Helen Kightley

Helen Kightley joined the Freedom Fund in July 2025 as Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager, where she develops strategic funding partnerships with global foundations.

Prior to joining the Freedom Fund, Helen worked at Save the Children UK in a variety of roles, most recently as Senior Partnerships and Philanthropy Manager – Africa. In this role, she was responsible for building partnerships with the African private sector and global funders localizing their CSR to the continent.

Helen also led on the creation and management of Save the Children’s Girls’ Impact Fund – a collaborative fund which channels flexible funding to girl-led networks and women’s rights organisations in the Global South to support their missions and build feminist movements. The fund was recognised at the United Nations General Assembly by UN Women as best practice in its field and influenced Save the Children’s approach to shifting power and centring the voices and lived experiences of girls in programme delivery.

Helen has managed a variety of advisory and fundraising boards and networks, and has experience in programme development and management. She has a First-Class BA Hons Degree in politics from the University of Leeds.