The team

Our team is made up of staff in the independent Start Network charity and the Start Programmes team (Start Fund) hosted by Save the Children UK.

See our Governance bodies

OUR LEADERSHIP

OUR TEAMS

Assurance

The Assurance Team helps to ensure that as an organisation we manage risk and meet regulatory requirements. We manage the due diligence process which all new members undertake, and we help identify and prevent issues in areas including fraud, data protection, health & safety or safeguarding. We also help with any contractual or legal based queries and are responsible for ensuring the organisation has relevant and adequate insurance cover.

Crisis, Anticipation and Risk Financing Team (CARF)

The CARF Team focuses on analysing the risk of crises and creates funding options for different types of humanitarian crises. This enables local NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to better forecast crises, and access timely funding to reduce the impact of those disasters on communities. Within the CARF team sits the Start Ready programme. The purpose of Start Ready is to respond to humanitarian crises in advance of the crisis hitting, by using different innovative approaches that help us act as early as possible in advance of a crisis. Start Ready will provide pre-agreed funding at scale for predictable crises–based on locally led action and using risk analysis, collective planning, and pre-positioned finances.

Communications, Advocacy and Digital Team

The role of the Communications, Advocacy and Digital Team is split in three main areas. We support Start Network Communications by raising the profile of Start Network and our initiatives through engaging content across a variety of channels. We also manage and promote the Start Network brand in a consistent manner and work closely with members to gather content and amplify Start Network’s messages across their channels. We advocate for a shift in power in resources and decision making to local and national organisations. We help build and equip a network of advocates so we can influence decisions that contribute to system-change. Lastly, we use digital technology to support greater engagement, transparency, accountability, and efficiency across Start Network.

Evidence & Learning

The Evidence & Learning Team gathers and generates evidence and facilitates learning within and across the network on all our programs and initiatives (such as Start Fund and Start Ready), to inform and influence organisational decision-making around our 5 system change keys.

Finance Team

The role of the Finance team at Start Network is to accurate record and maintain all financial transactions to prepare budgets and support budget holders, facilitate grant payments to Start Network partners and regularly produce internal management reports on our expenses to provide senior management with information and analysis on Start’s current and future predicted financial position to aid decision making.

Contact: accounts@startnetwork.org

Governance & Membership Team

The Governance and Membership Team support our members, and how they engage with and govern the network. As a membership organisation, our members are integral to our mission and change agenda. Our membership is made up of local, national, and international organisations. Apart from implementing innovative programmes through Start, members also contribute to the network through their time, leadership, and expertise, as well as by making an annual financial contribution.

Contact: membership@startnetwork.org

Innovation Team

Our team’s purpose is to support Start Network to experiment and learn from our system change journey towards becoming a locally led humanitarian sector accountable to people at risk/affected by crisis. Our work aims to create space for experimenting and involving affected people and frontline responders in the design of humanitarian solutions as well as promoting an innovation mindset across the network.

Network Development

The purpose of the Network Development Team is to incubate and grow the ‘Network of Networks’ (a network of locally led Hubs around the world) Hubs are locally led networks of local, national, and international humanitarian actors working together to develop contextualised ways of dealing with humanitarian crises. We currently have five hubs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guatemala, India, the Pacific, and Pakistan. The Network Development Team support the Hubs to develop their visions of change, design initiatives that bring their members together and help transition hubs to become independent.

Operations

The Operations team support Start Network by ensuring the smooth day to day running of the organisation. We work with teams and external providers to coordinate and implement policies and processes to support key organisational activities and functions, such as travel, legal compliance, finance, health and safety and organisational strengthening"

Contact: operations@startnetwork.org

People & Culture Team

The role of the People & Culture Team is to help create the right culture to enable organisational success, staff engagement and morale. We help to facilitate a positive working environment where staff feel valued and enabled to achieve their personal and organisational objectives. The People & Culture team also support in areas such as recruitment, learning & development, organisational development and change initiatives.

Contact: peopleandculture@startnetwork.org

Resource Mobilisation Team

The Resource Mobilisation team is responsible for raising funds to bring our programmes to life. They make sure programmes like the Start Fund and Start Ready have funds to be disbursed to our members. They also build relationships with potential donors, write proposals and budgets, negotiate potential grants and contracts, and then manage the relationship throughout the duration of the grant in order to maximise income for the organisation.

Start Funds

The role of the Start Funds team is to provide rapid humanitarian funding to crises that happen worldwide. The team focuses on small to medium unpredictable crises, such as conflicts, flash floods, etc. Start Funds emphasises on the need for early and anticipatory action (action taken in advance of a crisis) to assist affected populations and mitigate the humanitarian impact. The Start Funds Team is also supported by Start Funds Bangladesh (2017) and Start Funds Nepal (2021). By developing Start Funds in these countries, we are able to further localise funding and respond better to identified gaps in humanitarian financing at national levels.