Photo credit: Jørn Tomter

LONDON, 4^th November 2024 - Moazzam Malik, a former senior civil servant and diplomat, has been appointed Chief Executive of Save the Children UK.  

Malik, 57, served as UK Ambassador to Indonesia for five years and as Director General, first at the Department for International Development (DfID) and then at the merged Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

At DfID, Malik led initiatives to improve children’s prospects through education and health. At the FCDO, he led the UK’s embassy network and diplomatic engagement across Africa; and held global responsibilities for international finance, conflict and stabilisation, open societies and human rights. For the last two years, he has been Managing Director at the World Resources Institute, working on global climate change and development, and leading a programme of organisational change.

Malik said: “I am thrilled to join Save the Children, a world class network leading the fight for children’s rights in the UK and around the world. Global challenges including climate change and conflict, inequality and poverty have left children and their families facing huge hurdles. I look forward to working closely with partners, communities and children themselves to improve prospects for the next generation.”  

The new CEO will start work in January as Save the Children begins to implement a three-year strategy for lasting change, aimed partly at building the power of children to influence decisions that affect their lives. It also pledges to shift power to communities and local organisations, and to champion local leadership. 

He will lead an organisation that spent £295m last year, mainly on emergencies (£78m), education (£67m) and health (£38m), with tens of millions more on family livelihoods, nutrition and child protection. It worked on a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for the Middle East last month and helps to fund the work of hundreds of Save the Children staff on the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Lebanon. 

Malik, who is married to Rachel, a midwife, and has three children in their 20s, is a well-known figure in the foreign policy and development sector. He is Chair of the Muslim Charities Forum, an Honorary Professor at University College, London, and an Honorary Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford.  

Tsitsi Chawatama-Kwambana, the chair of Save the Children UK, thanked Gemma Sherrington, Executive Director of Fundraising and Marketing, for serving as interim CEO since February, overseeing the organisation’s response to conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, the change of government in the UK and the creation of the strategy for 2025-27. 

Chawatama-Kwambana said: “Moazzam’s wealth of experience and expertise will be invaluable in our efforts to provide children with a healthy start in life, a safe education, protection from violence and resilience against climate shocks. He is a visionary leader who knows how to maximise our impact for children.” 

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For further enquiries contact Sean Ryan, s.ryan@savethechildren.org.uk

About Save the Children:

Save the Children exists to create lasting change for and with children. In more than 100 countries including the UK, we make sure children stay safe, healthy and learning, and change the future for good. We find new ways to reach children, no matter where they’re growing up. For a century, we’ve stood up for children’s rights and made sure their voices are heard.

For more information visit www.savethechildren.org.uk