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 role will support the research activities of Start Network and its programmes and initiatives.
Working within the Evidence & Learning team, the Research Officer will conduct research, interpret data and communicate findings across of a range of programmes and initiatives which support evidencing the impact and learning of Start Network activities. These could involve supporting in
the design and administration of data collection projects; as well as cleaning, processing, and
analysing primary data and literature and desk reviews. The successful applicant will require basic research skills and additional skills will be learned on the job through guidance provided by the
other members of the Evidence & Learning team.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Research
- Lead and support with undertaking research, including desk reviews, conducting landscape analyses and literature reviews using a range of materials and sources, including online platforms.
- Support with the design and implementation of data collection tools for primary data (e.g., surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews) and secondary data collection.
- Work with both qualitative and quantitative data, including interview transcription, data cleaning, processing, and analysis.
- Support key teams with research and analysis for their programme and initiative areas.
- Work with a range of staff across key initiatives to formulate and test research ideas.
- Assist with managing and supporting external consultants
- Support with Presenting Research Findings
- Develop, and co-develop, technical reports, PowerPoint presentations, and other written pieces for a range of audiences and platforms, both internally and externally.
- Create relevant graphics and visualisations to present qualitative and quantitative information.
- Present, and work alongside others to present, information to a range of key stakeholders including donors, Start Network member organisations and academics in formal and informal settings.
Information Management
- Work alongside others in the team to establish and maintain libraries of relevant information related to stakeholders and partners.
- Create tools related to information management (e.g., informed consent forms) and in obtaining consent and permissions for various research projects and products from member representatives and other key stakeholders.
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.
PERSON PROFILE
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
- Experience in research skills including literature reviews and data analysis.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint necessary, experience with standard data analysis, graphics, and presentation tools and packages preferred
- Familiar with best practices and practical application of both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
- Some experience in questionnaire and survey design and basic statistics
- Strong communication skills, including being able to communicate ideas clearly across a range of mediums and professionally to a range of stakeholders.
- Strong interpersonal skills, being able to work across the Start Network team, with members, consultants, and other stakeholders.
- Strong attention to detail
- Good organisational skills, being able to handle and manage multiple projects and datasets while working to deadlines.
- Degree in a quantitative or social science field
DESIRABLE
- Experience in social research (desirable).
- Experience using Salesforce (desirable).
- Relevant language skills, particularly in French and/or Spanish (desirable).…
KEY COMPETENCIES
Communication:
- Promote different ways to engage different audiences, working with others on how to maximise impact.
- Build trust by doing what you say you will do and admitting when you don’t know something or when you have made a mistake.
Strategic Thinking:
- Actively seeking 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:
- Actively promote collaboration by spotting and breaking down barriers to siloed working, connecting colleagues, teams and initiatives
- Build networks internally and externally by showing curiosity and learning from others.
Leadership of self and others:
- Understand own strengths and shadows and how these interrelated with others through review and reflection.
- Open and responsive to feedback
- 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:
- Seek to learn lessons and apply the learning to future work by actively asking questions, being honest, curious, and brave to abandon things that are not working.
- 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.
- 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:
- Overcome obstacles by taking initiatives to identify issues, seeking help to address them and escalating appropriately.