Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy (Education Resourcing)

About Malala Fund

Registered in the U.K., U.S., Nigeria, and Pakistan, Malala Fund is working toward a world where all girls can learn and lead. Malala Fund advocates for resources and policy changes needed to give all girls a secondary education. The girls we serve have high goals for themselves and we have high expectations for leaders who can help them. We invest in local education leaders and front-line organizations, the people who best understand girls in their communities in regions where most girls are missing out on secondary school. We give girls the tools they need to advocate for education and equality in their communities and a platform for the world to hear their voices. We believe girls should speak for themselves and tell leaders what they need to learn and achieve their potential.

About the Position

The Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy (Education Resourcing) is responsible for providing strategic leadership and vision for Malala Fund’s global advocacy efforts to secure sustainable financing for 12 years of free, safe, and quality education for all girls—one of the organization’s two core strategic pillars.

Reporting to the Chief of External Affairs, the Senior Director will lead a team of experienced policy and advocacy professionals to develop and execute an ambitious, multi-dimensional global advocacy strategy focussed on education financing. A central component of this strategy is the Debt Justice Initiative (DJI), which directly contributes to strengthening international policy frameworks around reasonable debt to expand and protect girls’ right to secondary education. Through this work, the Senior Director will play a critical role in advancing Malala Fund’s mission by ensuring that governments and global institutions increase education financing, and that these resources are targeted toward realizing girls’ right to secondary education.

As Malala Fund’s primary content expert on education financing policy, the Senior Director will build Malala Fund’s position in the global financing space, strategically leveraging Malala Fund partners, staff and co-founder voices. The ideal candidate will demonstrate deep content expertise in education financing, strong experience in advocacy and government relations and exemplary leadership and interpersonal skills. They will be accountable for designing and executing this high-impact initiative in line with Malala Fund’s mission and values.

Location: Washington, DC Hybrid or New York Remote

Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership of Education Resourcing Advocacy

• Lead the strategic direction and implementation of Malala Fund’s global advocacy to increase sustainable funding for girls’ secondary education in low-income countries.
• Set annual plans, milestones and budgets; defining policy change objectives, audiences, tactics, and messages to drive impact.
• Develop and oversee high-impact, evidence-based policy analysis and strategic messaging in collaboration with the Strategic Communications team.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution of the initiative, aligning strategy with global trends, monitoring progress, supporting related grants, managing risks, and advising leadership (including co-founders) and Malala Fund grantees on key opportunities and engagements.
• Conduct regular political and organizational risk and opportunity analyses to inform advocacy approach and messaging.

2. External Representation and Government Relations

• Develop and execute strategies to position Malala Fund as a leading voice on education financing, including media engagement and strategic partnerships.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with governments, global institutions, sector partners and civil society aligned with Malala Fund’s advocacy goals.
• Drive Malala Fund’s policy recommendations with key stakeholders.
• Represent the organisation at high-level forums, media engagements, and coalition spaces.

3. Team and Organizational Leadership

• Manage and mentor a high-performing team of policy and advocacy professionals.
• Oversee internal planning, budgeting, and reporting for the Education Resourcing pillar.
• Contribute to cross-team collaboration and organizational coordination through leadership meetings and shared initiatives.

4. Organizational Culture

• Uphold Malala Fund’s organizational values.
• Actively contribute to making Malala Fund a diverse and equitable workplace through inclusive practice and openness to different perspectives, cultures and ideas.
• Maintain behavior and conduct that uphold the highest standards for safeguarding, professionally and personally.
• Act as a role model for a ‘learning organisation’ culture by seeking insight and using problems as opportunities to learn.

Qualifications

• A postgraduate degree or equivalent in social science, economics or a related field.
• Demonstrated success in leading multidimensional advocacy initiatives to influence global policy frameworks and institutions.
• Significant policy expertise related to education financing, international financial architecture and/or social sector resourcing.
• Considerable experience in building, leading and mobilising diverse civil society coalitions and partnerships for effective collective advocacy.
• Experience and ease in engaging/communicating with a wide range of audiences, including senior-level policymakers, media, and civil society partners.
• Keen understanding of normative and legal frameworks that apply to girls’ education.
• Solid judgment and problem-solving skills; proven attention to detail, accuracy, and quality.
• Excellent team and personnel management abilities with the ability to motivate teams, build partnerships and connect with individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the keen ability to distill complex ideas and data into clear and concise messaging and tailor communications to particular audiences (external and internal).
• Travel 15%.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Overseeing a small sub-team under the Education Resourcing pillar.
• Recruiting, interviewing, and training new staff.
• Providing constructive and timely performance feedback and performance evaluations.
• Handling discipline and termination of employees in accordance with organizational policy.

Malala Fund is an equal opportunity employer and inclusive organisation that welcomes applications from under-represented and intersectional groups including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities. We are seeking people with different backgrounds, cultures, ages, experiences and identities to provide a wide range of experience, ideas, views and insights into the strategy, policies, culture and ambitions of Malala Fund.

Malala Fund is also committed to ensuring the safety of those involved in our work. Our first priority is protecting everyone who comes in direct or indirect contact with our organisation.

Malala Fund has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and exploitation by any of our staff, representatives or partners. We commit to ensuring that those who work with Malala Fund or on our behalf are able to work in an environment that is free from harm. To this end, Malala Fund reserves the right to conduct background checks on prospective and current employees.

Learn more here