Digital Delivery Lead

The Vacancy

• Location - London or Kenya
• Salary -  £50,919 - £52,259 per annum if UK based. (Competitive Birches rated salary for the local market if based outside of the UK)
• Team - Digital Team within People Operations and Assurance Directorate
• Hours - Full time, 35 hours/week
• Contract - FTC (2 years)

JOB PURPOSE

Start Network is delivering an ambitious digital transformation strategy that will fundamentally change the way the network anticipates crises, makes decisions, manages risk, and supports locally led action. Working under the strategic direction of the Head of Digital and Operations, the Digital Delivery Lead is responsible for translating Start Network's digital strategy into successful delivery. The role owns the planning, coordination, implementation and adoption of digital products, platforms and transformation initiatives, ensuring strategic priorities are delivered on time, within budget and to agreed quality standards. The postholder acts as the bridge between strategy and execution, turning organisational objectives into practical delivery plans and measurable outcomes.

The post holder plays a hands-on leadership role across cross-functional teams, suppliers, and partners—embedding user-centred design, agile delivery practices, strong risk management, and high technical standards. They support the organisation to build digital capability, strengthen digital culture, and ensure that digital systems enable speed, scale, and accountability in locally led humanitarian action.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

DELIVERY LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

• Lead delivery of the digital, product and innovation roadmap agreed by the Head of Digital and Operations, translating strategic priorities into delivery plans, milestones, resource requirements and measurable outcomes.
• Support digital governance and portfolio prioritisation processes, providing delivery insights, performance data and recommendations to inform investment and prioritisation decisions.
• Lead organisation-wide digital transformation initiatives, ensuring the successful adoption of new technologies, systems, ways of working and digital capabilities across Start Network, ensuring alignment between digital delivery teams, operations, programme operations, and organisational strengthening
• Identify opportunities to improve organisational effectiveness, collaboration and member experience through digital solutions.
• Lead end-to end  delivery of digital products and system enhancements.
• Deliver the organisation's AI and innovation roadmap, supporting the responsible adoption of emerging technologies within governance frameworks, policies and risk appetite established by the Head of Digital and Operations
• Ensure delivery teams, suppliers and stakeholders are aligned around agreed strategic objectives.

DIGITAL PLATFORM AND PRODUCT DELIVERY

• In liasion with the Head of Digital and Operations, owning the vision for our digital platforms including setting priorities for future development,  gathering user feedback and improving products
• Work in partnership with Communications colleagues to ensure organisational digital platforms effectively support audience engagement, campaigns and storytelling objectives
• Manage day-to-day development, iterations, integration, and optimisation of Start Network’s digital platforms.
• Lead backlog management, sprint planning, UAT, release cycles, and performance monitoring.
• Ensure digital products are user-centred, accessible, and adapted to the needs of members, hubs, and internal teams.
• Manage the operational performance of digital suppliers and technology partners, ensuring delivery against agreed contracts, service levels and project outcomes, while escalating strategic supplier or investment decisions to the Head of Digital and Operations.
• Collaborate with internal teams to identify, scope, prioritise, and deliver digital projects that support organisational needs and opportunities.
• Manage relationships with developer agencies and ensure value for money in maintenance, retainers, and project work.
• Lead project teams to deliver projects on time and within budget.
• Support the development and integration of internal systems—including Salesforce, data management tools, and digital communications platforms.
• Build strong relationships across the organisation, understanding staff needs and advising on emerging digital opportunities.

DATA INSIGHTS

• Implement data elements in line with organisational data governance standards
• Oversee delivery of dashboards, analytics tools, and data pipelines, ensuring digital solutions reliably support decision‑making across the network and align with agreed data standards and governance.
• Integrate ethical AI, automation, and data driven capabilities under the guidance of their line manager

INNOVATION

• Responsible for horizon scanning and researching emerging technologies. 
• Test new ideas and pilots, identifying opportunities for digital innovation across the organisation
• Represent Start Network externally, sharing learning and positioning the organisation as a leader in humanitarian digital innovation

CYBERSECURITY

• Implement technical security controls and privacy‑by‑design measures within digital platforms and projects, in line with organisational data protection and governance requirements.
• Coordinate cyber security assessments, vendor security due diligence, and digital incident preparedness, working with assurance and data leads as required.
• Ensure digital solutions meet Start Network’s standards for trust, safety, and responsible use of technology, embedding these principles into system design and delivery

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT & COMMUNICATION

• Develop strategic partnerships with technology organisations, innovation networks and academia to support digital innovation
• Provide expert advice to colleagues and senior leadership on digital delivery, product development, implementation options and user adoption, being the key liaison between technical teams, suppliers, internal teams, and hubs.
• Provide clear communication of delivery progress, blockers, risks, and achievements.
• Support organisation‑wide digital literacy and adoption initiatives.
• Support organisation‑wide initiatives to build digital literacy, confidence, and adoption.

DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT & CULTURE

• Build a strong digital culture by designing and delivering digital focused training and capability building for staff.
• Lead the rollout and scaling of digital communication tools to hubs and internal teams.

LINE MANAGEMENT

• Lead, motivate and develop the Digital Team, setting direction, priorities and standards for digital delivery across the organisation.
• Build organisational digital capability through coaching, mentoring and leadership of cross-functional teams.
• Carry out effective line management of a team, including recruiting and training direct reports and have an active role in building an inclusive team culture in line with our values.
• Monitor performance and ensure key performance indicators and targets are met or exceeded
• Recognise good performance appropriately and address poor performance effectively.
• Support direct reports to line manage and lead their teams
• Support talent management across all teams, including through succession planning and identification of skills gaps
• Support the professional development and growth of direct reports and other members of the team

START NETWORK CULTURE

• Carry out the responsibilities of the role in line with the Start Network Code of Conduct and with a commitment to safeguarding adults and children
• Commit to Start Network’s 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.

PERSON PROFILE

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

• Significant experience delivering digital projects or products end-to-end
• Solid project lead and delivery management skills, with a track record of delivering on time and to scope
• Ability to work across technical, operational, and business teams to drive delivery
• Experience managing digital products, platforms and technology suppliers.
• Experience working with cybersecurity, digital governance and risk management.
• Strong experience managing stakeholders, including internal teams, suppliers, and partners
• Experience supporting digital adoption, including user engagement, training, or rollout
• Experience working with digital systems and platforms, with an understanding of user-centred design and continuous improvement

DESIRABLE

• Experience leading organisation-wide digital transformation programmes.
• Experience developing digital strategy and roadmaps.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary digital teams.
• Advice and influence senior leaders on technology and investment decisions.
• Experience of Salesforce platform and management
• Understanding of databases and CRMs

• Experience of working in International / NGO / networked environments and complex stakeholder ecosystems
• Experience working with agile or product delivery approaches (e.g. backlog management, sprint planning, release cycles)
• Experience using data, dashboards, or analytics tools to inform decisions and improve performance
• Awareness of digital security, privacy-by-design, and governance considerations

• Awareness of emerging technologies such as AI, automation, or data-enabled solutions

The Company

Start Network is made up of more than 90 non-governmental organisations across five continents, ranging from large international organisations to local and national NGOs. Our programmes allow members to deliver humanitarian action around the world.

Our mission is to create a new era of humanitarian action that will save even more lives. We aren’t driven by media headlines or political will, we’re here for the communities affected by and at risk of crises.

We are an organisation committed to doing things differently. For some roles, we need more technical humanitarian expertise, but for other roles, we are looking for relevant transferable skills, the right attitude, and a passion to bring change.