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

The Strategic and Commercial Partnerships Senior Manager is an exciting new role within Start Network. It will hold responsibility for creating a new function, co-creating a new strategy and growing a small team to drive (non-financial) strategic partnerships for the organisation. It will also explore the possibility of establishing a commercial partnerships function with the Business Development Director.

This role will lead one of our most exciting new areas of work. They will help Start Network manage current strategic partners (such as ARC who we partner with for insurance in Africa), but also establish connections with new potential partners globally (particularly in the areas of system change, digital, humanitarian insurance, AI, etc). These new partners will maximise the impact of our work, enhance our ability to influence system change or simply engage in the exchange of knowledge around our innovation ambition. The candidate will first build a clear understanding of all our strategic partnerships across the organisation; find ways with Heads/Managers of teams to maximise them (focusing on strategic impact and effective collaboration); and finally implement a plan to scope further partners globally in line with Start Network’s strategy and gaps. Our hope is that after 12 months we will have set up a new function which will nurture and maximise current strategic partners for the benefit of system change globally, as well as having a clear understanding of gaps for future partnerships. This role will then continue to look for new, high impact relationships globally that can support the internal operations of the organisation and our members and hubs and advance our strategic aims. Beyond this, they will have explored potential commercial partnerships for Start Network in the short to medium term.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record of developing and managing successful partnerships globally, a strategic mindset, and the ability to think creatively to identify new opportunities. Further, it will require commercial experience, understanding of building social enterprises / building for-profit arms of charities.