START NETWORK

Start Network is a system change organisation 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. Our work focuses on responding to these problems.  This includes shifting power closer to where crises happen, providing fast, early and predictable function and sharing learning and innovative ways of working.

We are at a critical point in our journey. We are looking for people to join us who are committed to our vision of system change. People with open mind-sets and approaches that are innovative, collaborative and receptive to change. This new role is crucial in supporting our work and mission as a system change organisation. We are looking for a senior leader to help drive our transformation agenda. You will be someone that is passionate about and experienced in system change. Someone that has worked in complex systems and environments with multiple stakeholders and agenda’s but with a common purpose to transform and change.

You will be up for the excitement and challenge of working in an experimental and ever-changing working environment. Someone that loves to collaborate and is great at building relationships, influencing and taking people with them. You will be brave and open to being challenged and challenging others. You will bring curiosity and encourage diverse and different perspectives, helping to build capability and skills in system change. You will be committed to putting the individuals and communities we serve at the heart of all your work and helping to create a different humanitarian action sector.

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

JOB PURPOSE

The Head of Systems Innovation and Change is the organisation’s champion for systems, innovation and change helping to drive our ambitions in line with our vision and mission. The role provides strategic insight, expertise and thinking to both internal and external stakeholders. The role will work with Start Network’s members, hubs and staff team, to develop their understanding of how system change happens and how this can be practically embedded in their work. It will help align teams around our mission through the development of a coherent and innovative systems change strategy; lead a team focused on innovation and oversee a portfolio of system change initiatives. The role will work closely with the CEO, CFOO and other heads of teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Systems thinking, strategic insight and creativity

• Help shape the mindset, culture and processes required for system change and innovation to succeed within Start Network, our hubs, and members.

• Contribute to the evolution and management of the Start Network theory of change and implementation of its strategy, ensuring that the strategy, plans, and activities remain consistent with our vision and mission of systems change and local leadership ambitions.

• Support the SMT, the organisation, our country and regional hub members and wider team to develop and evolve their understanding and use of systems thinking, strategic foresight and innovation tools and practices.

• Support hubs in developing, deploying, and adapting effective systems change strategies.

• Support critical internal change processes of dispersing power and resources within the organisation and across the network, challenging colonial structures and building peer accountability and local leadership.

• Inspire ideas’ generation and creative thinking that can challenge the status quo and develop and test new ways of working based on evidence of the organisation’s success.

Programmes and Initiatives

• Design, lead on and drive a portfolio of systems change initiatives across Start Network including both network-focused (members) and organisation-focused (team) initiatives that are critical to ensuring that systems change can progress. This may include developing system-level solutions to critical problems, developing new processes and products that currently don’t exist, reforming existing ones or addressing critical systemic blockages within the network or broader sector. It will also include leading or guiding cross-solutions teams drawn from across the organisation and the network as needed for each initiative. 

• Oversee Start Network’s community-led innovation programmes aiming to create a supportive environment for communities in crisis affected locations to develop new solutions to humanitarian problems. As part of this, support hubs and partners to deliver these programmes, creating a faciliatory programme environment built on an ethos of equality across partners that enables peer learning and peer leadership.

Learning and Representation

• Represent the organisation’s work externally, acting as an advocate for systems change, sharing the learning that emerges from our practice as appropriate.

• Support communities of practice and peer learning across teams, hubs, and members to increase capability in system change

• Contribute to the gathering, analysis and communication of evidence and learning for systems innovation and change.

• In collaboration with the Communications and Evidence and Learning Teams, ensure emerging lessons from our work are shared broadly within the humanitarian sector, while participating in events and global networks within which we can provide leadership and where appropriate, learn from others and participate in aligned collaborative efforts.

Influence and build capability   

• Help build a compelling vision and strategy for innovation within the organisation and successfully lead others in that direction.

• Support the wider organisation team, and the network (hubs/members) to access and use innovation and systems change methods, tools and approaches.

• Stay abreast of the latest developments in systems change theory and thinking acting as a conduit and resource for this thinking for the organisation.

Innovation Team Leadership

• Lead and manage a small, high-performing Innovation Team to support the above ambitions by providing guidance on approaches, strategy and tools and developing a team culture built on trust.  

• Support the innovation team in their work, providing guidance, mentoring and coaching as appropriate to help them perform to a high level and to develop their skills and capabilities.

• Support the Senior Innovation and Learning Manager in ensuring that all innovation programmes are well delivered, are as flexible and adaptive as possible to maximise their learning and impact potential.

• Ensure team plans and activities are aligned with the organisations’ strategy

• Ensure that budgets and financial processes for innovation programmes are well managed.

Start Network Culture

• 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 ensuring equity and diversity in all aspects of our work

• 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

Essential Skills and Experience

• Significant knowledge of systems change approaches and applying them to change mindsets and practice. 

• Significant experience of experiential, facilitative and relational approaches to innovation and system change

• Experience of building and supporting communities of practice across diverse geographies, organisations and networks

• Excellent inclusive leadership skills that value diversity

• Excellent strategic thinking skills

• Experience in using innovation technical skills and approaches such as design thinking, systems thinking and analysis, prototyping, systems mapping, sense making etc.

• Good knowledge of the international humanitarian system or comparable international system

• Commitment to and understanding of approaches to de-colonisation and anti-racism

Start Network Key Competencies

Communication:

• Influence stakeholders to address difficult or complex issues by listening to diverse perspectives, finding common ground and avoiding criticism or complain

• Generate and support implementation of ideas that have impact at organisational, network and/or humanitarian systems-level by promoting these ideas to relevant internal and external stakeholder

Strategic Thinking:

• Enable others to support and deliver cross-organisational initiatives by removing barriers, such as reallocating work, reprioritising and coaching others to do the same

Collaboration:

• Provide leadership by inspiring and unlocking motivation in others across the network to lead and hold them accountable for the results

Leadership of self and others:

• Create and promote a learning culture, authentically sharing own learning and supporting others to do the same at organisational, team and network level

Ability to adapt and learn:

• Bring in best practice from a range of external sources to drive innovation to advance our work, connecting with diverse stakeholders and perspectives outside the sector

• Promote a culture that delivers, learns and iterates, sharing evidence across the organisation and network by enabling others to establish rhythms and shared space

Getting things done the Start Network way:

• Make difficult decisions about initiatives that we will and will not pursue in line with our vision, mission, and purpose, based on inputs from diverse perspectives and communicating the rationale for these decisions.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

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.

Start Network is 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 the Dignity at Work policy. 

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

APPLICATION

We work with Be Applied, an online recruitment platform designed to allow teams to measure candidates on what actually matters. Rather than relying on CVs and cover letters, Be Applied allows you to demonstrate your skills and abilities through answering questions which are blind- reviewed by our team to reduce bias.

If you have any questions or need support with your application, please email us using peopleandculture@startnetwork.org

Closing date: Sunday 17th April 23.59 GMT

Applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so please apply early where possible

Any offer of employment is subject to relevant checks. Please refer to our privacy statement and candidate privacy notice regarding treatment of your data.