Kirsten McWilliams

Kirsten McWilliams

Role: Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive

Team: Strategic Partnerships team

Profile:

Within my role, I manage corporate partner funding and the relationship with corporate partners, as well as working with teams across CARE to establish new opportunities and proposals within those partnerships.

I am currently managing a partnership with GSK to set up a health focused social enterprise in Zambia called Live Well. As part of CARE’s wider partnership with GSK to improve access to health care and increase women's economic empowerment, I also manage our Africa portfolio and humanitarian programmes. 

I joined CARE as a volunteer in the Ghana country office in 2015, working on governance strengthening and monitoring and on a programme aiming to build community empowerment in areas affected by oil, gas and mining. I moved back to the UK in 2016 to join CARE's Private Sector Engagement team in London.

After studying Graphic Design at University, I worked as an account handler for a marketing agency, and for a community theatre NGO in Vanuatu, designing and distributing educational materials on sexual, reproductive and maternal health, climate change and nutrition.

One good thing I've read

Black like Me - a true account written by the American white journalist John Howard Griffin in the early 60s during apartheid. It’s an incredible and inspirational journey about John Griffin’s decision to change the colour of his skin to experience life in the deep south as a black man.

Email: mcwilliams@careinternational.org


Humanitarian team

CARE International UK’s humanitarian team supports CARE’s humanitarian work by accessing funding, and by providing project management and technical advice and capacity to CARE’s country offices and CARE’s emergency responses. CARE has a strong focus on ensuring that all our humanitarian programming responds meaningfully to the needs and capacities of different people, whatever their gender, identity or particular circumstances. CARE’s emergency shelter team is also based at CARE International UK.

Climate Change & Resilience Team Leader

I am an environmental scientist with a background in international development, specialising in climate change adaptation, natural resource management, disaster…

Global Emergency Shelter Team Leader

I joined CARE International UK in 2017 to lead the Emergency Shelter Team, which provides technical support to CARE country…

Inclusive Governance team

Poverty and social injustice are caused and maintained by unequal power relations that result in the inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities – between women and men, between power-holders and marginalised communities, and between countries. CARE believes poor governance is a key cause of poverty and social injustice. Our Inclusive Governance team promotes inclusive and accountable governance systems so that poor and marginalised people have influence over decisions that affect their lives. We help communities get organised and get their priorities included in development planning. We work to increase women’s voice and leadership in public life. We support service users to hold service providers to account. We work with public authorities and service providers to help them become more transparent and responsive to poor and marginalised people.

Inclusive Governance Business Manager

I lead on business development for CARE's Inclusive Governance team. I lead the diversification and growth of inclusive governance across…

Senior Governance Advisor – Asia and MENA

As a member of CARE International’s global Inclusive Governance technical team, currently based in Myanmar, I provide technical assistance to…

Programmes and Policy team

The Programmes and Policy team is responsible for overseeing programme quality and multiplying the impact of our programming by encouraging governments, business and donors – based on the evidence we witness on the ground – to adopt policy reforms that support the world’s poorest people and communities. Working in partnership with our country programmes, women’s rights organisations and civil society, we put forward the views of the most marginalised to governments, including the UK government, multinational businesses and global institutions and press the case for change. In short, our goal is to change the rules of the game that keep people poor.

Policy and Advocacy Assistant

I see my role as a bridge between those who deserve change and those who have the power to make…

Head of Programmes

I am Head of Programmes for CARE International UK, overseeing our development and humanitarian programming in Africa, Asia and the…

Strategic Partnerships team

Strategic partnerships are a key way for CARE to increase and widen our impact. Our Private Sector Engagement team partners with national and multinational companies to co-create innovative 'inclusive business' approaches that drive new opportunities for poor people as producers, workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. We – and our partners – believe this makes good business sense: helping to generate efficiency, securing supply chains, accessing new markets and products, and improving credibility with consumers who increasingly expect companies to behave responsibly. Our Institutional Partnerships team connects the vision and commitment of our funding partners with poverty-fighting programmes throughout the world.

Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive

Within my role, I manage corporate partner funding and the relationship with corporate partners, as well as working with teams…

Head of Private Sector Engagement

Laura joined CARE International UK in May 2018 as Head of Private Sector Engagement. She previously worked as Ethical Trading…

Women’s Economic Empowerment team

Our Women’s Economic Empowerment team leads CARE’s work globally to ensure women have greater access to and control over economic resources, assets and opportunities. We focus on four inter-related pathways to economic empowerment, based on a combination of women’s core economic roles as producers, workers, entrepreneurs and consumers: financial inclusion, women and value chains, dignified work, and entrepreneurship. We also focus on supporting the involvement of women in creating resilient markets in fragile and humanitarian contexts.

Senior Advisor – Financial Inclusion

Prior to joining CARE International UK as Senior Advisor – Financial Inclusion, I led the Women and Youth Financial Inclusion…

Director Women’s Economic Empowerment

I joined CARE International UK in September 2016 as global Director for Women’s Economic Empowerment. Women's Economic Empowerment is one…

I joined CARE in August 2014, because I believe strongly in our focus on economic development, gender equality and people…

CARE International alumni

Many CARE staff who have written Insights blogs have since moved on to other roles. Your blogs are still part of the CARE story – and we welcome any future contributions you may make to Insights and to our shared learning on what works in humanitarian response and international development.

Svetlana Ancker was formerly a Senior Account Manager (Health), managing CARE's corporate partnership with GlaxoSmithKline which works to improve maternal…

Penda was formerly a Senior Resilience Advisor, providing technical support and project development assistance on resilience building projects in various…