Start Network is made up of more than 50 aid agencies across five continents, ranging from large international organisations to national NGOs. Together, our aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and localisation.

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 three areas to change the system:

●       Localisation: shifting power to those closest to the front line for more effective response.

●       New forms of financing: providing fast, early, and predictable funding to improve community resilience and preparedness. .

●       Collective innovation: sharing expertise, insights and perspectives to shape a more effective humanitarian system.

We became an independent company and charity in May 2019. The Start Network was previously hosted by Save the Children UK, with whom we continue to work closely as hosts of some of our programmes.

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 minimum selection criteria. 

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.

 JOB PURPOSE

Start Network is at a critical point in its journey. Having grown and diversified its membership over the past 10 years, it is now set to evolve into a decentralised “network of networks” by 2025. We have been working with five national and regional networks (hubs) in Pakistan, DRC, Guatemala, India and the Pacific, as they develop locally-owned models and change initiatives under the wider Start Network umbrella. The ultimate ambition is to devolve leadership, membership, programmes and decision making to the hub level, while the London team transitions into a service provider role.

Within this context, the Membership Officer will support one of the core functions of the network, which is the day-to-day management and growth of our membership. They will have a prominent role in helping to manage the entire member cycle: aside from coordinating member inductions, annual invoicing for membership fees, and member communications, the role will provide critical support in the intake and admission of new members into the network. In line with the organisational transition described above, the Membership Officer will be part of a dynamic and exciting change initiative, working closely with the Operations and Network Development & Engagement teams as well as with the five hubs, who will set the pace for membership growth.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Membership intake support

●       Support the Start team and the five hubs with the process of admitting new members into the network, providing administrative support as needed throughout the intake cycle: from the attraction and application stage through to the selection, vetting, and admission of members

●      Coordinate the induction process for new members, and liaise with the Communications team and relevant hubs to advertise the announcement of new members (website, newsletters)

●      Support the hubs as needed to develop their own membership intake processes, resources and tools, as part of the organisational drive to decentralise and devolve membership to the hub level

●      Working with the membership team and Business Analyst, support the optimisation and improvement of our current member intake processes, to enable more rapid and decentralised membership growth.

 Membership management and administration

●      Ensure relevant documents and tools are accessible to members. This includes coordinating the translation of key documents into other languages, and making policies and legal agreements simple and accessible for current and prospective members.

●      Acting as a focal point for any member enquiries or complaints

●      Ensure our CRM system (Salesforce) is up to date with current member contact information

●      Work with the Finance team to manage the annual invoicing process for membership contributions

●      Support the Operations and Network Development & Engagement teams to coordinate any investigations of incidents concerning members, follow up on member queries and issues, and organise meetings, calls and interviews with members as needed - for example as part of the annual member survey.

●      Undertake any other relevant tasks as required to support the work of the Network Development and Operations teams

PERSON PROFILE

 Key competencies

●      Administration and management

●      Adaptability/flexibility

●      Attention to detail

●      Creative thinking

●      Cooperation

●      Project management

 Essential skills and experience

●      Excellent verbal and written communication skills to deal tactfully and sensitively with a wide range of people in a large organisation, often at a distance

●      Excellent networking and relationship management skills

●      Administration experience

●      Strong IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint

●      Experience of using a CRM system such as Salesforce or equivalent

Desirable skills and experience

●      Experience working in a membership organisation or a multi-stakeholder environment

●      Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish

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.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Communication

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

Strategic Thinking

●      Actively seek to understand how your role fits into the work of the team and network by asking questions and working on cross-team initiatives

●      Able to plan and deliver flexibly to take account of changing internal and/or external factors by reprioritising and asking for help

Collaboration

●      Clear on own role and responsibilities and can communicate this with others during day-to-day interactions, seeking clarity where needed

●      Embrace diverse perspectives by using collaborative language, recognising and taking account of power dynamics

Leadership of self and others

●      Seek to understand and act upon own areas for growth, reflecting and learning from things that have not gone so well by showing vulnerability and openness to change

Ability to adapt and learn

●      Able to reprioritise and shift focus in response to changing needs of the organisation or network by being aware of how your role sits in the system

 Getting things done the Start Network way

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

●      Make best use of all of available resources, including people, technology and money to enable increased automation, digitisation and value for money

 OUR OFFER TO YOU

●       Centrally located WeWork office with onsite drinks and snacks available free of charge

●       Access to cultural talks, events, pop-up sales, and a place to meet and socialise after work

●       Discounts at local cafes and restaurants in association with WeWork

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

●       Contributory pension

●       Life assurance equivalent of three times your salary

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

●       Training and development opportunities for individuals and cross-organisationally

●       25 days’ holiday, bank holidays plus 2 paid company days over the Christmas period