CEO & Executive Leadership Team

Gemma is Interim CEO Save the Children UK. 

Gemma has held a number of positions in her 16 years at Save the Children UK, most recently as Executive Director of Fundraising & Marketing. She has also been a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) for the last 5 years. Gemma has driven and supported many cross organisational projects including work on digital and data, innovation and culture. 

Prior to joining Save the Children in 2007, she worked at the NSPCC, Cardinal Hume Centre and WaterAid.

Gemma's Executive Assistant is Sara Voice.  

Francis is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Save the Children UK. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2020 responsible for the organisation’s financial operations, financial reporting, forecasting and budgeting having previously served as SCUK’s Financial Controller. Since September 2022 Francis is also responsible for the digital, data and technology team at SCUK. 

Before joining SCUK, Francis worked for a number of years at Diageo Plc, a FTSE 100 global premium drinks company. He first qualified as an accountant in an accountancy and business advisory practice in 2002. Francis is also a trustee of the Lord’s Taverners.

Francis' Executive Assistant is Maddi Jones.

Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns

Dan is Save the Children's interim Executive Director for Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns. He leads Save the Children's programmes supporting families across the four nations of the UK and teams delivering award-winning policy, advocacy, campaigns and media on climate, inequality, poverty, conflict, health, education, hunger and nutrition. 

Dan joined Save the Children in May 2020 as the Director of UK Impact.  He led on our work to support families across the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic and through the cost of living crisis.

Before joining Save the Children, Dan worked for the National Lottery Community Fund as the Senior Head of Portfolio Development, and for local and national anti-poverty charities.  Dan started his career by working on playschemes for children with disabilities in south east London.

Dan's Executive Assistant is Natalie Douglas.

Organisational Effectiveness

Pria joined Save the Children in April 2021 and is the Executive Director of Organisational Effectiveness. She comes to Save the Children with a background of people and organisational systems change leadership in organisations working in international education and housing. 

Pria is actively involved in governance of third sector organisations and is a trained systems coach. Her expertise and values lie in a people-centred approach to leadership, and by her ability to combine vision with a practical understanding of change processes.

Pria's Executive Assistant is Maddi Jones.

Global Programmes

As the former Director of Programme Partnerships, Uju oversaw the delivery of Save the Children's international programme portfolio, working closely with colleagues across the organisation to ensure its success. She co-sponsors the Partnership for Impact strategy, which aims to strengthen institutional and private sector partnerships to amplify impact for children. With 18 years in the international development sector, Uju has a track record of delivering large-scale, complex programmes, establishing strategic partnerships and fostering innovation for transformational change.

Prior to joining Save, Uju served as Interim Director of Programme Management at CARE International UK and as Global Programme Director at OneWorld UK, a media organization leveraging new media for social impact. Her corporate experience includes roles at GSK and in the banking sector in Nigeria, enhancing her perspective on programme impact and operational optimisation. 

Global Programmes

Ali has been with SCUK for over eight years now.  For the majority of that time she has been the Director for Programme Quality and Impact – working with colleagues in SCUK and across the movement to increase the impact of our international work through quality programmes, evidence and learning and partnerships.  Ali set up and, for two years, led the cross-movement Technical Expertise (TE) Transformation which shifted TE capacity and capability to our Country Offices and established Programme Quality and Impact in SCI.

Prior to joining SCUK, Ali worked for 15 years with the, then, Department for International Development in London, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda.  In a former life she was a nurse and midwife.

The Fundraising & Marketing division will be managed by the Fundraising & Marketing Senior Leadership Team on a rotating basis.

Sarah Potter (Director of Effectiveness & Marketing Innovation) is the ELT F&M representative.