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Senior Policy & Advocacy Manager

Department: M obile for D evelopment

Team: Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation

Location: London (hybrid working)

Position type: Fixed Term Contract to 31 Mar 2027

What the hiring manager says

As Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, you will drive M4H’s agenda to influence international humanitarian policy and create enabling policy and regulatory environments for digital humanitarian action , support ing governments, regulatory bodies, and humanitarian agencies in developing the right mechanisms and frameworks to achieve this. Working across a dynamic and stimulating team with considerable independence, you will contribute to shaping a more dignified and inclusive digital ecosystem for people affected by disaster , crisis and conflic t .

Barnaby Willitts-King, Research and Policy Director, Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation

About the Team

The Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation (M4H) programme is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Develop ment Cooperation Agency ( SIDA ) with a mission to accelerate the delivery and impact of digital humanitarian assistance . We have reached over 1 8 million people with improved access to and use of life-enhancing mobile-enabled services during humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. We have achieved this by building a learning and research agenda to inform the future of digital humanitarian response, catalysing partnerships and innovation for new digital humanitarian services, advocating for enabling policy environments, monitoring and evaluating performance, disseminating insights and profiling achievements.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a passionate team working at the intersection of the mobile industry and the humanitarian sector, aiming towards an inclusive, impactful digital humanitarian future.

The Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager will play a leading role in developing and shaping policy positions to enable mobile innovations and services are used for digital humanitarian action, for example in the context of disaster preparedness and response or advancing the digital and financial inclusion of forcibly displaced populations including refugees. This includes engaging stakeholders at the global and local level, including multilateral organisations and national governments. Key aspects of the role:

• Analysing and advising on policy and regulatory trends to internal and external stakeholders – for example in the areas of technology in humanitarian response, national emergency telecommunications plans, and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) in the context of accessing mobile services

• Leading on policy engagement with M4H priority countries ( mainly in Africa and Asia), including travel to these regions. Support M4H partners and lead policy discussions such as roundtables and workshops involving policymakers, humanitarian agencies and mobile operators

• Developing policy positions on priority topics of the M4H programme, and associated advocacy strategies

• Liaising with other GSMA teams to ensure alignment of messages as well as with external stakeholders including policymakers, m obile n etwork o perators, regulatory specialists, humanitarian stakeholders, regional experts and consultants

• Leading on the development of , and delivering ca pacity b uilding courses aimed at policymakers on issues relating to the role of mobile in humanitarian contexts

• Contributing to, peer-reviewing and editing publications on a wide variety of relevant subjects ensuring GSMA messages and positions are reflected and promoted consistently

• Researching and writing briefing papers , speaking points, and blogs

About You

We welcome applications from professionals with the following demonstrated qualifications:

• Substantial e xperience in p olicy & r egulatory a ffairs with good understanding of the telecom and humanitarian sectors

• Excellent communications skills and ability to develop advocacy messages and strategies to influence a range of stakeholders

• Passionate about the potential applications of technology (incl. mobile technology) in humanitarian contexts to achieve both social and commercial impact, with understanding of how enabling policy environments can support humanitarian outcomes

• Demonstrable experience of influencing government policy and /or regulation . Appreciation of how this can impact private sector investment and the commercial dynamics within the mobile industry

• Direct experience in working with multiple external stakeholders, including governmental and inter-governmental authorities

• Willingness to work in results-oriented team environment and ability to adapt to shifting priorities

• An enthusiastic team player with an ability to work in a matrixed structure, to support cross functional collaboration across the GSMA

• Excellent grasp of the English language, with compelling written and oral communications skills, including the ability to summarise, structure and tailor complex content into clear messaging for different internal and external stakeholder audiences

• Strong project management skills, ability to work independently, self-motivated, entrepreneurial and organised to deliver high impact outputs. Conscientious and creative with a can-do attitude.

• Able to quickly grasp new concepts and ideas

• Ability to travel internationally

Contract type

Worker type

What We Offer

Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.

In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.

To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site , our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.

Being You at the GSMA

We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.

GSMA Values

Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.

Passionately driven

We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.

Insightful leaders

We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.

Stronger together

We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.

Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.