Uh oh, you are using an old web browser that we no longer support. Some of this website's features may not work correctly because of this. Learn about updating to a more modern browser here.

Skip To Content

Our organisation

Save the Children was founded in London in 1919 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister, Dorothy Buxton. In the century since then, Save the Children organisations have been established in 29 nations around the world. Each of these members is part of the Save the Children Association.

Members lead on activities within their home territory and work with donors to develop programmes abroad, which are coordinated and delivered by a central body - Save the Children International - via teams on the ground in each country. Save the Children International also oversees humanitarian responses.

This structure enables Save the Children to use its resources efficiently and have the greatest possible impact for children around the world.

Globally, Save the Children’s workforce is made up of around 24,000 staff working in 115 countries. This includes our 30 Member Countries as well as Save the Children International.

As of December 2022, Save the Children UK had 844 members of staff, and more than 3,600 people working in a formal volunteering role. In 2020 we launched our People and Culture strategy, setting out how we plan to improve our organisational culture, better support our people and become the organisation we aspire to be. Our Diversity & Inclusion strategy, published in 2021, also aims to build equity and inclusion for, and improve the experience of, our colleagues from marginalised comunities.

Youth Advisory Board

Hadija in Tanzania

Made up of 10 incredible young people aged 12-17 from across the UK, the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) will work closely with our leadership team and with staff from across the organisation.

The Board's goal is to ensure we amplify young voices and stay true to holding children's rights at the heart of everything we do.

Click the link below to hear from our first-year YAB cohort and to find out how to get involved.

Read our recent staff news

Find out more