Amnesty International appoints three senior staff to its International Secretariat

Amnesty International has appointed three new members to its senior leadership team in the International Secretariat.

Rajat Khosla joins as the new Senior Director for Research, Advocacy and Policy; Rohan Hewavisenti has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer; and Anna Lindenfors, Director of Amnesty International Sweden, will take up the position of national Section representative.

“We are delighted to welcome Rajat, Rohan and Anna to the team at Amnesty International. Their breadth of experience and expertise, not only across human rights but a variety of sectors, will be hugely valuable to the movement as we continue to find new ways to build a world where human rights are enjoyed by all, said Julie Verhaar, Amnesty International’s Acting Secretary General.

“In these most challenging of times, Amnesty International’s campaigns for justice and equality are more urgent than ever, and the leadership team are here to support our staff and the wider movement in our combined effort to champion human rights.”

Rajat Khosla will be joining Amnesty from The World Health Organisation in Geneva, where he has served as Human Rights Adviser since 2014, leading on research across a variety of issues including women’s rights and issues related to sexual and reproductive health. He has extensive experience in various research, advocacy and policy roles in organisations such as SOAS, the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, the International Environmental Law Research Centre and UNICEF. He will join the organisation in September.

Rohan Hewavisenti has gained extensive experience in a variety of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer roles over the past 15 years, including as Director of Finance and Resources at Breast Cancer Care; Executive Director of Finance, Planning and Resources at the British Red Cross and interim Finance Director roles at the Fairtrade Foundation, WWF-UK and the NHS Confederation. He will join the organisation in July.

Anna Lindenfors will join the Coalition Leadership in her capacity as Director of Amnesty International, Sweden in June. Anne has held the position of Director of Amnesty International Sweden since 2014, and previously worked in a number of international roles at Save The Children in Sweden, East Africa, South and Southeast Asia.

Rajat, Rohan and Anna will join Julie Verhaar (Acting Secretary General), Thomas Schultz-Jagow (Senior Director, Public Engagement and Growth) and Mariela Belski (Section Director, Amnesty International Argentina) in the Coalition Leadership Team, the body that leads and manages the organisation’s International Secretariat.

The search for a new permanent Secretary General will commence next month to fill the role of previous incumbent Kumi Naidoo. Odgers Berndtson, the global executive search firm, have been appointed by the International Board of Amnesty International to lead the search.

Amnesty International is the largest human rights movement globally, with a global presence including offices in more than 70 countries, 2,600 staff and seven million members, volunteers and supporters worldwide. The International Secretariat provides strategic leadership, support and advice to the Amnesty international movement globally.