Plan International UK appoints former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Bishop, as Director of Policy and Programmes

GLOBAL children’s rights charity, Plan International UK, has appointed Simon Bishop as its new Director of Policy and Programmes.

Highly regarded in the international development sector, Simon Bishop was most recently Special Adviser to Justine Greening, former Secretary of State for International Development, at The Department for International Development (DFID).

“I am delighted to be joining Plan International UK. Every day for almost 80 years this fabulous organisation has been helping some of the world’s poorest children out of poverty.  In the next year alone we will reach more than 80 million children across 51 countries – it is this ability to deliver at scale, to make the biggest difference possible, which excites me.”

“I am particularly passionate about our girl’s rights agenda.  We know that helping girls is one of the best returns in international development; it was an issue I was proud to work on at DFID. Educated girls marry later, are less likely to die in childbirth and have increased earnings potential, helping themselves, their communities and their countries out of poverty.”  

Tanya Barron, Chief Executive at Plan International UK, says: “We are thrilled that Simon has joined us. He was pivotal in helping Justine Greening shape DFID’s priorities and direction – and ensuring Britain remains a global leader in international development. He also has almost twenty years’ experience in the charity, business and media sectors. I look forward to him using that to help Plan International UK reach millions more vulnerable children.”