Grant Management (Maternity)

Start Network

Employment Type Contract Fixed Term Contract - c. 12 months (Maternity Cover).
Location Hybrid · London, UK This role is expected to be in the London office minimum 4 times a month.
Salary £49,549 - £52,026 (GBP) per annum
Team Finance
Seniority Mid-level
  • Closing: 11:29pm, 3rd Feb 2025 GMT

Job Description

WHAT IS START NETWORK? 

Our purpose is to be a catalyst for system-level change that improves the efficiency, effectiveness and ethics of humanitarian action. We do this by working as a network to develop, test & spread new ways of collaborating and resourcing locally-led crisis response and anticipation. 

Our current membership is made up of nearly 100 local, national and international NGOs based all around the world. We also support 10 national and regional hubs made up of civil society organisations and NGOs as our vehicle for devolving power, resources and accountability. 

OUR SOLUTIONS 

DECENTRAISLING & 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 it 

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 looking for an experienced grant management professional with strong financial acumen, a strategic mindset and the ability to influence a variety of senior stakeholders and establish new systems and ways of working. This role is critical to future proofing our grant management function and enables us to set up the right systems and processes for us to manage multiple 7-8 figure grants from a wide variety of donors, while also helping us identify what would be needed to manage a lager portfolio of complex grants in the future.  

The Grants Manager will contribute to the impact and accountability of our work by ensuring transparent, compliant and accountable management and control of funds awarded to Start Network by a variety of institutional donors, trusts and foundations, and corporates, plus potentially other donors in the future. Based in the Grant Management team under the Finance Directorate while acting as a ‘business partner’ to the teams across the organisation this role will be responsible for leading the full grant cycle of large-scale awards, working closely with Resource Mobilisation, Operations, and Programmes functions, as well as project teams across Start Network’s global membership.  

This position requires strategic vision, gravitas, strong communication skills, extensive grant management experience and a desire to shape and lead new ways of working in an innovative humanitarian organisation, as well as a high level of technical grant knowledge and the ability to manage budgets, navigate finance systems, and build financial reports from scratch.  

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

GRANT MANAGEMENT & REPORTING (60%) 

  • Work closely with the Grants Management team, Finance Director and Resource Mobilisation team to maintain an effective Grants Management function for a diverse portfolio of high value (seven to eight figure) grants, building in improvements where gaps are identified 

  • Lead on developing systems that will enable Start Network to effectively manage a growing number of grants from donors with significant compliance requirements (such as FCDO, GFFO, the Dutch MFA, ECHO, USAID) 

  • Provide strategic oversight across Start Network’s grant portfolio and advise senior management on maximising donor budgets or re-allocating underspends across the organisation 

  • Lead on future-proofing our grant management function so that we have effective systems in place to report back on an income portfolio of £20m+ 

  • Build a culture across the organisation around quality budgeting, financial management and delivery 

  • Be accountable for the smooth management of Start Network’s portfolio of grants throughout the grant management cycle, including project start up, sub-granting, monitoring, close-out and learning processes 

  • As part of this, work with Resource Mobilisation, Operations and Programmes teams, as well as grant custodians and partners, to put in place systems and processes to ensure compliant, timely and accurate financial reporting 

  • Monitor and hold team leads to account with regards to expenditure and programme outputs according to donor contracts, ensuring timely and transparent donor communication around budget management and amendments. 

  • Act as a focal point for donor compliance and knowledge management, ensuring information is kept up to date and colleagues across the organisation are aware of, and adhering to, rules, regulations, best practice, and internal and external deadlines.

FINANCIAL AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT (20%) 

  • Work with the Grant Management team to establish standard operating procedures for successful budget monitoring and project implementation 

  • Oversight of preparation of team-specific and project budgets for presentation to prospective donors and or governance committees 

  • Lead on producing management accounts and financial reports for internal and donor reporting, ensuring quality reporting is produced across the team 

  • Lead on development of grant-specific management reports to inform financial decision making, advise budget holders and aid in decision-making on reallocation of funds where required 

  • Work with the Resource Mobilisation team to support donor-related internal and external audit requirements 

BUILD KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY WITHIN THE ORGANISATION (10%) 

  • Advise on donor contract negotiations, donor compliance, effective financial reporting, working closely with Start’s programmes, resource mobilisation and operations teams  

  • Mentor Heads and other team members around quality grant management, donor compliance and reporting 

  • Provide capacity building to Members on grant management specific topics as required 

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY (10%) 

  • To carry out effective line management of at least two team members, including recruiting and training direct reports and having an active role in building an inclusive team culture in line with our values 

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 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 

  • Strong understanding of best practice in grant management 

  • Working knowledge of humanitarian institutional donor regulations and compliance processes (experience with donors such as FCDO, GFFO, the Dutch MFA, ECHO, and USAID is desirable) 

  • Experience in either building or leading change within a grant management function and mentoring colleagues around grant management  

  • Ability to empower and enable colleagues to deliver on their duties around grant management with confidence 

  • Proven ability to develop and manage complex budgets, and to produce high quality financial reports from scratch for both internal and external stakeholders 

  • Experience of taking decisions around budget management, consulting a wide range of stakeholders 

  • Experience of working with financial systems, and experience of setting up and implementing administrative and financial processes 

  • Ability to work collaboratively with others, with the confidence to set timelines and objectives for peers and more senior colleagues  

  • Exceptional organisational skills and experience setting up and using various tools to manage a complex workload 

  • Demonstrable experience of managing multiple deadlines  

  • Experience of building relationships across diverse teams and geographies 

  • Excellent communication skills in English; ability to communicate complex technical issues information to a range of audiences 

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE 

  • Experience of setting up grant management processes  

  • Line management experience 

  • Experience of disbursing subgrants to humanitarian actors is preferred 

  • Experience with rapid portfolio change (scale-up/diversification) is desirable 

  • Additional languages an asset 

KEY COMPETENCIES 

Communication: Build trust by showing commitment to your role, explaining your thought processes, checking your reactions and encouraging others to share their insights. Actively listen and know when to hold space rather than fill it, inviting others to participate by asking questions based on an understanding of individuals. 

Strategic Thinking: Hold both a strategic perspective and enough detail to work with one part of the organisation whilst understanding the impact on other parts of the organisation and network through listening and engaging with other teams. 

Collaboration: Actively promote collaboration by spotting and breaking down barriers to siloed working, connecting colleagues, teams and initiative. Recognise and actively seek to build trust, working through conflicts by acknowledging their importance, focusing on the issue not the person, analysing different perspectives and working together. 

Ability to adapt and learn: Balance the need to follow systems and processes with the courage, identifying when systems and processes do not align with the mission, suggesting alternatives. 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. 

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