Andrea Watkins is the Safeguarding Manager at The Freedom Fund, where she leads efforts to ensure the safety and protection of both staff and program participants across the organisation’s global programs.
Andrea brings extensive experience in designing and implementing human-centred safeguarding mechanisms, practices, and procedures. She has advised a wide range of organisations and bilateral programmes on reducing safeguarding risks and strengthening protective systems.
Prior to joining The Freedom Fund, Andrea was Principal Consultant at Social Development Direct and served as Technical Director for the Safeguarding Support and Resource Hub. She was also the Safeguarding Lead for the UK Aid-funded Girls’ Education Challenge, where she supported 41 implementing partners across 17 countries to meet rigorous FCDO safeguarding standards. Andrea played a key role in the inception phase of the FCDO-funded PLANE education programme in Nigeria, helping to establish safeguarding systems and influence multi-sectoral stakeholder engagement across the states of Kaduna, Jigawa, and Kano.
Andrea’s previous roles include Regional Safeguarding Lead for Africa and the Middle East at the British Council, National Training and Development Manager at the Church of England, and Head of Safeguarding for the Diocese in Europe. Andrea was appointed to the Anglican Communion’s Global Safe Church Commission, where she contributed to the development of safeguarding standards and capacity-building initiatives across national church institutions worldwide.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in sociology and a Master’s Degree in social work, both from the University of Michigan in the USA.
Key information
- Joined our team in
- October 2025