Bond Afghan Working Group Adviser

  • Bond
  • May 08, 2026
Full time Education

Job Description

About Bond and the role

Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. We unite and support a diverse network of over 400 civil society organisations to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice. We strengthen and champion the sector to make international development more efficient and effective. We work to influence governments and policy-makers, develop the skills of people in the sector, share expertise, and build organisational capacity and partnerships.

BAWG is the Bond Afghan Working Group which represents approx. 30 charitable organisations based in the UK and Ireland, with a focus on Afghanistan. BAWG s members are involved in the delivery of humanitarian & development aid, through colleagues, teams and local providers throughout Afghanistan.

BAWG s focus is advocacy and comms with key stakeholders in the UK, who are primarily MPs, parliamentarians and select media. Members of BAWG meet online once a fortnight; the group has a Steering Committee, which is accountable to its members and has recently embarked on a new strategic direction.

We are now looking for a Coordinator who will ensure both the smooth day-to-day running of BAWG and also play a pivotal role in the next steps in delivering our strategy. The role, funded from membership fees and donations, is BAWG s only salaried post, and will ensure the board meets its commitments to members, and reports effectively into Bond. For the right candidate, it offers a real opportunity to play an active and important role in BAWG s development.

Main purpose of the job

This is a new role at an important time; government funding is under extreme pressure and the geo-political backdrop is increasingly tumultuous, while Afghanistan continues to be one of world s most fragile and challenging contexts. BAWG s focus and objectives require careful coordination, so we are in search of a skilful professional who will be equally comfortable to perform admin duties, but also embrace the possibilities of a passionate network of individuals and organisations.
  • We need someone who will be able to establish and maintain appropriate administrative routines, contribute to long-term sustainability of the group and take responsibility for overseeing membership, fundraising and coordination of communication with key stakeholders.
  • The successful candidate will have a good working knowledge of the context and some demonstrable passion for the key issues facing organisations working in Afghanistan.
  • A key aspect of the role will be to maintain relationships with key government departments and contacts, so experience in similar role is desirable. The key skills and competencies include Stakeholder management, organisational and influencing.
A Day in the Life

A day in the life of the adviser is likely to be very varied. Built around a fortnightly meeting with the group, the adviser will act as a focus for sharing intelligence and information coming out of the group, and ensuring that all members are well informed. At the same time, the adviser might equally be working with members of Bond s media team, looking at opportunities to bring focus and attention on issues relating to Afghanistan through opinion pieces commissioned from key thinkers. Or it might be an event in Parliament, building consensus and support with MPs, looking at opportunities to bring key issues to light. And, of course, you will be part of Bond s wider membership team, and exploring ways of working together, looking at how we attract new members into the group will be part of the role. It s an ideal role for someone who likes to dive into different areas of activity at the same time, but also to bring their own ideas about networking and engagement to the wider team.

Main responsibilities
  • Coordinate, chair and report on an agreed set of meetings including
  • The fortnightly BAWG group (currently 27 members) Managing the agenda, agreeing minutes and action points where relevant with BAWG Board, always ensuring confidentiality is maintained
  • Managing and coordination of working groups, and meetings with wider group of stakeholders
  • Develop and manage good working relationships with BOND, maintaining BAWG s presence on and contribution to the BOND platform and liaising with contacts at BOND to ensure a good working relationship.
  • Maintain records of all group members and establish effective approach to the sharing of documents and flow of information
  • Work with the BAWG Board and wider group of members to develop current membership and explore ways of augmenting BAWG s reserves including fundraising, membership drive and event planning
  • Playing an active role in defining and shaping the scope of BAWG with professional administration
  • Overseeing and supporting the design and implementation of BAWG s strategic annual plan
  • Supporting the group to maintain relationships with key government departments, including the Humanitarian Team at FCDO.
  • Supporting the group to maintain key relationships with other sector working groups, including those run by Bond, and others outside the Bond network
  • Supporting and coordinating fundraising opportunities that support key group activities.
  • Overseeing relevant funding calls; where feasible, leading on opportunities from donors and/or potential new members to support BAWG s work.
  • Developing and delivering a comprehensive comms approach for BAWG
  • Coordinating and delivering events on behalf of the group as appropriate
  • Manage consultations with membership to inform external engagement
Person specification

Essential
  • Experienced at autonomous working, setting own priorities, managing own time and able to establish own accountabilities.
  • Proven solid organisational and administrative skills
  • Demonstrate sound interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, at all levels: consultation and consensus-building are core to the role s responsibilities and activities.
  • Solid communication and written skills
  • Experience of commissioning and managing short-term consultancy contracts
  • Demonstrable experience of working within a network
  • Demonstrable experience of communications and events planning, particularly in the build up to milestone events or reports
Desirable
  • Experience and understanding of the humanitarian ecosystem and networks would be an advantage, and preferably, some experience and understanding of Afghanistan.
  • Experience of fundraising and bid writing, ideally in a humanitarian context, and some understanding of the potential context for fundraising for the group
  • Some experience of budget management and financial management
Benefits

Bond offers a competitive salary and benefits package including:
  • 27 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays, with additional staff privilege days, normally between Christmas and New Year
  • Day off for your birthday
  • 7% pension contributions (staff pay 3.5%)
  • Flexible working hours (Hybrid working 1 day, minimum in the office per month)
  • Staff Development days
  • Perk Box access
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • WeCare (Health and wellbeing services, including access to 24/7 online GP services, second medical opinion, mental health support such as counselling, guidance from health professionals, burnout prevention, life event counselling, get fit programmes, nutritionist advice, etc. for staff and immediate family)
  • Interest free season ticket loan
How to apply

To apply submit your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for this role by midnight 31st May

Bond and equal opportunities

Bond values diversity and works to advance equity and inclusion. All staff have a responsibility to ensure that they are being open, accepting and respectful to all that they come into contact with within their work at Bond, regardless their protected characteristics. Acting in accordance with the EDI policy, Bond staff must contribute to our inclusive organisational culture ensuring that they are aware of and respond appropriately to micro-aggressions, racism, sexism, LQBTQ+ misconduct and disability equity. Bond Staff must not be bystanders, and must report when they witness any unacceptable behaviour.

In order to assess and ensure the continued effectiveness of Bond s Equal Opportunities Policy, all applicants are asked to complete a short questionnaire when applying. You are not obliged to answer the questions but the more information you supply the more effectively we can monitor our equal opportunity practices. Completion of all questions is voluntary and failure to answer any question(s) will not affect your application in any way.

The information you supply will be treated in confidence and will not be seen by any member of the selection panel responsible for the appointment. The questionnaire will be detached from your CV and cover letter, stored anonymously and used purely to provide statistics for monitoring purposes.

Subject of employment at Bond

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