Frances Longley joins ActionAid UK as new CEO

27 April 2021

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Frances Longley has been appointed as the new CEO of ActionAid UK, an international charity working with women and girls living in poverty. She will take up her position in mid-May 2021.

Incoming CEO Frances Longley said: “I have admired ActionAid’s expert and passionate leadership on the rights of women and girls for years. My work is driven by a commitment to championing gender equality and building a fairer world, so I am excited and proud to have been given the chance to lead such an exceptional and inspirational organisation. I cannot wait to get started alongside ActionAid’s brilliant team.’’ 

Srabani Sen, ActionAid UK’s Chair of Trustees, said: “Frances brings such a breadth of experience in the international sector, along with enormous passion for the work we do with women and girls in the global south and a strong commitment to our feminist principles. Her leadership will be pivotal for ActionAid UK as we take our next steps forward as an organisation.” 

Frances has more than 25 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector and her career reflects her passion for gender equality and social justice. Most recently, she was Executive Director for Programmes & Policy at CARE International UK, where her department portfolio included global leadership on women’s economic justice and inclusive governance. Before this, Frances was Chief Executive of Amref Health Africa UK from 2015 to 2019 and Director of Communications and Brand at Unicef UK.

Frances spent three years living and working in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) from 2009, leading the evaluation of an experimental USAID-funded national HIV prevention programme. She also worked in Afghanistan, supporting strategy development for the ministry of public health. 

A strong advocate for compassionate leadership and healthy cultures, Frances has co-chaired the UK NGO sector’s work on leadership and culture for safeguarding since March 2018, co-authoring Bond’s new culture tool for leaders. She is a trustee of the Joffe Charitable Trust and a member of the BBC’s Appeals Advisory Committee. Frances has an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

ENDS

For further information or interview enquiries, please contact frankie.harrington@actionaid.org; or if out of hours, on +44 (0) 7753 973 486.

Notes to editors

ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.