UK for UNHCR - 8456

UK for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency’s national partner for the United Kingdom. 

We help refugees by advocating for their protection and raising funds that help UNHCR deliver humanitarian relief to displaced families worldwide.

We are supported by thousands of individuals, communities, foundations and businesses who believe in standing with refugees and taking action to protect them. Alongside fundraising, we support advocacy efforts at the highest levels to call for long-term, sustainable solutions to help refugees and the countries that host them. 

Since our founding, UK for UNHCR has transferred more than £100m to support UNHCR’s global programmes, and we are ambitious to increase our impact in the years ahead, to support our mission of supporting refugees around the world to rebuild their lives. The contributions of our supporters help to fund emergency relief and ongoing care for millions of people around the world, and to help forcibly displaced people to return home in safety and dignity. 

With a visionary new leader at the helm of UNHCR who is ambitious for reform and to build self-reliance for millions of refugees, UK for UNHCR is at the forefront of a profound shift for the sector as it establishes new ways to address the challenges of forced displacement. 

Our current Chair is stepping down in June 2027 after almost six-years in post, and we are seeking someone who can continue to bring leadership, judgement and energy to support the next phase of UK for UNHCR’s development and growth. This is an exceptional opportunity to shape impact at the highest levels, and to join a bold, inspirational and highly talented team in the delivery of our mission. 

As Chair, you will be joining at an evolutionary moment for the Charity as we rethink our strategy in response to new challenges and opportunities. Alongside a strong personal commitment to UNHCR’s mission, you will bring excellent chairing skills, good commercial acumen and a solutions-oriented approach to leadership. Your ability to support the future growth of UK for UNHCR and to identify opportunities to help drive strategic objectives of fundraising, partnership building and public engagement will be key. If you feel passionately about our vision for a world where every person forced to flee can build a better future, we look forward to hearing from you.

We strongly value diversity and recognise that it is critical to our success and the cause that we serve. We are committed to providing an inclusive environment for all who work with us and strongly welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, particularly those with lived experience of being a refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced person, or a stateless person. 

How to apply

Perrett Laver will conduct an executive search process in parallel with the public advertisement of the role. The Selection Panel will meet to shortlist for the role in late August or early September, following which, formal interviews with will take place in mid-September. If you require any reasonable adjustments to assist you in the selection process, please advise us of these so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

Further information, including a detailed role description and person specification, and information on how to apply can be downloaded at https://plusportal.perrettlaver.com/ quoting reference 8456. For an informal discussion, please contact Edoardo Vachez on Edoardo.Vachez@perrettlaver.com.

Deadline for submission of applications is 11.59pm on 5 July 2026.

Accessibility

Should you require access to these documents in alternative formats, please contact Bharti Aggarwal via bharti.aggarwal@perrettlaver.com.

If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or our application processes more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us via accessibility@perrettlaver.com.

Inclusion

Perrett Laver believes that excellence will be achieved through recognising the value of every individual. A broad range of perspectives, backgrounds and opinions amongst our global community of colleagues is crucial in maintaining our culture of openness, intellectual curiosity, and creativity. We take an active role in supporting under-represented communities and groups in becoming better and more fairly represented in the leadership of all organisations. We also know that diverse and inclusive teams have a positive impact on our ability to identify, engage and secure candidates from these groups.

Our commitment to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and experience drives us every day – for clients, for candidate identification and in the recruitment, development and retention of colleagues.

To ensure inclusion on the basis of age, disability, ethnic or national origin, family circumstance, gender, gender identity, marital status, nationality, political or religious beliefs, race, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, we would like to specifically invite applications from under-represented groups.

Data Protection and Privacy

Protecting your personal data is of the utmost importance to Perrett Laver and we take this responsibility very seriously. Any information obtained by our trading divisions is held and processed in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation. The data you provide us with is securely stored on our computerised database and transferred to our clients for the purposes of presenting you as a candidate and/or considering your suitability for a role you have registered interest in.

As defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Perrett Laver is a Data Controller and a Data Processor, and our legal basis for processing your personal data is ‘Legitimate Interests’. You have the right to object to us processing your data in this way. For more information about this, your rights, and our approach to Data Protection and Privacy, please visit our website http://www.perrettlaver.com/information/privacy/.