WHAT IS START NETWORK?

Start Network is a global membership of close to 100 civil society organisations, working across six continents, to tackle what we see as the biggest systemic problems in the global humanitarian system. Start Network is an independent charity. We also work with Save the Children UK, which acts a grant custodian for some Start Network initiatives.

OUR SOLUTIONS

LOCALLY-LED ACTION: Shifting power and resources and decentralising decision-making to locally led networks and organisations.

EARLY & RAPID FINANCING: Building a global financing system that reduces risk, anticipates, and acts ahead of predictable crises.

COMMUNITY-LED INNOVATION: Incentivising innovative, locally led, and contextual solutions and learning from them together with people affected by crises.

For more information about Start Network and what we do, please visit our website.

OUR VALUES

WE PUT PEOPLE FIRST: Communities come first in our decision-making and programming.

WE ARE BRAVE: We have great ambition and are willing to explore new things and take risks to achieve them.

WE OPERATE COLLECTIVELY: We leverage the value of working as a network, sharing risk and resources, and learning together.

WE ARE INCLUSIVE: We see the value in diverse perspectives and work to remove the barriers that prevent voices from being heard.

WE ARE OPEN: We work transparently and with integrity, building mutual trust in all levels of our work, from governance to programming.

WE ARE ETHICAL: We behave and operate based on key principles of anti-racism, non- discrimination, and anti-colonialism. This is a work in progress.

JOB PURPOSE

Start Network is seeking an experienced director to join a highly skilled senior leadership team (SLT). This is a new role following a functional review of the organisation. The Finance Director will be instrumental in driving the organisation’s vision, mission and strategic objectives and leading the organisation through its evolution and growth.

The Finance Director will lead our Finance and Grant Management Teams, directing their approach and working to respond to the changing needs of a dynamic organisation. With a recognised finance qualification alongside strong financial leadership experience, you will be responsible for leading the function, ensuring it is a trusted partner delivering an exceptional financial service to internal and external stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees.

You will identify and adapt best practices and innovations from within the sector to enable Start Network to meet its needs as it evolves. You will ensure that we are well positioned to take on more grant funding and develop new and innovative financial products. This is an outstanding opportunity for someone to shape and lead our finance and grant management functions, making an important and lasting contribution to the sector.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

• Provide robust, expert financial support and advice to the Chief Finance & Operations Officer (CFOO), leadership team and Finance and Audit Committee (FAC)

• Deputise for the Chief Finance Operating Officer on all financial and grant management matters, including liaison with other members of the leadership team and trustees

• Lead on financial strategy and longer term planning to enable us to become a major international grant recipient, including supporting the development and roll out of new grant management systems and processes

• Ensure that our financial systems and processes are developed to become robust and agile, providing strategic systems leadership, and support and guidance to colleagues

• Lead on specific and innovative finance projects to meet the changing needs of the organisation, including developing new financial products and systems

• Work as part of the Senior Management Team to help lead on delivery of the organisations strategy

• Identify, evaluate and present financial risks and opportunities to leaders across the organisation.

• Lead on key aspects of financial planning across the organisation, including risk management and scenario planning.

• Create financial models to assist the organisation in managing financial sustainability as its operating model evolves, including cashflow forecasting and assessments of going concern, and the management of restricted and unrestricted fund balances

• Provide financial modelling and impact analysis e.g., income pipelines, inflation, activity projections, workforce fluctuations or indirect cost recovery

• Manage all areas of tax compliance including VAT and corporation tax

• Lead on setting, monitoring and managing the annual budgets to inform business decisions

• Lead the statutory accounts process, ensuring relevant resourcing and processes are in place to meet our needs, acting as the main point of contact with the external auditors

• Ensure that the charity continually strives to provide value for money for donors and other key stakeholders.

• Working collaboratively with the Board, Executive Team, SLT and heads of teams, influence, set, review and implement the organisational strategy;

• Work as part of SLT and within own cluster to oversee and translate strategic priorities into actionable business plans and budgets;

• Autonomous and accountable for directorate decisions and facilitating a culture of organisational and team collaboration to achieve goals and objectives;

• Make decisions that deliver results and empower heads of teams to make decisions that deliver results for their teams;

• Build strong collaborative working relationships internally and act as internal champion of organisational decisions and values;

• Build strong working relationships with members and other external stakeholders, and serve as an ambassador and advocate for organisational and network initiatives, impact and values, as appropriate networking and influencing on behalf of Start Network;

• Role model good behaviours including workload management and punctuality;

• Foster and nurture positive team environments through collaborative working;

• Support the Executive team with organisational decisions and change;

• Support organisational culture and team staff engagement strategies;

• Being privy to sensitive and confidential business information as appropriate which may have reputational and sector wide implications;

• Lead organisational meetings and internal/external events, as required; and

• Undertake other initiatives, as required by the Executive team

LINE MANAGEMENT

• Provide leadership to enhance ways of working as a team, providing high quality advice and levels of service to the organisation;

• Carry out effective line management of direct reports, including direct consultants; recruiting, training and having an active role in building an inclusive team culture in line with Start Network values;

• Support direct reports to line manage and lead their teams;

• Manage third-party contractors as required for example Payroll and VAT services providers

• Support the growth and development of Heads/Senior Leads within the Cluster

• Monitor performance and ensure KPI’s and targets are met or exceeded toward systems change ambitions;

• Commitment to fair and equitable talent management and development of teams and direct reports;

• Address poor performance effectively and recognise good performance in an appropriate and timely manner, including by leading and/or supporting/investigating performance management and disciplinary processes both within team and organisationally, as required.

START NETWORK CULTURE

• 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 positive humanitarian outcomes and systems change through a programme of quality initiatives;

• Work in a dynamic, flexible and agile way across teams and functions;

• Support the innovative and risk aware culture of Start Network to support the strategy and deliver on its systems change objectives and goals; and

• Commit to continuous learning and professional development of self and teams

PERSON PROFILE

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience of working with senior stakeholders at Board level

• Track record of leading a successful financial and / or grant management partnering service,

managing a high-calibre, multi-disciplinary team to deliver against demanding timescales

• Excellent analytical and reasoning skills

• Proven experience of developing financial models, operating principles, and managing

complex budgeting, forecasting and reporting processes

• Demonstrable experience of working at a strategic level, influencing key internal and external

stakeholders, and being responsive to change

• Experience of developing finance systems and processes and making improvements to service provision

• Experience of managing large, complex grants / contracts

• Proven project and team management capability

• Qualified Finance professional: ACCA, ACA, or CIMA with several years post qualification experience.

• Demonstrated experience in translating data and analysis into strategies, content and communications that demonstrate impact;

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written;

• Ability to add value as both an individual contributor and active team member;

• Masterful organisational, communication and leadership skills backed by previous professional success;

• Ability to represent the function as part of the bigger business picture;

• Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse backgrounds and behaviours;

• Ability to analyse and review workforce data to inform decision making e.g. succession planning;

• Able to work under pressure and deliver results to tight deadlines;

• Experience of developing new systems and processes and making improvements to service provision;

• Proven project management capability;

• Experience in the humanitarian sector is desirable.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Communication Flex communication style to convey complex information concisely to different audiences, avoiding jargon and using simple language.

Strategic Thinking Be able to operate and think strategically alongside senior stakeholders, as well as understanding the key drivers across other parts of the organisation through regular dialogue

Collaboration Develop teams by creating safe spaces for them to be challenged and supported to try new things and learn from one another. Be able to liaise with other parts of the organisation through a successful business partnering model.

Leadership of self and others Create and promote a learning culture by being both approachable and inspiring, authentically sharing own learning and supporting others to do the same at organisational, team and network level

Ability to adapt and learn Promote a culture that delivers, learns, and iterates, sharing evidence across the organisation and network by enabling others to establish rhythms and shared spaces

Getting things done the Start Network way Provide an enabling environment for the organisation to try out new approaches to technology, financial products, systems and processes and people management through openness to experimentation and learning from outside the sector

Applications:

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

First stage interviews will likely take place w/c 15th January.