START NETWORK

Start Network is made up of more than 50 aid agencies across five continents. Together, our aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and locally driven humanitarian action.  We're tackling what we believe are the biggest systemic problems that the sector faces. Problems including slow and reactive funding, centralised decision-making, and an aversion to change mean that people affected by crises around the world do not receive the best help fast enough, and needless suffering results.

Start Network’s vision is for a locally-led humanitarian system that is accountable to people affected by and at-risk of crises. We aim to achieve this vision by making systemic-level shifts in the way humanitarian assistance is approached and delivered by:

LOCALLY-LED ACTION: We believe that a more balanced international aid system, which shifts power to those closest to the front-line, will generate more effective and appropriate responses for people affected by crises.

NEW FORMS OF FINANCING: Our pooled funds enable fast and early action to tackle the kind of crises that are often overlooked by other funding mechanisms. Our risk financing pilots are introducing new ways of working that can save even more lives.

COLLECTIVE INNOVATION: New ways of working are needed to tackle the challenges we face. By innovating collectively, we can share expertise, insights and perspectives to shape a more effective humanitarian system.

We have grown and diversified our membership over the past 10 years and are evolving into a decentralised “network of networks” in line with our vision. We are currently working with five national and regional hubs made up of predominantly civil society organisations in Pakistan, DRC, Guatemala, India and the Pacific. They are developing locally owned ways of anticipating and responding to humanitarian crises. We aim to support the emergence and development of further hubs in the coming years. Our ultimate ambition is to devolve leadership, membership, programming, and decision making to the hubs, while the central team transitions to become a service provider.

For more information about our values and strategic priorities, please visit our website.

What is Start Ready? Start Ready is one of Start Network’s newest financing mechanisms. It provides communities with protection from climate-related risks. It is helping to powerfully shift the way that Start Network members are working, from responding to crises, to protecting communities ahead of their onset.

How does it work? Start Ready prepositions funds for crises that happen with predictable patterns of recurrence. Start Network members in-country build disaster risk financing (DRF) systems. DRF systems require a risk model to forecast risks, and contingency plans which outline what actions members will take once a hazard threshold is met. Once a DRF system has been built, Start Network members can then apply to receive funding from Start Ready for a period of 12 months. During this period, if a risk threshold is met, Start Ready funds are released rapidly to enable members to implement anticipatory, and early response, activities. More information is available on Start Ready on our website. Start Ready sits alongside Start Fund.

JOB PURPOSE

This role is responsible for supporting the Start Ready Manager and Start Ready Advisor in the day to day running of Start Ready. With Start Ready in its third year of operation and growing at a fast past, the Start Ready Officer will provide vital support to help to improve and administer the growing operational and strategic aspects of Start Ready. The position will work to ensure the global mechanism is fit for purpose and will work closely with in-country teams to ensure development of disaster risk financing systems align and are suitable to Start Ready. The Start Ready Officer will work closely with the wider Crisis Anticipation and Risk Finance (CARF) team and various internal departments within Start Network.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Programme development

• Support the expansion of Start Ready through operationalising the strategy for country growth. This includes supporting in the application and improvement of the country expansions strategy, involving support for scoping new countries for Start Ready, engagement members and external stakeholders, completing contextual analyses, and compiling assessments.

• Support on any fundraising bids, alongside the Start Ready Manager and Advisor and Resource Mobilisation team. This can involve preparing information for pitches, presentations and written briefs, providing materials to support and conducting technical reviews of proposals, and participating in new grant kick-off to ensure alignment of grants to programmes.

• Actioning feedback for the Start Ready Governance Committee following biannual governance meetings, whereby the set of senior leaders governing the programme reviews key progress and developments providing an opportunity to seek strategic steer for the programme and course correct.Actively work with members to ensure communication of programme handbook and understanding of the mechanism, working to strengthen member engagement and comprehension of the mechanism.

• As part of the three person team, it is expected that this role will be able to be flexible and dynamic to feed into various strategic aspects of the mechanism including identifying areas for improvement, leading discrete projects, and acting up when needed.

 Programme management support

• Work with in-country and regional team members to ensure that key activities around Start Ready are completed on time and to agreed standards, including support for application processes, capacity strengthening activities, and monitoring of key moments through the Start Ready cycle

• At times of activation, providing surge support where needed and ensuring that correct protocols are followed to ensure effective support for members to conduct anticipatory actions.

• Working with Start Ready Advisor to improve and implement Start Ready standard operating procedures and ways of working including adequate documentation, processes, and protocols are adhered to and effective. This also involved actively feeding into the development of new and improvement of existing protocols, processes, and guidance documents.

• Support the development and dissemination of any Start Ready induction and advocacy materials.

• Work with the Communications team to produce, disseminate, review any communications products including following release of funds, announcements of new funding, the announcement of fund allocations

• Travel, where necessary, to support members and country teams with Start Ready, provide monitoring visits, and support workshops

 Programme administration

• Managing the Start Ready Inbox and responding in a timely way to communications.

• Support Start Ready Governance meetings, including preparation of pre-reads, the compilation of funding applications, compilation of financial advice, and supporting logistics for these key high-level meetings.

• Responsible for ensuring proper information management processes are adhered to updating key records including Box, Asana, and Salesforce

 Finance and procurement

• Support with the contracting of any individual consultants brought on to support pieces of work for Start Ready  

• Leading on ensuring that award letters and sub-grant agreements are written, signed, and communicated to members in a timely way

• Working with Finance and Grant Management team to ensure effective and timely disbursement of Start Ready funds.

• Tracking and maintaining visibility on status of disbursements, recoups, and overall grant budget lines.

START NETWORK ACCOUNTABILITIES

• To carry out the responsibilities of the role in line with the Start Network Code of Conduct and with a commitment to safeguarding adults and children

• A commitment to the Start Network vision, principles, values and approach

• The Start Network team is an agile group of individuals who use their experience and skills across the network, so flexibility to work in and with different teams and functions is a part of our culture.

PERSON PROFILE

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience and knowledge of humanitarian operations

• Experience in contracting, administration, grants management and/or procurement

• Knowledge of disaster risk finance and anticipatory action is desirable

• Excellent communication skills

• Demonstrable experience working independently

• French and/or Spanish speaking skills are desirable

• Reporting experience (financial and narrative) is desirable

ROLE SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES (input from the Start Network Competency Framework)

• Excellent written and spoken communication

• Attention to detail

• Proactive and able to work across teams and departments

• Ability to communicate complex things simply  

START NETWORK COMPETENCIES

• Excellent Communication skills with the ability to speak confidently to a diverse range of audiences

• Ability to deal with complexity, change and ambiguity

• Ability to “think outside the box”, being innovative and prepare to experiment

• Positive attitude towards challenges and changes

• Cultural sensitivity and ability to understand different ways of working and thinking

OUR OFFER TO YOU

• To be part of an organisation changing the international humanitarian system!

• 25 days’ holiday, plus 8 public holidays, plus 2 paid company days the end of year closure period

• Contributory pension

• Flexible working with options to work from home and remotely some of the time

• Life Assurance equivalent of three times your annual salary

• Family friendly policies, particularly maternity pay (21 weeks full pay)

• Learning and development opportunities for individuals and cross-organisationally

• Counselling services

• Centrally located office in London with access to communal space

• Cycle to work scheme

CANDIDATE INFORMATION

We are moving to a more globally dispersed team, to increase diversity, and ensure we are representative of the communities we serve. For roles based outside the UK, (DRC, Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and the Philippines) recruited staff member will be hosted by one of our member organisations or using a third-party host.”

 All our roles are open to discussion about flexible working. While our team is office based, home working is part of our culture. For part-time working and job-shares, please get in touch with us for a conversation about possibilities.

 We are committed to protecting people, particularly children, at-risk adults and affected populations from any harm that may be caused due to their encountering the Start Network as well as responding effectively should any harm occur. 

 We are also committed to safeguarding staff from any forms of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of power as outlined in our Dignity at Work policy. 

 We embrace diversity, promote equality of opportunity and eliminates unlawful discrimination.  We are an equal opportunities employer and treat every application on merit alone.  Start Network particularly welcome applications from disabled, black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), and LGBT+ and non-binary candidates and offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet our essential selection criteria.