Associate Director

Centre for Disaster Protection

Job Description – Senior Leadership Team

Associate Director (2 roles)

Background

The Centre for Disaster Protection works to prevent disasters devastating lives, by helping people, countries, and organisations change how they plan and pay for disasters. We focus on disaster risk financing to help ensure that money and plans are in place before a disaster strikes, so that the poorest and most vulnerable people are better protected. We are committed to work in partnerships across sectors and geographies to drive more impactful and more equitable disaster risk finance that leaves no one behind. Specifically, through a focus on:

1. Delivering excellent client outcomes and promoting lasting disaster risk finance expertise. We provide clients with impartial and evidence-based advice, quality assurance and training that meets their needs and drives more effective disaster risk finance.
2. Quality evidence and learning. We work to strengthen the evidence base for prearranged financing and document and share what shows the greatest potential to achieve system change.
3. Impactful communications and global policy engagement. We seek to engage and influence through evidence-led policy and inclusive policy dialogue that bridges both ‘local to global’ and the humanitarian development climate nexus, targeting the bottlenecks key to effect transformative change of the international crisis financing architecture.

Additionally, we are focused on building effective systems and processes for people and operations that support the Centre to rapidly, yet strategically, scale and grow in a way that supports our people to do their best work through safe challenge, promoting and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The role of Associate Director forms a core part of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT is comprised of the Centre’s Executive Director, the Chief Finance and Operations Officer, and a small number of Associate Directors. Associate Director roles require strong strategic leadership skills and professional integrity; a passion for problem solving and driving results; commitment to building a feedback culture; and the ability to lead and develop a talented team during a period of growth.

After 6 successful years of initial operation, the Centre is now evolving beyond its start-up phase, and into its next phase of growth and maturity. The Centre is recruiting for two Associate Director roles to join the Senior Leadership Team , reporting to the Chief Finance and Operations Officer. These leadership roles will be critical to our next stage of organisational growth as we aim to tackle the growing impact of climate change and the increasing frequency of disasters around the world.

Role responsibilities

Associate Directors – specific responsibilities

The Centre is seeking to build its team of Associate Directors to provide strategic leadership, team management and engagement across the thematic areas set out below. There are two additional roles available, and we invite applications from individuals with a strong track record across two or more of the specified thematic areas.

1. Evidence, learning and thought leadership – to be internationally recognised as driving change through applied research and evidence. Strengthening the global evidence base on pre-arranged financing and promoting the uptake of research. This includes both operational learning of direct relevance to practitioners and thought leadership to inform and support high-level change in the international crisis financing system.
2. Policy engagement – to act as a constructive positive disrupter to international policy, to improve the quality and quantity of disaster risk financing. To advance policy through joined up evidence and engagement, to act as a hub for constructive dialogue at the intersection of the humanitarian, climate and development nexus, to influence relevant big-ticket intergovernmental processes, and to influence through constructive Disaster Risk Finance ‘diplomacy’, targeting the bottlenecks key to effect transformative change of the international crisis financing architecture.
3. Partnerships – development of long-term strategic partnerships with key stakeholder organisations, including diversifying and expanding our funding.
4. Communications – to support the Centre to achieve its mission and goals through strategic internal and external communications.
5. Advice – to support the Centre’s goal of helping national governments, multilateral organisations and donors to make better risk management decisions, increasing the quantity and quality of risk financing products and services.
6. Training – to support the Centre’s goal to build the capacity of the Centre’s clients with an emphasis on knowledge exchange and genuine skills transfer.

Associate Directors – general responsibilities

As part of the SLT, Associate Directors are individually responsible for:

1. Ensuring the quality, value for money and strategic fit of the functions they lead, and contributing to this for functions for which they are not directly accountable.
2. Leading, managing and motivating Centre staff to deliver their best work and have fulfilling roles.
3. Representing the Centre externally at senior levels.
4. Building strategic external networks and partnerships to maximise the impact of the Centre’s work.
5. Leading effective stakeholder and client relationships.
6. Leading on strategic and technical inputs to Centre work planning, budgeting and evaluation activities.
7. Working collaboratively with other SLT members to drive results and collective accountability for upholding the Centre’s culture and values through role modelling.

Collective SLT responsibilities

The SLT is collectively responsible for driving the Centre forward by working with the Board to set the Centre’s vision and priorities, ensuring alignment with its mission and values.

1. Articulating the Centre’s vision and goals through organisational strategy and Theory of Change.
2. Setting out the Centre’s strategic priorities and Key Performance Indicators and assessing progress towards achieving them.
3. Overseeing the Centre’s activities to ensure they are contributing towards fulfilment of the mission and goals.
4. Building an internal culture grounded in the Centre’s values and behaviours, with a strong emphasis on mentoring, coaching and inclusion.
5. Ensuring that internal communications are proactive, open and transparent, and that feedback on senior leadership is continually sought and acted upon.
6. Oversee and provide expertise and leadership across the Centre’s functions: Advice, Training, Evidence and Learning, Policy Engagement, Communications, Partnerships, Operations, Finance, People, Reporting, and Future State.

Skills and experience

Applicants should demonstrate a strong track record across two or more of the specified thematic areas listed under the section: Associate Directors – specific responsibilities.

Person specification

Additionally, applicants should demonstrate the below:

1. A credible understanding of actors, incentives, and the institutional and policy environment of international development.
2. Significant expertise and established networks in disaster risk or climate financing or a relevant field, such as public financial management.
3. Substantial experience of delivering policy advice to decision makers on complex or technical issues.
4. Substantial experience of leading and managing teams, ensuring that people with the right range of skills and experience are recruited and retained, and that their skills and capabilities are maximised within an inclusive team culture.
5. A track record of leading teams to deliver complex programmes/functional areas, including in low- and middle-income country contexts.
6. A strong track record of developing and delivering strategy.
7. A strong track record in successful development and management of budgets to deliver on strategic priorities.
8. Demonstrable experience of representing organisations externally at senior level.
9. Demonstrable experience of managing relationships at the senior level with the types of organisations that are influential to the field (e.g., multilaterals, governments (donor or donor-recipient), key delivery organisations in disaster risk or climate financing/the humanitarian space/international development).

Specific responsibilities across the two Associate Director roles will be determined as part of the final stages of the hiring process and will depend to some degree on the profiles of the shortlisted candidates. Both roles will involve international travel, but to differing degrees. Candidates should be willing to travel to international locations and should be clear about their level of flexibility for international travel as part of the interview process.

Competencies and Behaviours

1. Impartial and Ethical: Leading by example and defining what it means to uphold impartiality, equity and fairness, ensuring that professional judgement is not compromised by bias, conflict of interest or the undue influence of others, and ensuring compliance with all relevant legal, regulatory and professional requirements.
2. Quality Delivery: Being personally invested in the Centre’s mission and reputation and ensuring the Centre’s team is capable, efficient, productive and passionately united by common goals, objectives and identity.
3. Strategic Thinking: Sees ahead to future possibilities linked to shifts in the landscape and translates them into breakthrough strategies and plans, effectively integrating long-term vision into day-to-day activities.
4. Adaptable: Leading by example in coaching and mentoring others to be nimble and adaptable to changes in stakeholder needs or environmental conditions to deliver the Centre’s mission.
5. Communicative: Delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different clients and audiences, establishing what it means to be effective in the analysis and communication of evidence, and effectively messaging across the Centre to help create a forum for people to express themselves.
6. Creative Thinking and Problem Solving: Establish what it means to be fluid and dynamic, using knowledge and expertise to constantly look for better proactive solutions and applying often complex and sometimes contradictory information to drive innovation and solve problems.
7. Empowering, respectful and people-centred: Helping others to understand what it means to embrace and value diversity, inclusion, recognising others’ humanity and treating all people with respect and dignity in order to safeguard others welfare and security and support them in bringing your whole self to work.
8. Collaborative and inclusive: Anticipates and balances internal and external stakeholder needs, establishing clear guidelines on how and when to collaborate actively, ethically and sensitively with clients and stakeholders as partners and advisers.
9. People-building and developing: Establishing high ambition for personal and professional development of teams and ensuring these are met by helping to create an enabling culture.

The offer

This role is expected to be offered on a fixed term contract basis, anticipated to start in May 2025 and continuing to June 2029, with an initial probation period of up to 4 months. The role will be contracted by DAI Global UK (or local partner/representative), who are the Centre’s managing agent.

The position is offered in the UK and applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Regular visits to the Centre’s office in the City of London will be required (UK based employees are required to be in the office a minimum of eight days per month). Flexible, part-time, and remote working arrangements will be considered.

Other locations of employment may be considered, subject to feasibility. Candidates based elsewhere who fulfil the above skills and experience and person specification criteria and have interest in the role, may contact the Centre on the enquiry e-mail below in the first instance, to enquire whether the role could be offered in their preferred location.

A competitive salary and benefits package will be offered depending on experience. The gross salary range is between £75,000 to £95,000 per annum where the role is based in the UK. The proposed salary will be confirmed at the offer stage.

The Centre is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and so we particularly encourage applications from diverse backgrounds that are typically under-represented in this sector and from citizens of countries affected by disasters.

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the USA, the UK, the EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine, and project operations worldwide. DAI tackles fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability; it works on the frontlines of global development, transforming ideas into action—action into impact. DAI is committed to shaping a more liveable world.

Application process

Interested applicants should apply via DAI’s recruitment portal , including a concise CV and a supporting statement (no more than two pages) outlining your motivation for applying and the key qualities you would bring to the role.

Any reasonable adjustment requests or questions about the role or the recruitment process should be sent to: (please do not send applications to this email address).

The deadline for receiving applications is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Monday 24^th of March.

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