Head of Network Development

About the role

Help Age International is recruiting a Head of Network Development in Nairobi (Westlands). The role leads a membership network, alliance or partnership portfolio within the international development, humanitarian or civil society sectors, with responsibility for network strategy and its delivery.

Key responsibilities

• Lead through senior managers by setting the strategic frame, agreeing accountabilities and holding others to delivery, rather than personally owning workstreams.
• Manage diverse, multi-disciplinary and geographically dispersed teams.
• Work with and support civil society networks, grassroots organisations and local partners, especially in low- and middle-income or Global South contexts.
• Apply Partner-Led Programming principles, advancing localisation and supporting transitions to locally led ways of working.
• Oversee the membership lifecycle (recruitment, accreditation, due diligence, and exit where needed) and use segmentation to engage members.
• Own institutional donor relationships, manage a funding pipeline and generate income against targets.
• Hold portfolio-level budgets, including grant budgets, forecasting, cost recovery and donor compliance.
• Lead implementation of a results framework and report progress to an executive or board-level audience.
• Embed safeguarding, equity and inclusion across teams and partnerships.

Required profile

• Degree in international development, public policy, human rights, social sciences or a related field, or equivalent professional experience; a postgraduate qualification is an asset.
• Lived experience of the Global South or significant professional experience in Global South contexts.
• Excellent spoken and written English; additional languages such as Spanish, French or Arabic are highly desirable.
• Commitment to locally led development and Partner-Led Programming.

Desirable

• Experience designing differentiated capacity sharing or strengthening offers based on member needs.
• Experience of governance processes in a membership body and convening members at regional or global level.
• Familiarity with ageing, inclusion and rights issues in Global South contexts.