Job Description

(total positions: 1, posted on: October 22, 2026)

 Note: This ToR is tentative and subject to change. The final ToR will be shared with shortlisted candidates before the interview.

Acted Pakistan as Host Agency:

Founded in 1994, Acted is a non-governmental organization with headquarters in Paris, France. Independent, private and not-for-profit, Acted respects principles of strict neutrality and impartiality in its decisions, and operates according to non-discrimination and transparency principles. Acted endeavors to respond to humanitarian crises and build resilience; promote inclusive and sustainable growth; construct effective governance and support the building of civil society worldwide by investing in people and their potential.

 

In Pakistan, Acted has been active since 1993 and has provided assistance across all provinces to an estimated 6.9 million people. The assistance has included emergency response to meet the immediate and live-saving needs of natural disaster and complex emergency affected households, as well as recovery and development support in the form of education and livelihoods promotion and assistance.

ROLE PURPOSE:

Ready Pakistan is a locally driven collective of NGOs, civil society groups, and international responders operating in Pakistan. These hubs control their own resources, design localized responses to crises; and share a mission with Start Network to transform the global humanitarian system. Ready Pakistan is hosted and managed by Acted Pakistan as hosting agency and run by a Secretariat with strategic support and oversight from the hub national Steering Committee.

The Hub Lead has the overall responsibility of national operations in Pakistan. The position needs to ensure that the governance and programmes are integrated within the hub structure; and the Hub is operational and positioned to grow to scale. The position will oversee the evolution of this Hub to a more independent, nationally owned mechanism, and take initiatives to diversify its programmes, and mobilise resources to make the hub financially sustainable. The post holder will provide leadership to the Ready Pakistan team to amplify its work to effectively service the member agencies, while effectively collaborating with relevant stakeholders to change the humanitarian system. The position will closely work with the hub leaderships to manage the relationships among the related entities i.e., Acted, hub members, the different hub governance committees and the Start Network; while being responsible to ensure that Acted and Start Network provide quality support to the hub.

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 150 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.

START NETWORK SOLUTIONS

DECENTRALISING & 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, please visit website.

START NETWORK 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.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Country Director, Acted Pakistan (host agency) for line management; Hub Chair/co-Chair and Hub Executive/Steering Committee for strategic programme direction.

Staff reporting to this post:  the Ready Pakistan Hub Secretariat team

Budget Responsibilities:

·        Overall accountable for managing the total funding that is accessed by the Hub (that are disbursed through hosting agencies, and programme implementing agencies).

·        Working closely with the Country Finance Manager, Acted Pakistan, to manage the Hub\\\\\\\'s annual operational budget.

Role Dimensions: Based in the Acted Pakistan office, Islamabad, with frequent visits to programmes and members and in-person participation in workshops and assemblies. All travel is subject to Acted security procedures and applicable government NOC requirements.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Accountable to:

·        The Hub Executive Committee/Programme sub-Committee for strategic and programmatic direction, and to the Start Network Partnership Adviser/Hub Support Team for technical assurance. This is a governance and technical accountability relationship, not a line-management relationship, and does not substitute for a named employer with HR authority.

·        Strategic oversight: the Chair/co-Chair of the Hub Executive Committee provides strategic direction-setting and holds the post holder accountable for delivery against the Hub\'s strategy and Business Case.

 ·        Employment and HR line management: the post holder reports directly to the Country Director of Acted Pakistan. Acted, as hosting agency, is the legal employer of record and holds full HR authority for contracting, appraisal, disciplinary action, grievance and termination.

 ·        People Management

 ·        Effectively manage the Ready Pakistan Hub Secretariat team.

 ·        As a people manager, the post-holder is responsible for managing employees and resources to achieve specific short and long term functional or organisational goals with integrity. 

 ·        The post-holder will ensure team members have performance and professional development goals, that correspond with hub’s objectives, and are well managed and monitored, ensuring results are delivered on time, within budget and to the expected quality.

 ·        Work closely with the Start Network Directorate of Network and Funds to deliver on the Hub’s vision and objectives set out in the Hub’s strategy/Business Case.

 Programme Management

 ·        Lead the development of programme strategies in Pakistan, in consultation with members and aligning with the strategy of Start Network.

 ·        Support the evolution of Ready Pakistan programmes and Governance through championing experimental, innovating approaches to act on learning and recommendations to its processes i.e. Hubs’ development, crisis anticipation and risk financing, Start Financing Facilities and collective innovations.

 ·        Proactively drive efforts to use evidence and learning from Ready Pakistan programmes to influence other (institutional) donors in Pakistan.

 ·        Seek buy-in for the Strategy from the General Committee, Executive Committee, the Start Network Board, the Start Fund Committee and Members’ Assembly as and when appropriate.

 ·        Maintain sufficient working familiarity with anticipatory action and risk financing concepts relevant to the Hub (such as pre-agreed triggers and forecast-based financing) to engage credibly with technical specialists and Start Network\\\\\\\'s risk financing facilities, and ensure Hub decision-making bodies are supported to use them, drawing on technical expertise from Start Network or dedicated advisers as needed.

 ·        Identify and pursue climate and adaptation finance opportunities (e.g. national climate funds, adaptation and loss-and-damage windows) as a distinct resource stream from humanitarian donor funding.

 ·        Responsible for supporting incident management, related to Ready Pakistan.

 Ready Pakistan Hub development & management 

 ·        Working closely with Ready Pakistan Executive Committee and Hub Development Working Group to support the hub’s development (of infrastructure, governance and programmes) and transition to Maturity and Interdependence.

 ·        Support the Start Network’s Network Development team, Membership Engagement team and relevant team members (e.g., Hub Coordinator) in the management of the transition process following the Hub Development Journey 2.0 framework.

 Programme Leadership

 ·        Oversee the Ready Pakistan programme streams in Pakistan.

 ·        Work closely with Hub Members to establish an effectively run governance process for Ready Pakistan and diversify its membership base.

 ·        Work closely with Ready Pakistan Executive Committee representatives to facilitate the Committee’s strategic oversight of the programmes and members, and its link to the Start Network governance.

 ·        Work closely with the Start Network [Relevant Start Network teams and governance Committees] to make sure Ready Pakistan programme is effectively integrated and aligned with the global function.

 ·        Establish the relevant links with other humanitarian actors in Pakistan in a way that enables Ready Pakistan programmes to draw on and include existing evidence and quality measures into the operation and evolution of Ready Pakistan.

 ·        Provide support to the Start Network staff members (of SN programmes and teams supporting the hub in its development journey including programmes and operations.

 ·        Ensure proper technical cover, and sign off, is available for Ready Pakistan team decisions when decision-making delegated by Ready Pakistan Committee.

 ·        Lead on donor prospecting and donor relations with support from Programme Funding Manager, ensuring the fund is appropriately resourced, donors and associated awards are appropriately managed, and fundraising initiatives informed and supported.

 ·        Serve as focal point with current Ready Pakistan donors, with responsibility for MoU compliance.

 ·        Ensure the Hub meets institutional donor compliance and due diligence requirements (including ECHO, FCDO, BHA and equivalent), maintains audit readiness, and understands direct-recipient obligations in preparation for the Hub\\\\\\\'s transition to independent prime status.

 ·        Lead design of a diversified, sustainable business model for the Hub, including cost recovery on managed funds, member contributions, unrestricted income and a reserves policy, distinct from donor-facing fundraising.

 ·        Support, in coordination with Acted, the Hub\\\\\\\'s compliance with Pakistan\\\\\\\'s registration, foreign contribution and government clearance requirements; all formal engagement with government regulatory authorities will be led by Acted as hosting agency.

 Ready Pakistan Hub learning and knowledge management

 ·        Oversee the development of learning mechanisms that evidence the outcomes and impact of Ready Pakistan at the project, crisis, process and system level.

 ·        Provide strategic guidance and support to MEAL Coordinator/Officer/Adviser in knowledge management, impact analysis and evidence generation.

 ·        Proactively drive efforts to use evidence and learning from Ready Pakistan programmes to influence key stakeholders in Pakistan i.e. donors, government, humanitarian actors.

 ·        Ensure that Ready Pakistan programmes and governance feeds into the overall portfolio learning.

 ·        Oversee compilation of the Pakistan contribution to the Start Network annual report.

 ·        Oversee the commissioning of agreed \\\\\\\'spot check\\\\\\\' audits and due diligence mapping of Hub-led and member programmes through an independent function that reports directly to the Hub Executive Committee and the Start Network Partnership Adviser, insulated from the operational and budget-holding responsibilities of the Hub Secretariat, so that the post holder is not auditing funding decisions they are also accountable for.

 Ready Pakistan Hub representation and profiling

 ·        Represent Ready Pakistan at national and international meetings (incl. government, NDMA/PDMAs, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and other humanitarian stakeholders), with government-facing engagement coordinated with Acted.

 ·        Active engagement with the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF), National Humanitarian Network (NHN) and relevant technical/working groups at national level.

 ·        Represent the hub at different Start Network meetings, workshops and Assembly, as and when required, with approval from the Hub leadership.

 ·        Establish robust relationships with Start Network’s different teams/streams of work to ensure opportunities and innovations from Ready Pakistan can be taken to scale through other hubs and Start Network programmes.

 ·        Establish and maintain both way communication with multiple implementing entities i.e. the Host agencies, member agencies, Executive Committee, and the Start Network Platform.

 ·        Establish and maintain both way communication with donors (and their country offices) funding the different workstreams.

 Ready Pakistan Partnership and Networking 

 ·        Broker partnership among multiple entities and external stakeholders to evolve the mechanism towards a network of networks.

 ·        Inspire and motivate members to be ambitious in driving system change initiatives collectively while actively managing expectations.

 ·        Support the Hub Secretariat team members to systematise organisational system strengthening initiatives, generate ideas and take partnership behaviour change initiatives with and among members.

 Ready Pakistan Communication and Advocacy

 ·        Work closely with Start Network Head of External Affairs and Advocacy to review and roll out communication strategy.

 ·        Work with the Hub members in identifying advocacy issues, design advocacy strategy and facilitate advocacy initiatives across the full Hub membership, keeping advocacy humanitarian and policy-focused, non-political, and in line with Acted\\\\\\\'s policies and Pakistan\'s regulatory framework.

 ·        Participate and/or support hub members to participate in different national, regional and international forums to share evidence and impacts and to build opinions.

 Organisational Systems Strengthening

 ·        Work with selected local NGO members to facilitate the co-creation of their organisational system strengthening plan.

 ·        Design and execute investment systematically to equip them with the tools and resources required, alongside mentoring and coaching.

 Ready Pakistan Hosting agency 

 ·        Work closely with the hosting agency, Acted Pakistan, and its relevant staff members to ensure compliance requirements are met, and aligned with Start Network requirements.

 ·        Accountable for managing a healthy working environment and relationship between Ready Pakistan Secretariat and the different relevant teams/units of Host agency that are responsible to provide services to the Hub’s Secretariat and its operations.

 ·        Support Host agency to identify and manage risks following an agreed Risk Matrix.

 ·        Organise annual Health Check engaging team members from Start Fund and Host agency.

 ·        Consult with relevant line manager(s) as and when required for strategic direction and trouble shooting.

 Budget

 ·        Overall accountable for managing Ready Pakistan programme funding (that are disbursed through hosting agencies), and programming.

 ·        Working closely with the Country Finance Manager, Acted Pakistan, to manage the Hub\'s annual operational budget.

 Legal, Regulatory, Safety and Data Governance

 ·        Maintain working knowledge of sanctions, counter-terrorism financing rules and principled negotiation requirements relevant to the operating context, and ensure Hub-disbursed funds are screened in line with Acted\'s screening and compliance procedures.

 ·        Ensure Hub and member data-handling practices meet an appropriate data protection standard, given the beneficiary and staff data held across multiple member systems.

 ·        Ensure staff safety, security risk management and duty of care across the Hub Secretariat and supported programmes in line with Acted\\\\\\\'s security management framework, with a defined incident classification and response protocol distinguishing security, safeguarding and fraud incidents.

 ·        Contribute, in coordination with Acted and Start Network, to the Hub\\\\\\\'s transition milestones under the Hub Development Journey framework toward independent legal entity status (including incorporation and Board formation); any transfer of staff or assets will be subject to Acted and donor approval, with this role re-evaluated at the point of Maturity.

 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 all adults at risk and children, and to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) by staff, partners and representatives of the Hub.

 ·        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.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

 

 We Put People First: Puts crisis-affected communities and Hub members at the centre of decisions; tests programme and governance choices against whether they shift power and resources closer to the front line.

 

We Are Brave: Sets an ambitious agenda for the Hub\'s independence and sustainability, takes calculated risks on new financing and partnership models, and is honest with the Hub Executive Committee when something is not working.

 

We Operate Collectively: Builds trust-based relationships across Hub members, the hosting agency, Start Network and external stakeholders; shares risk, resources and credit rather than concentrating them.

 

We Are Inclusive: Actively works to diversify the Hub\'s membership base and governance beyond its founding organisations, and removes barriers that keep smaller or newer members from being heard.

 

We Are Open: Works transparently on Hub finances and decision-making, including with members who are also being audited or assessed, and surfaces conflicts of interest rather than managing around them.

 

We Are Ethical: acts on anti-racist, non-discriminatory and anti-colonial principles in practice — including in how the Hub Lead\'s own role, pay and authority relative to member organisations are set.

 

 EXPERIENCE:

 

 EssentiaL

 

 Working Experience: At least 10 years\' experience in strategy, planning and implementation in the humanitarian or international development sector, including direct experience of locally led or localisation-focused programming.

 

·        Significant experience in managing large and complex programmes involving multiple stakeholders.

 

·        Demonstrable accountability for programme and grant funding at a scale proportionate to the Hub\'s actual disbursed portfolio (to be confirmed against the Hub\'s current budget), rather than a fixed threshold set independently of the Hub\'s size.

 

 Technical Skills:

 

·        Strong understanding of the localisation agenda and the specific national/local civil society context in Pakistan.

 

·        Experience of process design and process planning leading to improvements in efficiency and value-for-money.

 

·        Demonstrable ability in resource mobilisation and in award and financial management.

 

·        Proven ability to drive a strategic agenda. Influence stakeholders to address difficult or complex issues by listening to diverse perspectives, finding common ground and avoiding criticism or complaint.

 

·        Good understanding and experience of interagency collaboration and partnerships. Extend trust-building in others by giving them opportunities to lead, the chance to share their perspective and safe space to discuss lessons learn.

 

·        Generate and support implementation of ideas that have impact at organisational, network and/or humanitarian systems-level by promoting these ideas to relevant internal and external stakeholders.

 

·        Enable the network to develop in a way that embraces diversity and creates space for local and national agencies to gain power by driving the vision, mission and purpose and defending it against those who do not support it

 

·        Create and promote a learning culture, authentically sharing own learning and supporting others to do the same at organisational, team and network level.

 

·        Set strategic direction and provides clarity of vision, purpose and culture, enabling space for the team, members, Hubs and other stakeholders to shape the journey.

 

·        Working understanding of PSEAH and safeguarding standards (IASC Six Core Principles, CHS Commitment 8) and demonstrated ability to lead a safeguarding culture across a network of member agencies, not only within a single organisation.

 

·        Familiarity with institutional donor compliance requirements (ECHO, FCDO, BHA or equivalent) and with anticipatory action, risk financing or climate finance mechanisms.

 

 

 

Personal Skills:

 

·        A confident communicator and networker with excellent networking and relationship-building skills, and the confidence to work with people at all levels of seniority and from different backgrounds.

 

·        Ability to multi-task, to prioritise work and manage competing demands across time zones.

 

·        An effective leader who can enthuse the team and take the initiative working independently.

 

·        Being open –practicing humility, embracing new ideas, being approachable and positive about change.

 

·        Being brave –challenging ideas and practices where they do not work, not afraid to be wrong and accept constructive feedback, taking calculated risks.

 

·        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.

 

·        Coach others across the member organisations through formal and informal channels, actively developing talent.

 

·        Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Urdu; knowledge of a regional language of Pakistan is an advantage.

 

 

 

DesirablE

 

·        Experience in start-up organisations, or in the incorporation and governance set-up of a newly independent legal entity.

 

·        A teamworker respectful to different culture, ethnicity and religion; non-discriminatory and gender sensitive.

 

·        Additional job responsibilities

 

·        The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience. This ToR is tentative and may change; the final ToR will be shared with shortlisted candidates before the interview.

 

Accountability:

 

All Acted team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field projects.

 

PSEAH Obligation:

 

• ACTED has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH) and strives to recruit those who share our values.
• All candidates will be subject to a pre-employment check that includes satisfactory references, screening, and criminal checks in line with legal requirements.
• All candidates who have been offered a position will sign and respect ACTED’s Code of Conduct and related policies as part of their work contract. All staff are expected to abide by the standards of behaviour outlined in those documents.
• Managers will have a special responsibility to foster a safe environment.
• Misconduct can lead to serious disciplinary sanctions.

 

For the purposes hereof, the following definitions shall be used:

 

Sexual exploitation: means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially, or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.

 

Sexual abuse: means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

 

Note: “ACTED is an equal opportunity employer. Females, minorities, and candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Final selection will be based on the security clearance of the candidate. Only shortlisted candidates will be called for the next step of the recruitment.”

 

 

Required Skills

Partnerships Skills,Leadership Development,Communication Skills,Human Capital,Coordination Skillss,Program Management Skills,External Business Development,External Liaison