Head of Network Development

Requirements

Essential

• Proven strategic leadership of a membership network, alliance or partnership portfolio in the international development, humanitarian or civil society sectors, including responsibility for network strategy and its delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through senior managers - setting the strategic frame, agreeing accountabilities and holding others to delivery - rather than personally owning workstreams. Experience managing diverse, multi-disciplinary and geographically dispersed teams.
• Extensive experience working with and supporting civil society networks, grassroots organisations and local partners, particularly in low- and middle-income or Global South contexts.
• Strong knowledge of and commitment to Partner-Led Programming principles, with a proven record of advancing localisation and supporting organisational transitions to locally led ways of working.
• Experience of the membership lifecycle in a network or alliance - recruitment, accreditation, due diligence and, where necessary, exit. And of segmentation to inform how members are engaged and supported.
• Track record of income generation against a target, including named ownership of institutional donor relationships and management of a funding pipeline.
• Budget-holding experience at portfolio level, including grant budgets, forecasting, cost recovery and donor compliance.
• Experience leading the implementation of a results framework and reporting on progress against strategic targets to an executive or board-level audience.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding, equity and inclusion, and a demonstrated ability to embed these across teams and partnerships and to hold others accountable for doing so.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships with network members, donors, civil society organisations and institutional actors, and to navigate disagreement between them.
• Lived experience of the Global South or significant professional experience working in Global South contexts.

Desirable

• Experience designing and delivering a differentiated capacity sharing or capacity strengthening offer across a diverse membership, informed by member-identified need rather than a single global package.
• Experience of governance processes in a membership body - preparing submissions for a governance committee or board on membership, accreditation or appointments.
• Experience convening members at regional or global level, including designing convenings for genuine exchange rather than presentation.
• Familiarity with ageing, inclusion and rights issues in Global South contextsEducation and Qualification

Education and Qualifications

• Degree in international development, public policy, human rights, social sciences, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• A postgraduate qualification is an asset but not essential where practical experience is strong.

Values, Skills, and Ways of Working

• Ability to work across cultures, sectors, and geographies in inclusive and equitable ways.
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written); additional languages used in the Global South (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic) are highly desirable.
• Deep commitment to locally led development and the principles of Partner-Led Programming.
• We actively value and encourage candidates with lived experience of inequality, marginalisation, or systemic exclusion—especially related to age, gender, disability, displacement, or economic injustice.

Essential

• Proven strategic leadership of a membership network, alliance or partnership portfolio in the international development, humanitarian or civil society sectors, including responsibility for network strategy and its delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through senior managers - setting the strategic frame, agreeing accountabilities and holding others to delivery - rather than personally owning workstreams. Experience managing diverse, multi-disciplinary and geographically dispersed teams.
• Extensive experience working with and supporting civil society networks, grassroots organisations and local partners, particularly in low- and middle-income or Global South contexts.
• Strong knowledge of and commitment to Partner-Led Programming principles, with a proven record of advancing localisation and supporting organisational transitions to locally led ways of working.
• Experience of the membership lifecycle in a network or alliance - recruitment, accreditation, due diligence and, where necessary, exit. And of segmentation to inform how members are engaged and supported.
• Track record of income generation against a target, including named ownership of institutional donor relationships and management of a funding pipeline.
• Budget-holding experience at portfolio level, including grant budgets, forecasting, cost recovery and donor compliance.
• Experience leading the implementation of a results framework and reporting on progress against strategic targets to an executive or board-level audience.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding, equity and inclusion, and a demonstrated ability to embed these across teams and partnerships and to hold others accountable for doing so.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships with network members, donors, civil society organisations and institutional actors, and to navigate disagreement between them.
• Lived experience of the Global South or significant professional experience working in Global South contexts.

Desirable

• Experience designing and delivering a differentiated capacity sharing or capacity strengthening offer across a diverse membership, informed by member-identified need rather than a single global package.
• Experience of governance processes in a membership body - preparing submissions for a governance committee or board on membership, accreditation or appointments.
• Experience convening members at regional or global level, including designing convenings for genuine exchange rather than presentation.
• Familiarity with ageing, inclusion and rights issues in Global South contextsEducation and Qualification

Education and Qualifications

• Degree in international development, public policy, human rights, social sciences, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• A postgraduate qualification is an asset but not essential where practical experience is strong.

Values, Skills, and Ways of Working

• Ability to work across cultures, sectors, and geographies in inclusive and equitable ways.
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written); additional languages used in the Global South (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic) are highly desirable.
• Deep commitment to locally led development and the principles of Partner-Led Programming.
• We actively value and encourage candidates with lived experience of inequality, marginalisation, or systemic exclusion—especially related to age, gender, disability, displacement, or economic injustice.