Senior Manager, Principal Communications & Strategic Engagements

Who are we?

Malala Fund is working for 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, invests in local education leaders and amplifies the voices of girls fighting for change. Learn more at malala.org.

What does this team do?

The Executive Office is a dedicated strategic unit within Malala Fund that brings together the CEO Team and the Co-Founders’ Team as one integrated function under the leadership of the CEO. Working in close partnership, the two teams provide coordinated strategic, advisory, communications, logistical and operational support to the CEO, Nabila Aguele, and Malala Fund's Co-Founders. 

The Executive Office works to maximise the impact of the CEO’s and Co-Founders’ leadership, public engagements, advocacy platforms and strategic relationships, ensuring alignment with Malala Fund’s 2025–2030 strategic plan and organisational priorities. Team members are expected to work seamlessly across both the CEO and Co-Founder portfolios, collaborating closely with colleagues throughout Malala Fund to ensure coherence, quality, timely execution and strategic alignment across all Executive Office activities.

What does this position do?

The Senior Manager, Principal Communications and Strategic Engagements, leads all aspects of Co-Founder and CEO-specific external communications and high-level stakeholder engagement. The role serves as the first person and primary author of all Co-Founder and CEO communications, from keynote speeches to daily talking points and social media narratives. This demands sustained, high-volume research and drafting across multiple formats, audiences and policy contexts, often under tight deadlines.  This role is responsible for crafting the Co-Founders’ and CEO’s public narrative, preparing them for major global platforms.

This is a role for someone who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and is equally comfortable drafting a speech for a global summit as they are rolling up their sleeves to handle the operational and logistical detail that makes high-profile engagements succeed. The Senior Manager must be nimble, resourceful and willing to move seamlessly between strategic thinking and hands-on execution. 

While this position reports to the Chief of Staff to the Co-Founders, the Senior Manager operates as part of an integrated Executive office, and works in close partnership with Malala Fund’s CEO, Chief of Staff to the CEO, External Affairs and other relevant internal departments, as well as the Co-Founders’ personal communications advisers, where relevant, to ensure message alignment and strategic coherence.

Location
Candidates from London, New York, and Washington, D.C. will be considered. 

Day-to-Day Duties and Responsibilities

Key Responsibility 1: Advocacy Communications

• Develop and deliver high-quality speeches, talking points, social media content, writing products such as op-eds, and public statements for both Co-Founders and the CEO.


• Stays abreast of global events that could impact girls’ education and gender equality debates and conducts deep-dive research into policy, data and narrative angles to inform all written outputs — this includes reviewing academic literature, policy briefs, country-level education data, UN and other multilateral reports and media coverage.


• Develop and maintain a library of modular talking points, narrative frameworks and key messages that can be adapted rapidly for different audiences, contexts and platforms.


• Support and shape the development of distinct but aligned public narratives for the  Co-Founders and CEO, and ensure messaging consistency across all channels and platforms.


• Collaborate and coordinate with relevant Malala Fund teams to align Co-Founder and CEO messaging with organisational campaigns and initiatives.


• Prepare and/or contribute to comprehensive briefing packs for media interviews, panel discussions, keynote addresses and political meetings.

Key Responsibility 2: Strategic Engagements & Stakeholder Relations

• Proactively identify, evaluate and recommend speaking, publishing, media and policy-influencing opportunities for both Co-Founders and the CEO across global platforms aligned with Co-Founders’ interests and Malala Fund’s strategic objectives.


• Monitor the policy landscape to position the Co-Founders and the CEO at the centre of key advocacy conversations on girls’ education and gender equality.


• In collaboration with the fulsome Executive Office, External Affairs team, the Pakistan and Nigeria Country teams plan and execute Co-Founder and CEO participation in major global forums, including the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the World Economic Forum, G7/G20 events, and education summits.


• Coordinate with Malala Fund’s Development team to support donor-facing engagements involving the Co-Founders and/or CEO.

Key Responsibility 3: Strategic Planning & Coordination

• Contribute to the development of quarterly and annual Co-Founder and CEO external engagement strategies.


• In collaboration with the External Affairs, Pakistan, and Nigeria teams, monitor global policy developments and media trends relevant to girls’ education and gender equality, and advise both the Chief of Staff to the Co-Founders and the Chief of Staff to the CEO on emerging opportunities or risks.


• In collaboration with the Chief of Staff to the Co-Founders, Chief of Staff to the CEO, External Affairs, Pakistan and Nigeria teams, manage a calendar of key advocacy moments and ensure proactive positioning of the Co-Founders and CEO.

Organisational Values

• Upholds the values of Malala Fund.


• Actively contributes to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.


• Maintains the highest standards of safeguarding and professional conduct.


• Demonstrates discretion, diplomacy, and responsiveness.


• Models transparency and serves as a resource across the organization.


• Promotes a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

What you bring to us and the role!

• Strong experience (typically 7+ years) in advocacy communications, strategic engagement, public affairs or political advisory roles within international NGOs, multilateral organisations or government.


• Exceptional speechwriting and strategic communications skills, with a portfolio of high-profile work.


• Proven ability to manage relationships with public figures, senior government officials, diplomats, corporate leaders and civil society at global level.


• High emotional intelligence, with the ability to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics, build trust quickly, and respond thoughtfully in high-pressure or sensitive situations.


• Deep understanding of the global education and gender equality policy landscape.


• Experience preparing principals for high-stakes media, political and public engagements.


• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple workstreams under pressure.


• A hands-on, adaptable working style,  comfortable operating at both strategic and operational levels, and willing to take on logistical or administrative tasks as needed in a lean team environment.

Nice to haves:

• Prior experience supporting a Nobel Laureate, Head of State, UN Principal or equivalent public figure.


• Experience working across UN, G7/G20, Commonwealth or African Union advocacy processes.


• Fluency in Urdu or Pashto.


• Experience with digital advocacy and social media strategy for high-profile individuals.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None.

Travel Required
Extensive travel required - at least 35-40% of time, including advance trips and accompanying Co-Founders on all major domestic and international engagements. 

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Malala Fund is an equal opportunity employer and inclusive organization who welcomes employees from under-represented and intersectional communities  including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and persons with disabilities. We seek people with diverse backgrounds, cultures, ages, experiences and identities to provide a wide range of perspectives, ideas, views and insights into the strategy, policies, culture and ambitions of Malala Fund.

Malala Fund is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the safety and dignity  of all of  those involved in our work. Our first priority is protecting everyone who comes in direct or indirect contact with our organization, including staff, partners, grantees, and the communities in which we work

Malala Fund has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, exploitation, harassment, or discrimination of any kind  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 safe, respectful, and free from harm. To uphold this commitment, Malala Fund reserves the right to conduct background checks on prospective and current employees.