About Paula
Public Affairs, Policy & Advocacy Specialist with 5+ years of experience driving policy change and institutional engagement to advance human rights and protect vulnerable communities, particularly children. Skilled in translating complex political and regulatory landscapes into strategic advocacy initiatives that influence decision-makers and generate measurable social impact. Combining analytical insight, stakeholder engagement and a strong human-centred approach, I help organisations navigate national and international policy environments, shape evidence-based advocacy strategies, strengthen institutional relationships and identify opportunities for sustainable policy influence and long-term impact.
I have worked across a range of organisations, including European institutions, NGOs and foundations, gaining extensive experience operating within multicultural and multi-stakeholder environments at both national and international level.
Spanish
Native or bilingual
English
Native or bilingual
Basque
Fluent
Italian
Fluent
German
Basic
French
Basic
Can work on-site
Madrid (up to 50km), Bilbao (up to 50km), Málaga (up to 50km), Valencia (up to 50km), Barcelona (up to 50km)
Experience
- Vodafone FoundationAdvocacy & External Affairs SpecialistAugust 2025 - Today (10 months)- Coordination of a community of 8 countries under the umbrella of a European Programme about children’s rights and youth rights to education and digital well-being.- General Coordination of the European Programme and its implementation in the 8 countries.- Advocacy, external affairs and institutional relations.- Governance: KPI reporting & reports about the European context to the Board of Trustees.- Implementation of digital wellbeing campaigns targeted to children and youth.- Supplier management
- SOS Children's Villages SpainAdvocacy OfficerMarch 2022 - July 2025 (3 years and 4 months)Madrid, SpainSupporting the coordination of the Advocacy Department at SOS Children's Villages Spain, these are the main tasks I performed:- Multidimensional policy and legal research to implement advocacy initiatives targeted at the national level (to the Spanish government and Institutions), and promote changes in public policies. Including participation in high-level meetings.- Coordination of research initiatives at the Department level for advocacy purposes and collaboration with universities.- Interns' coordinator at the Department level.- Expert and main focal point for topics such as safe digital environments, violence against children, child poverty and deinstitutionalisation at the Department level.- Representation at networks and working groups: Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Plataforma de Infancia, Representative of SOS Children's Villages Spain at Alianza País - Pobreza Infantil Cero.- Representation of SOS Spain in the EUNA advocacy network (Europe and North America): Liaison with the offices of SOS Children's Villages International at the United Nations in Geneva and New York to explore advocacy initiatives as member association at the United Nations level. Support to the EU office.- Contribution to UN processes and EU policy initiatives to promote and protect children and youth rights, and those of their families.- Capacity-building in advocacy and human rights. E.g. building an Advocacy Online Course with as a target group the territorial directors of SOS CV Spain.- Contribution to the SOS Federation Advocacy Strategy during consultations.- Humanitarian crisis management (e.g. with the situation in Ukraine and Gaza) at national level.- Performance of advocacy plans: Support in the performance and application of an SOS Children's Villages Spain National Advocacy Plan and territorial plans in the autonomous communities in Spain.- Formulation and project management with the aim of reaching advocacy goals to represent our target group.
- FreelanceIndependent International Relations and Policy ResearcherJuly 2020 - May 2023 (2 years and 10 months)- Sastre Consulting (UK-based Consultancy): A policy research project evaluating innovation policies in Spain with a focus on socioeconomic progress for a recognised international economy newspaper. The analysis was performed based on three pillars: socioeconomic environment, policy and compliance and business considerations.- Nislo Research (UK-based Consultancy): Part of a roster of consultants to perform research projects in the fields of International Relations, Human Rights, International Law, Politics and Security Studies (freelance, working per project).
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Education
- European Master's Degree in Human Rights and DemocratisationEUIC – Global Campus of Human Rights2020European Master's Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation
- Bachelor's degreeDeusto University2019Bachelor's degree in International Relations