Senior Advisor - Peace & Security

Focus of the Role

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

We encourage early application as we reserve the right, if required, to close this role ahead of the date advertised.

Job Introduction

Stability and security are preconditions for reform, growth and prosperity, but today’s political leaders face diverse, complex and increasingly novel threats to peace and security, and they all seek to stabilise at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty and volatility. The Tony Blair Institute recognises that it cannot fully support political leaders to deliver change for their people unless we work side-by-side the clients we serve to secure the conditions for those bold ideas and reforms to succeed. That is why we’ve developed a specialist practice dedicated to assisting executive political leadership around the world in areas of national security & foreign policy.

As we build this sectoral expertise out in TBI and extend our support to senior political leaders on Peace, Security & Foreign Policy, we’re looking for an experienced Senior Advisor to join our global team. The Senior Advisor, Peace & Security will help the Institute develop, define, evolve and cohere our solutions for leaders on national security & crisis resilience, stabilisation and conflict management, and regional and international diplomacy. This is a senior expert role working with the Director for Peace, Security & Foreign Policy and directly to the highest levels of government to provide strategic counsel on complex & evolving issues and ensuring all levers of statecraft are harnessed under effective national action plans.

As a senior advisor in Global Client Solutions, you will deliver globally recognised subject matter expertise to TBI country teams and clients, bringing technical depth and political astuteness. You will support client discussions and scoping, new project design, and ensure we bring the best of TBI to our Peace, Security & Foreign Policy related work. To do so, you will need to closely engage across TBI’s government advisory leadership and staff, and as a part of Global Advisory, you will also collaborate closely with our Policy & Politics and Strategy & Partnerships divisions to draw on an expanding network of partnerships and expertise which enhance our support for clients and bring bold and innovative solutions.

Please be aware that we are open to considering support for a work visa in the case that the successful candidate requires assistance in obtaining the right to work in the UK.

Key Responsibilities

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­This is a senior role within TBI and will be held by an exceptional candidate with deep and extensive experience and relationships in relevant national & international security sectors.  Key responsibilities will include:

Offer and solution development

•        Working with the Director for Peace, Security & Foreign Policy in GCS, to develop, enhance, and continually evolve our offer strategy in Peace & Security
•        Lead the creation and development of assets and collateral which support our teams to develop and deliver quality and impactful projects and complement your hands-on expert support
•        Identify and utilise knowledge of upcoming trends and opportunities to generate new solutions to enhance our support to senior political leaders
•        Capture best practices from our growing portfolio of work to create an effective, but agile feedback loop for our solutions and offer, working with performance and impact teams
•        Work collaboratively with GCS colleagues across offer areas (functional and sectoral) to create solutions which respond to complex challenges and cut across subject matters of expertise

Subject matter expertise in design & delivery

•        As a technical expert and thought partner, work with advisory teams to advance a portfolio of work on senior political leader priorities in national security, crisis resilience, law enforcement, conflict management and regional and international diplomacy
•        Generate innovative solutions to client problems and frame them in a compelling way
•        As needed, engage with senior client stakeholders, i.e. Heads of State, Ministers, and other senior stakeholders, to advance projects and solutions
•        Support Advisory leadership to provide high quality advice. Ideate, troubleshoot to ensure we are bringing the best of TBI to our work
•        Bring subject matter expertise to support recruitment of other health expertise across the organisation included in-country embedded advisors

Internal leadership

•        Provide leadership and line management as applicable to advisors, associates and junior staff in the global client solutions team
•        Shape and embody a positive culture that drives innovation and delivery

External engagement and partnerships

•        Provide senior-level representation as a global subject matter expert, including presentations, for TBI at strategic, high-profile external fora and events  
•        Working with TBI’s Partnerships & Initiatives team, develop and enhance our network and relationships with leading innovators and implementation partners for better solutions relevant to political leaders on national and international security
•        Bring subject matter expertise to engagement with key donors, external stakeholders such as other not-for-profit organisations, media, suppliers and agencies as required to support TBI financial health

Person Specification

The postholder will be an experienced candidate with:

• Deep practical experience working within national and international security related sectors, having served in government on national security issues, advised political leaders on matters of national or international security, or practiced within a professional advisory firm on one or more related subject area  
• A graduate degree in a security-related field and recognised as a global expert in their field
• A complete toolkit which enables you to identify creative solutions for complex challenges in national or international security
• Skilled verbal communication, able to influence from executive office level through to technical level
• Exceptional attention to detail for written deliverables and proven ability to deliver quality outputs under tight deadlines
• An ability to represent the Institute on a global scale through publications and exclusive events as a thought leader
• Effective leadership skills, not afraid to be hands-on and pull out all the stops to achieve exceptional results