START NETWORK

We are a growing humanitarian network of over 80 local, national and international organisations, tackling what we believe are the biggest systemic problems that the sector faces. 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 see:

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 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 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 and decision making to the hubs, while the central team transitions to become a service provider.

For more information, please visit our website.

JOB PURPOSE

The Member Engagement Advisor is responsible for ensuring that our members can maximise and improve their engagement with the network, in order to realise the full potential of their membership.

This is an externally-facing role, expected to interface with member organisations regularly and at senior levels, and to help create spaces and opportunities for bringing members together. The Member Engagement Advisor will be expected to develop and implement creative yet simple solutions to improve engagement, working with other teams to support and improve their own member engagement efforts while taking into account individual member needs and objectives. As the Network shifts to a decentralised and devolved membership model, membership functions and services are set to devolve to the hub level over the coming years - and the Member Engagement

Advisor is also expected to support members in making this transition.

The Member Engagement Advisor will sit within the Governance & Membership team.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

● Own and implement the organisation’s member engagement strategy, focused on improving members’ engagement with Start Network and optimising their experience throughout the membership journey – from attraction, to induction, to offboarding.

● Periodically review our member engagement strategy to align with strategic priorities;

● Proactively build relationships with individual members to understand their organisational priorities and motivations for being part of the Network. Listen to and act on any member issues and concerns - communicating those regularly to relevant teams.

● Develop and oversee the implementation of member inductions, trainings and peer exchanges; working with other teams to facilitate member-facing and member-led initiatives;

● Create simple ways to track and measure the effectiveness of member engagement

● Lead on the annual membership survey, working together with the Evidence & Learning team, and support teams to implement recommendations and actions arising from member feedback through the survey.

EVENTS, COMMUNITY BUILDING AND COMMUNICATIONS

● Create spaces for members to connect with each other and make use of peer-to-peer

collaboration and learning exchanges - for example through events and webinars, or digitally- enabled communities of practice

● Work with the CEO to develop and deliver a series of impactful and inspiring roundtables with senior staff in Start Network member agencies

● Co-lead the planning and execution of the annual Assembly meeting, along with the Communications team

● Improve members’ awareness of and access to membership benefits, such as grants, advocacy opportunities, and communities of practice

● Coordinate and streamline staff engagement with the membership, including by working with the communications team on member newsletters and other communications products, and supporting them to raise Start Network’s profile within member organisations.

MEMBERSHIP GROWTH AND MANAGEMENT

● Facilitate engagement between our members and hubs, working together with the Network Development Team. May involve occasional travel to hub countries

● Work with our national and regional hubs to advise them on their own member engagement strategies

● Explore technology solutions to enable the scaling and growth of the Network’s membership as well as to support the management of existing members (e.g. development of a members’ portal) - ensuring that any solutions are user-friendly

● Coordinate with the Membership Officer on various membership administration responsibilities, such as monitoring the membership inbox

MISCELLANEOUS

● Support with Membership Committee meetings or Board meetings as required and relevant

● Work with other teams on membership-related tasks as needed - may include leading on ad hoc projects that arise and are relevant to member engagement

PERSON PROFILE

TECHNICAL/PERSONAL SKILLS

● Experience in a membership focused role within a network or membership organisation

● Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining multi-stakeholder relationships and partnerships across organisational and geographical boundaries

● Experience in designing and managing events or conferences

● Knowledge of using client relationship management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce

● Knowledge of the humanitarian sector (desirable)

● Fluency in French and/or Spanish, in addition to English (desirable)

KEY COMPETENCIES

● Communication

o Promote different ways to engage different audiences, advising others on how to maximise impact through feedback and coaching

o 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

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

● Strategic thinking

o Hold others to account for their work in consideration of strategic goals by looking at decisions in relation to our theory of change, vision, mission and purpose

● Collaboration

o Actively promote collaboration by spotting and breaking down barriers to siloed working, connecting colleagues, teams and initiatives

● Ability to adapt and learn (intermediate)

o Anticipate the ‘what ifs’ and actively plan to navigate them together with the team, seeking collaborative solutions and drawing on those with relevant expertise

o Balance the need to follow systems and processes with the courage, identifying when systems and processes do not align with the mission, suggesting alternatives

● Getting things done the Start Network way (intermediate)

o Overcome obstacles by taking initiative to identify issues, seeking help to address them and escalating appropriately

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

Our roles are open to discussion about flexible working. 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 encourage applications from disabled, BAME, LGBTQ+ and non-binary candidates.

We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet our essential selection criteria set out in the Person Profile.

APPLICATION

We use Be Applied, an online recruitment platform. 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: TBC

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

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