Steve Smith has been CEO of IRT since May 2016. Prior to joining IRT, Steve was, for four years, CEO of Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) – a UK-based, international NGO, with the mission of reducing the global incidence and impact of armed violence. Here, he oversaw programmes in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Western Sahara, Liberia and DRC, while conducting advocacy work with major institutions, such as the UN, World Customs Organisation and British Houses of Parliament.
Steve came to AOAV from a military background, which saw him serve on operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and several other unstable regions. He therefore brings a broad spectrum of operational experience to IRT, having seen first hand, the awful plight facing many in the developing world.
Sharon joined IRT in September 2018. Her background has been in publishing where she ran a team of editors, publishing academic journals where relationships were key and deadlines were crucial. She is responsible for funding the programmes overseas, organising the yearly budgets for projects, and maintaining good relationships with our overseas partners. She is also responsible for overseeing the Trusts and Foundations department at IRT. This involves acquiring new donor funding, maintaining current firm funding foundation and providing comprehensive progress reports.
Jessica has extensive knowledge of fundraising in the charity sector. Working in Events and fundraising for such charities as Addaction, Scope, and St Luke’s Hospice. She is responsible for running the Fundraising department at IRT, and looking after our incredible community supporters, corporate partners and major donors.
Jessica is extremely passionate about the humanitarian sector and visits our overseas projects, bringing back news and photos to show our supporters exactly where their fundraising goes.
If you would like to fundraise for IRT, or become a corporate partner, please email: jeames@irt.org.uk
Lucian is responsible for the management of our supporter database, and processing all received donations. Lucian is a certified Salesforce Administrator and ensures that IRT are compliant with GDPR laws, protecting our supporter’s data.
During his career, he has served as a Business Support Analyst for a global bank and Data Manager for a music technology firm but has recently made the transition into the third sector to work with people who have the same core values and share the same mission in helping vulnerable refugees.
WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET WHAT DEVASTATING IMPACTS WAR
MY PASSION IS TO MAKE SURE OUR DATA IS CORRECT SO THAT DECISION MAKERS HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION AT THEIR FINGERTIPS TO HELP THOSE IN DESPERATE NEED OF IRT’S SUPPORT.
Natasha has a BA (Hons) in International Studies and English Literature from Liverpool Hope University. Upon graduating, she began working for a small payroll company, but really wanted to pursue a career that would enable her to help change peoples’ lives, particularly those who have been displaced due to war and conflict. It was with this goal in mind that she completed a masters’ degree at Leeds Beckett University, focusing on Peace and Development.
Whilst studying for her MA, Natasha became incredibly passionate about helping people in the poorest regions of the world and doing whatever she could to make even the slightest difference to their plight. Her interests are inclusive of: agriculture, war and peace, human rights, sustainability and female empowerment, to name a few. It was for these reasons she chose to pursue a career with IRT, as they also work towards; eradicating poverty, providing education/medical assistance, helping set up small businesses and overall self sustainability for those who have been displaced due to war, conflict and poverty.