Dr Gillian McKay

Dr Gillian McKay is a Research Officer at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, specialising in peace studies and the protection of civilians in armed conflict. She is primarily evaluating and enhancing the impact of the Creating Safer Space project, which explores and promotes the prevention and deterrence of violence without the use or threat of force.

Gillian works across disciplines and at the intersection of academia, policy, and practice to drive meaningful impact. Her PhD research at the University of Leeds examined the operationalisation of mass atrocity prevention, with a focus on the UK's approach and the role of government, parliament, and civil society stakeholders. As a practitioner and consultant, she has shaped operational and strategic decision-making in complex crises globally, including in post-coup Myanmar, where she managed iterative conflict-sensitive monitoring of the FCDO’s humanitarian portfolio, and across East Africa, where she has led protection monitoring and risk mitigation efforts for multiple donors, (I)NGOs, and UN agencies. She also undertakes commissioned applied research and advisory work with humanitarian and peacebuilding organisations.