GISF Executive Director

Job Specification

Scale: UK 7

Line managed by: MAG Director of Programmes / GISF Steering Group

Responsible for line managing: GISF UK and US Based Teams, 4 Direct Reports

Location: Hybrid – London or Manchester and Home

GISF Vision: Aid workers and operations are safe and secure to achieve sustainable access for populations in need

GISF Mission: GISF drives positive change in security risk management (SRM) across the humanitarian sector through original research, collaboration and events.

GISF Values:

• GISF operates according to the fundamentals of the humanitarian principles, i.e. humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
• GISF takes a professional, member driven and collaborative approach to its’ work.
• GISF aims to remain relevant to its’ members and the broader sector through continuous innovation and added value.
• GISF champions inclusivity across SRM and operates in a transparent, accessible and open manner.

Job Purpose:

The Executive Director (ED) develops and leads the strategic direction of GISF, providing the guiding organisational principles, articulating the strategic areas of focus and managing the secretariat to achieve long term goals. The ED is the project manager for GISF.

The ED is responsible for supporting and guiding the GISF team based in the UK (9 staff) and US (4 staff), to achieve their objectives enabling GISF to meets its strategic goals. This includes developing, implementing and maintaining processes and systems, including budgeting, that ensure GISF operates effectively and sustainably.

The role is responsible for ensuring GISF meets the needs of members (currently 145 organisations across Europe, North America and globally) and other stakeholders and must maintain these fundamental relationships. This is done directly as well as through close liaison with the Steering Group which provides guidance and support for developing and implementing the strategic goals.

The ED is the primary point of contact for external relationship development and representing GISF in external fora. This is both to bring external expertise and ideas into the membership discussions as well as to ensure the voice of members is represented in the aid sector and that good practice for effective and inclusive SRM is promoted globally.

GISF is currently undergoing the process of transitioning to a separately registered charity. This role is responsible for overseeing this process, including options of continued hosting/sub-contracting and maintaining donor relationships.

Job Description

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

• Lead GISF’s strategic development, in accordance with objectives identified by the Steering Group (SG).
• Ensure GISF’s working culture aligns with agreed values and aims.
• Facilitate SG meetings to ensure the SG have the opportunity to develop the strategic goals for GISF as well as support the Secretariat to implement the strategic aims.

SECRETARIAT MANAGEMENT & GUIDANCE

• Manage the GISF Leadership team, working with them to allocate responsibilities, identify and resolve issues and ensure the GISF team (UK & US) has the support, resources and guidance required to meet its strategic goals.
• Manage the Business and Operations Manager to ensure that procedures are followed, and standards are met, and that systems facilitate the agreed GISF strategies and projects.
• Provide timely and relevant information to the Steering Group and team to support decision making and planning
• Proactively encourage team members to participate in GISF activities and provide opportunities for professional development.
• Lead budget management to ensure effective spending of donor grants and safe management of the membership fee contingency fund to ensure sustainability of GISF.
• Provide technical input on SRM for GISF events and research items to ensure relevance as well as to encourage original thinking and ideas.
• Directly line manage four staff: two Deputy Directors, the Business and Operations Manager and the Research Advisor.
• Lead or support recruitment for GISF staff.

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

• Facilitate opportunities for members to input their views, needs and challenges for GISF events and research as well as to understand their position for external influencing.
• Represent the needs of the members at external events and with external actors for the improvement of SRM in the aid sector.
• Work closely with the Steering Group to ensure they reflect the composition and views of the broader membership.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Oversee donor and host relations, external engagement and member satisfaction.
• Represent the needs and challenges of GISF Members at external events, for example SLT Oversight Committee, Humanitarian Networks Partnership Week, etc.
• Create relationships to influence key individuals and organisations to improve SRM in the Aid Sector, for example donors, non-security humanitarian executives, NGO coordination bodies, Academics, etc.

FUNDING

• Manage the Deputy Directors (UK & US) to develop and maintain relationships with existing and possible donors.
• Oversee preparation of donor proposals and reports, including budgets.
• Support the Deputy Directors to pursue other funding opportunities such as the Business Partnership Programme and Foundations.
• Manage the ‘Contingency Fund’ from membership fees and other unallocated funding to provide ancillary services for members and ensure the sustainability of GISF in case of loss of institutional funding.

GISF TRANSITION

• Work closely with the Board of Directors for the independent GISF charity and the current hosts, MAG and Childfund, the Business & Operations Manager, and the SG to manage the transition.
• Ensure donor rules and restrictions are managed to ensure seamless transition with the consideration of different hosting options.

All UK staff are expected to undertake the following general duties:

• Work within the framework of MAG’s core values, promoting its ethos and mission statement.
• Work towards achieving programme and/or department business plan objectives
• Ensure familiarity with and adhere to all MAG policies and procedures and keep informed of MAG activities
• Undertake and apply learning from appropriate training and development programmes.
• Travel overseas, sometimes to developing countries and areas in conflict, as and when required.
• Undertake the role in a manner appropriate to the cultural context and within the local legal framework.
• Understand and uphold the standards outlined in MAG’s Safeguarding Framework, acting with due care and attention to safeguard the wellbeing of anyone that comes into contact with MAG’s work and reporting concerns if they do arise.

This is a non-contractual document that can be varied from time to time as circumstances dictate. This job description is intended to summarise the main duties and responsibilities of the post; this is not intended to be a full and exhaustive list of tasks. Staff are expected to demonstrate flexibility and willingness to perform appropriate tasks when the need arises.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Experience

• Experience of strategic leadership, senior leadership, and thought leadership.
• Experience of all aspects of and approaches to SRM by humanitarian, development and human rights actors, including critical incident management.
• Proven experience of project management and finance management.
• Experience of public speaking and presenting to a wide range of audiences, including at a senior level.
• Experience in working with colleagues and contacts who are based off-site
• Experience of managing a team.

Essential Skills and Knowledge

• Proven negotiation, liaison, and networking skills at a senior level.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of working with NGOs or charities working in high and medium risk environments and their SRM challenges.
• Capacity to prioritise, focus and manage competing expectations within a large stakeholder group.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Able to work flexibly to support meetings outside of normal working hours – with the GISF team split between UK & US sufficient time must be allocated to support the US based team needs.
• Ability to monitor global situation and identify context and technical issues which will impact on Humanitarian SRM.
• Identify topics for GISF capacity building and awareness raising activities (roundtables, blogs, research papers, guides, forum topics, workshops, articles, etc.)

Essential Aptitude

• A flexible natural Manager who is inspiring, empowering and has the ability to lead change.
• Ability to think laterally and work with others to develop ideas for original events and research.
• Initiative and judgment need to be applied regularly to make a direct contribution to improved performance in cross-disciplinary projects.
• Ability to work diplomatically and sensitively in political environments
• Demonstrable commitment to GISF’s vision
• High levels of integrity and openness with commitment to good governance
• Strong resilience, keeping a level head, and taking a pragmatic view when faced with challenging events.
• Willingness to travel worldwide for up to 16 weeks per year – this includes short trips in Europe as well as longer trips to north America and Regional hubs.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Humanitarian Studies or related discipline or equivalent relevant work experience.

Desirable

• Experience of proposal development, with a knowledge of securing new funding streams and an understanding of donor compliance.
• Understanding of charities/NGO accountability processes.
• Prior experience in lobbying on humanitarian security issues.
• Excellent written and spoken English, and proficiency in a second language (French, Spanish, or Arabic preferred).