Leadership plays an essential role in setting the direction to strengthen protection within the humanitarian sector. In this episode, Gemma and Mark explore ways to strengthen and centralise that role while looking at when and in what circumstances humanitarian leadership is well placed to provide strategic direction to strengthening protection. Gemma Davies is a Senior Research Fellow for the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI. She has over 15 years’ experience working with a range of international humanitarian and human rights organisations, as well as the Department for International Development (now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), in several conflict-affected and fragile states. Mark Bowden was the UN DSRSG/RC/HC in Afghanistan and before that the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia. As a Senior Research Associate with HPG / ODI he continues to maintain his interest in Humanitarian Diplomacy and protection issues .