization, and strategic framing of a future WfWI endowment, ensuring it aligns with mission, values, and long‑term organizational strategy.</li> <li>Conduct landscape analysis of endowments across INGOs, foundations, and women’s rights organizations, identifying models, governance structures, and investment approaches relevant to WfWI.</li> <li>Develop the narrative, value proposition, and thought leadership case for a WfWI endowment, ensuring it is grounded in evidence, program impact, and global positioning.</li> <li>Identify and cultivate early‑stage relationships with potential anchor funders, philanthropic partners, and mission‑aligned investors who could support an endowment.</li> <li>Work with the CEO, CFO, and Board to define the governance, ethical investment principles, and risk posture required for an endowment.</li> <li>Produce a 3‑year roadmap for endowment readiness, including research, narrative development, partnership cultivation, and external positioning milestones.</li> <li>Ensure all endowment‑related messaging, research, and engagement uphold WfWI’s safeguarding, ethical, and reputational standards.</li> </ul><div> <strong>7.</strong>         <strong>Reputation, Risk, and External Stewardship</strong> </div><ul> <li>Protect and enhance WfWI’s reputation through disciplined messaging, strong judgment, and proactive management of external opportunities and risks.</li> <li>Lead crisis communications and sensitive external positioning in close coordination with the CEO, COO, and other relevant leaders.</li> <li>Ensure that advocacy and communications activities are aligned with WfWI’s safeguarding standards, ethical commitments, risk posture, and compliance requirements.</li> <li>Support appropriate due diligence and escalation processes for high-profile partnerships, campaigns, coalitions, and public positions.</li> </ul><div> <strong>8.</strong>         <strong>Team Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration</strong> </div><ul> <li>Lead and develop high-performing global teams across communications, advocacy, strategic external engagement, and related functions.</li> <li>Build a culture of collaboration, strong judgment, creativity, accountability, and disciplined execution.</li> <li>Ensure effective ways of working across the CRAO portfolio and with CPPO, COO, regional market leaders, and the CEO.</li> <li>Clarify roles, decision rights, priorities, and performance expectations so the function operates with focus and consistency.</li> </ul><div> <strong>9.</strong>         <strong>Other Responsibilities</strong> </div><ul> <li>Undertake additional duties as required by the International Chief Executive Officer.</li> <li>Uphold WfWI’s Code of Conduct, Safeguarding policies, and organizational values: Empowerment, Integrity, Respect, Resilience.</li> <li>Demonstrate WfWI leadership principles: Decisive, Accountable, Courageous, Adaptable, Inclusive.</li> </ul><br><br><h3>Skills Knowledge and Expertise</h3><div> <strong>Required<br><br></strong><strong><em>All the criteria marked (A) for Application must be addressed in your covering letter.</em></strong> </div><div><br></div><ul> <li>Located in the UK, US, or one of the countries in Africa or Europe specified above with the existing right to work in the country of employment <strong>(A)</strong> </li> <li>Master’s degree or equivalent senior experience in public policy, international development, communications, international relations, social sciences, gender studies, or a related field <strong>(A) </strong> </li> <li>Minimum 15 years of senior leadership experience in international development, women’s rights, humanitarian, policy, advocacy, communications, or related sectors <strong>(A)</strong> </li> <li>Existing credibility and networks in relevant global policy, media, or advocacy spaces <strong>(A).</strong> </li> <li>Knowledge of key policy issues related to global women’s human rights, peace and security, and philanthropy <strong>(A).</strong> </li> <li>Experience producing external communications on such issues, including for donors. (<strong>A)</strong> </li> <li> Demonstrated experience designing and implementing global or regional advocacy campaigns, positioning executive leadership in strategic spaces, identifying thought leadership opportunities, and developing talking points. (<strong>A)</strong> </li> <li>Experience with endowment campaigns, from design to securing and executing pledges from anchor funders, built on strong understanding of philanthropic opportunities and trends.</li> <li>Experience implementing crisis communications, and familiarity with global human rights frameworks. (<strong>A)</strong> </li> <li>Demonstrated ability to translate evidence and program learning into compelling external positioning, donor-facing narratives, public influence, and thought leadership.</li> <li>Strong experience with media engagement, public speaking, executive communications, and high-level external representation.</li> <li>Proven ability to lead and develop diverse, geographically dispersed teams.</li> <li> Excellent strategic judgment, political sensitivity, and ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments.</li> <li>Deep understanding of women’s rights, gender equality, and conflict-affected contexts.</li> <li>Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across program, operations, fundraising, and executive leadership teams.</li> </ul><div><br></div><br><br><h3>Benefits</h3><div> We offer a competitive, location-adjusted salary package based on local market conditions and experience. <br><br>Other benefits apply depending on location.<br><br>This role is either remote or hybrid, depending on location.</div>