Head of Innovation

We are looking for a global leader in innovation policy and practice with a personal drive to deliver transformative change within the humanitarian system to join us as Head of Innovation at Elrha.

Elrha is a leading actor in the humanitarian system dedicated to improving outcomes by enabling and supporting research, innovation and partnership that address today’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We fund and support research and innovation projects around the world and work closely with humanitarian organisations, the international research community, the private sector and other actors engaged in research and innovation.

We are looking for an individual with a proven track record of both innovation policy and practice in a relevant field to join our team. As Head of Innovation you will bring the latest thinking on innovation to our organisation’s work and will be responsible for the development and execution of Elrha’s overarching strategy, continuing to build our global reputation as leaders in the field. You will also:

• Represent Elrha’s work on innovation in relevant global and regional policy forums, both within humanitarian system, and engaging high level external forums and stakeholder communities, particularly in research and private sector communities

• Develop strong relationships with institutional, research and private donors as a leading advisor on funding policy around humanitarian innovation

• Secure new funding for Elrha’s innovation programmes and work with Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund to develop and generate learning on high impact approaches to innovation financing and management.

• Work with the Elrha communications team to ensure regular and high profile media coverage of Elrha’s work on innovation

• Review and sign-off HIF budget forecasts and spend reports.

To be successful you will be a recognised leader in innovation with a proven track record of work in both innovation policy and practice, ideally with proven experience from within the humanitarian system. You will bring with you established global networks and contacts relevant to driving forward innovation policy in the humanitarian field. In addition you will have:

•  Established publication history in relevant policy/practice areas

• Proven ability in developing and executing organisation-wide strategy

• Demonstrated experience and understanding of working with innovation financing and grant management processes

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence a broad range of actors across multiple disciplines

• Demonstrated leadership, planning and management competencies.

We are committed to the safeguarding and protection of children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work with children are recruited to work for us. This post is subject to a range of vetting checks including a criminal records disclosure.

If you share our mission, are passionate about making it happen and strongly believe you can contribute then join us and we'll give you every opportunity to succeed. We look forward to hearing from you.

 To apply please visit our website. Please see below for the full job description:

A. Developing and executing Elrha’s Strategy on Innovation

• Accountable for the development and execution of Elrha’s overarching strategy for innovation and oversee its implementation across the organisation to ensure the organisation remains at the cutting edge of innovative practice within and beyond the humanitarian system.
• Work with the Elrha Director and Director of Operations to ensure Elrha’s business model, operating processes and legal frameworks are effective for innovation grant-making and management
• Lead on the development of new programmes within the HIF, ensuring the range and scope of HIF activities deliver on the ambition of the strategy and continue to grow the reputation of Elrha and HIF, for delivering high value/high impact innovation.
• Using input from internal stakeholders, build a coherent approach to innovation within the organisation’s current and future research programmes with an immediate focus on humanitarian public health innovation within the R2HC programme.
• Report to the Elrha Governing group on the progress and impact of Elrha’s work on Innovation.
• Develop ways to expand the reach of Elrha’s innovation work, to include new actors in the innovation ecosystem, particularly initiatives emerging from affected communities.

B. Influencing Global Policy and Practice

• Represent Elrha in relevant global and regional innovation policy forums, focusing on but not limited to the humanitarian system, particularly UN, intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder collaborative. Build a valued presence in key regional forums and in private/public sector innovation communities in order to capture and share learning and build strong strategic relationships outside of the humanitarian system.
• Developing strong relationships with institutional and private donors to be a leading advisor on funding policy around humanitarian innovation, with a particular focus to creating a supportive environment that enables promising innovations to scale-up within the system
• Lead on production of high quality policy and position papers and published outputs for Elrha on humanitarian innovation.
• Work with the Elrha communications team to ensure regular and high profile media coverage of Elrha’s work on innovation.

C. Oversight of the performance of the HIF

Accountable for the overall performance of the Humanitarian Innovation Fund, including:

• Line management of the HIF Programme Manager
• Review and sign-off of the HIF annual work-plan, and performance reports
• Review and sign-off HIF budget forecasts and spend reports.
• Supporting fundraising for the HIF programme and leading on the development of new programmatic approaches under the HIF portfolio.

To apply please visit our website here.