Prior to his appointment by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on 12 May 2017, Lowcock was the Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID) from June 2011 to September 2017.

In a country affected by a disaster or conflict, the ERC may appoint a humanitarian coordinator (HC) to ensure response efforts are well organized.

From 2019, Lowcock was a member of the World Economic Forum High-Level Group on Humanitarian Investing, co-chaired by Børge Brende, Kristalina Georgieva and Peter Maurer.

The GHRP was the international community's primary fundraising vehicle to respond to the humanitarian impacts of the virus in low- and middle-income countries and support their efforts to fight it.

Activity funded by the GHRP included the delivery of laboratory equipment to test for the virus, and treat those infected, the installation of handwashing stations in camps and settlements, public health information campaigns on how to prevent community transmission, the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line medical workers, training for support services around sexual violence and intimate partner violence, the delivery of food and nutrition programmes, and the creation of airbridges across Africa, Asia and Latin America for the movement of humanitarian workers and supplies.

In August 2020 Troubador Publishing announced the release in January 2021 of Lowcock's book Ten Generations, which they describe as "an extraordinary piece of social and family history".

[18] Rory Stewart described it as "A scrupulously honest, thoughtful testimony on what it takes to fight for effective humanitarian relief by one of the most distinguished international civil servants.

Never preaching, avoiding jargon, alert to politics, nuance, and practicality, Lowcock draws strong, impressive, and wise conclusions on how the world could improve its response to the mounting tragedies which surround us."

Bill Gates said, "This book serves as an important reminder that the world has made incredible progress improving lives of the poorest people - and can do so again."