Humanitarian Funding Specialist (Fixed Term)

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Humanitarian Funding Specialist

Job Family: Humanitarian Funding

Directorate/Cluster: Humanitarian

Unit/Team: International Humanitarian Action & Resilience Team (IHART)

Entry Salary: Grade E

Contract Type: Fixed Term - 31/12/2025

Location: Global Secretariat Hub in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, or AA Country Office where appropriate

Reports to (incl matrix reporting): Direct: Head of IHART/Humanitarian Director; Matrix: Business Development Manager

DBS (CRB) / Police Check: Yes

Application closing date: 25/04/2022

ROLE OVERVIEW

• Leads global humanitarian and resilience programme and project fundraising according to need, exploring and pursuing new humanitarian and resilience funding opportunities and providing strategic humanitarian funding support for a variety of humanitarian programmes and projects in different locations.

• Specifically, leads on the planning, coordination, securing and management of restricted income to enable the ActionAid federation to deliver on its humanitarian commitments and humanitarian signature by providing funding direction in line with the humanitarian and resilience commitments in ActionAid’s 2018-2028 strategy “Action for Global Justice”. This includes development of ActionAid’s humanitarian and resilience fundraising strategy, identifying new donors, managing existing donor relationships with the International Humanitarian and Resilience (IHART) team, ensuring that donor compliance requirements are met and facilitating the development of new programme designs and proposals.

• The role holder will work closely with ActionAid countries where humanitarian assistance is required, prioritizing Red & Orange Alert emergencies, protracted crisis including preparedness / Disaster Risk Reduction ( DRR) and will build links with international and regional funding leads. Further, s/he will work closely with a wide range of external and internal stakeholders to secure sustainable funding for the Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN) as well as facilitating the internal and external uptake of feminist funding policies that support shifting the power and funding to women’s and young people’s organisations and networks.

• Represents ActionAid in humanitarian funding/programme fora, working groups and other meetings in support of global, regional and national humanitarian and resilience fundraising.
• Supports countries to develop humanitarian fundraising strategies and to lead on staff and partner capacity strengthening on all aspects of humanitarian fundraising, development/adaptation/update of ActionAid’s humanitarian funding management guidelines and processes, and working closely with ActionAid countries, the humanitarian fundraising delegation, IHART team and global and regional business development colleagues.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic Impact and contribution

• Contributes to the general fundraising team development and the federation-wide fundraising community of practice with senior humanitarian fundraising expertise and experience.
• Identifies opportunities and undertakes specific follow-up actions in conjunction with ActionAid’s strategic global allies such as the Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN), ActionAid country teams and in coordination with regional country support structures in order to strengthen donor relationships as the basis for resource mobilisation.
• Works with countries, funding teams, ActionAid humanitarian partners and allies to support that innovative ideas, good practice examples, case studies etc. are used to showcase for funding opportunities.
• Supports identified countries to develop humanitarian fundraising strategies when required, in collaboration with the humanitarian fundraising delegation as appropriate. Undertake initiatives to build donor understanding of ActionAid’s approach and priorities in humanitarian engagements.

2. System, Policies and Procedures, and Product Management

• Co-ordinates and manages humanitarian partnership processes as required, ensuring effective systems are in place for knowledge management and capacity strengthening.
• Supports ActionAid’s global humanitarian partners and networks as required in humanitarian fundraising strategy, mapping, concept note and proposal development and report writing.
• Leads the development and roll out of a global humanitarian funding and engagement strategy, including supporting regional humanitarian funding strategies, in collaboration with countries, the humanitarian fundraising delegation, IHART team and global and regional business development colleagues.
• Supporting wider institutional funding team priorities such as cost recovery, the Contract Management System (CMS) and funding planning for ActionAid’s Strategic Implementation Framework 2021-2023.

• Undertake a global and regional humanitarian donor scoping exercise and mapping, building on previous work from fund raising members, to identify new potential donors who are aligned to ActionAid’s humanitarian signature (shifting power; accountability to affected communities; women’s and young people’s leadership), priorities and ways of working.

• Supports and facilitates the appraisal of new humanitarian funding opportunities using the bid and no bid decision-making tool and processes.
• Advises on humanitarian donor requirements and aspects of contract management for new humanitarian donors as required

3. Issue Resolutions, Crisis/Risk Management

• Assesses and makes recommendations on capacity needs in humanitarian fundraising and puts in place future training and other support to ensure viable and strong humanitarian programmes and responses.
• Anticipates and resolves complex risks and conflicts around donors and/or funding policies, working closely with IHART and the Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN) team colleagues and steering committee, GS and member funding/donor compliance teams as appropriate.
• Supports the capacity development of in-country and partner staff when on deployment in collaboration with other technical specialists within the ActionAid Federation.
• Work closely with countries, the humanitarian fundraising delegation, IHART team, global allies such as the Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN) and global and regional business development colleagues to maximise humanitarian resource mobilization in line with ActionAid’s Humanitarian Signature.

4. Communications, Influencing, and Coordination

• Ensures ActionAid is represented in agreed humanitarian funding/programme fora and networks, proactively building relationships with new humanitarian institutional and private donors, UN humanitarian agencies, peer INGOs/NGOs and networks,and disseminating key information and approaches to respective ActionAid teams and the Feminist Humanitarian Network (FHN) in coordination with donor leads.

• Identifies and fosters potential external and internal partnerships, coalitions, consortiums and ActionAid member engagement that may result in joint programme funding opportunities.

• Represents ActionAid externally and ensures external stakeholders are aware of ActionAid’s humanitarian signature. This will include various international forums/spaces, networks, humanitarian INGO/NGO peer groups and with current and prospective donors.
• In collaboration with IHART global advisors, specialists and delegations, encourage and support ActionAid’s thematic leads (Protection, Food Security etc.) to engage and participate in relevant sectors / clusters, and other agreed forums and meetings

• Liaises with IHART global advisors, specialists and country teams to follow-up and ensure submission of key information (e.g., 5Ws) as per sector/cluster requirements as the basis for effective participation, improved visibility, influence and recognition for ActionAid at country and global level.
• Establish contacts within prioritised donor organisations in collaboration with implementing and funding countries as the basis for relationship building and resource mobilisation, with due consideration given to the programmatic priorities in ActionAid’s response countries and alignment with ActionAid’s humanitarian signature.

• Lead the organisation and follow up of virtual / in person humanitarian engagement/launching events with key donors (i.e., to present key humanitarian research from ActionAid /local partners and networks).
• Support and input to the development of ActionAid’s humanitarian research, policy and advocacy as required and represent this externally in humanitarian fundraising engagements.
• Provide on-going research, strategic donor intelligence gathering, and trends analysis and generate information to enable a coordinated engagement with global, regional and country level humanitarian donors.
• Organises and contributes to internal, periodic humanitarian fundraising and fundraising events, webinars and meetings to share and strengthen the uptake for ActionAid’s humanitarian signature and fundraising in ActionAid.
• Establish a humanitarian fundraising network, linked to the federation wide fundraising community of practice, with representatives from each ActionAid country. Facilitate the network to share funding information, exchange ideas and support capacity development in coordination with regional and global business development teams as appropriate.

• Coordinates and prioritises humanitarian fundraising support for global Orange and Red level emergencies in coordination with the humanitarian fundraising delegation and donor leads as required.

• Works with countries to develop humanitarian concept notes and proposals, focusing on new humanitarian donor opportunities for protracted crisis at pre-alert level and Orange/Red level emergencies.
• The role holder will at times be required to support humanitarian fundraising in-country for humanitarian emergencies, particularly Red & Orange Alerts, protracted crisis and invisible emergencies, in line with ActionAid’s humanitarian standards and signature.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

1. Education and Qualifications

University degree from a recognised institution or equivalent experience.

2. Essential Experience

• Substantial experience of working with humanitarian fundraising across contexts (conflict and protracted crisis, sudden onset etc.), countries and regions, for at least 10 years, including developing fundraising strategies, consortium funding, budgeting, planning, funding- and programme cycle management, including in international NGOs.
• Demonstrable experience in securing and managing significant funds from humanitarian institutional donors, such as ECHO, OFDA, GAC, SIDA and UN agencies, as well as non-traditional donors, private sector, and other philanthropies such as foundations, lotteries and trusts. Experience in external engagements, influencing, networking and working with the wider humanitarian donor and fundraising sector.
• Self-motivated, target-driven and an entrepreneurial approach to fundraising opportunities.
• Experience of working under pressure and managing multiple tasks to tight deadlines across time zones and for a variety of internal and external audiences.
  
  

Essential Knowledge

• Experience of building capacity of individuals and teams in humanitarian fundraising, including delivery of face to face and virtual trainings.
• Significant experience of multi-donor budget development and financial management

Essential Skills

• Proven influencing and negotiating skills with a variety of actors in complex and stressful circumstance
• Excellent planning and budgeting skills, and a sound understanding of Programme Cycle Management in emergencies environments.
• Sound skills in capacity strengthening in relation to fundraising and humanitarian programme development. Highly developed interpersonal, influencing and relationship skills.
• Excellent in the use of computers and Microsoft, especially spread sheets (Excel), word processing (Word) and Power Point. Competent in the use of email and chat packages and functions.
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills, together with the capacity to remain calm under pressure and not lose sight of strategic priorities.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills in relation to fundraising and donor engagement; able to understand complex issues and translate them into simple, workable actions and plans.
• Outstanding leadership, management, and mentoring skills.
• Ability to confidently represent ActionAid federation’s humanitarian signature and work to a vast range of donors and external institutions and individuals.
• Commitment to AA’s mission, vision and values, with ability to articulate and promote a decolonial, feminist approach to humanitarian response.
• Ability to work in a federation-based, multicultural environment, engage in social justice activism/advocacy, demonstrate innovative practices and form productive working relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Commitment to women’s and young people’s leadership and feminist leadership principles, including a strong understanding of the role of local organizations and networks in humanitarian response.

• Willingness and ability to travel at short notice, mostly planned and usually for 2-3 weeks at a time, supporting ActionAid federation humanitarian responses, programmes, teams and partners on the ground.
  

Language requirements

• Fluency in written and spoken English. One or more other international languages (preferably French, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic) is desirable.