START NETWORK

Start Network is 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.

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 achieve this vision by making systemic-level shifts in the way humanitarian assistance is approached and delivered by:

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 have grown and diversified our membership over the past 10 years and 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 predominantly 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, membership, programming, and decision making to the hubs, while the central team transitions to become a service provider.

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

What is Start Ready? Start Ready is one of Start Network’s newest financing mechanisms. It provides communities with protection from climate-related risks. It is helping to powerfully shift the way that Start Network members are working, from responding to crises, to protecting communities ahead of their onset.

How does it work? Start Ready prepositions funds for crises that happen with predictable patterns of recurrence. Start Network members in-country build disaster risk financing (DRF) systems. DRF systems require a risk model to forecast risks, and contingency plans which outline what actions members will take once a hazard threshold is met. Once a DRF system has been built, Start Network members can then apply to receive funding from Start Ready for a period of 12 months. During this period, if a risk threshold is met, Start Ready funds are released rapidly to enable members to implement anticipatory, and early response, activities. More information is available on Start Ready on our website. Start Ready sits alongside Start Fund.

JOB PURPOSE

This role is responsible for supporting the Start Ready Manager and Start Ready Advisor in the day to day running of Start Ready. With Start Ready in its third year of operation and growing at a fast past, the Start Ready Officer will provide vital support to help to improve and administer the growing operational and strategic aspects of Start Ready. The position will work to ensure the global mechanism is fit for purpose and will work closely with in-country teams to ensure development of disaster risk financing systems align and are suitable to Start Ready. The Start Ready Officer will work closely with the wider Crisis Anticipation and Risk Finance (CARF) team and various internal departments within Start Network.