Centre for Disaster Protection - Strategic Partnerships Lead / Future Funding

Background to the Centre

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:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Centre is funded with UK aid through the UK government. Read more about us in our updated strategy (2022-2025) and find out more at www.disasterprotection.org.

About The Role

As the Centre enters its next strategic phase, we are increasing our focus on long-term financial sustainability and diversified funding. The Strategic Partnerships Lead will help shape and implement our approach to funding strategy, building on work undertaken in 2024 to explore different models and opportunities for future resourcing. We are seeking to engage a fundraising and partnerships professionals and, or organisations with a proven track record in supporting organisations such as the Centre to lead this work over a fixed term of 9 months (July 2025 – end-March 2026, with the potential to extend beyond this) on a part-time or full-time basis. With the flexibility of offering the position as an employment contract in the UK or consultancy, depending on the contracting location and commitment to the position.

Approach & Responsibilities

For this programme of work, the Strategic Partnerships Lead will report to the Associate Director – Strategic Partnerships and will lead on implementation of funding strategy, including funding engagement. The role holder will work closely with the Strategic Partnerships and Communications team, and other programmes of work, including the team responsible for the Centre’s organisational transformation. It is expected that the Lead will also engage across all of the Centre’s functions to leverage their skills and expertise in the successful delivery of the role. Specific deliverables and activities will be determined upon appointment, in consultation with the Senior Leadership Team, and partly depending on their skills and experience, and will include;

• Leading the implementation of a funding strategy;
• And leading of funding engagements.

The Centre team is based in London, and the Strategic Partnerships Lead will be expected to join key meetings in-person at the Centre office. They are expected to cover any travel costs to and from London.

Expected deliverables and timelines

The following indicative deliverables and timelines are provided for the assignment: It is expected that this will be fixed term full-time or part-time, to be delivered between July 2025 and end-March 2026, with the potential to extend. The below table shows an overview of activities and deliverables with an indicative timeline. Final timelines and deliverables will be finalised between the Strategic Partnerships Lead and the Centre’s Senior Leadership Team.

Competencies

We are seeking a professional with the following skills and experience:

• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering funding strategies for non-profit, multilateral, or international development organisations;
• Strong track record in donor engagement, including familiarity with major donors in any of climate, humanitarian, and development sectors.
• Experience in board-level and senior/political relationship and stakeholder management;
• Excellent strategic thinking and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex work into compelling narratives;
• Experience working with or within public sector, philanthropic or multilateral institutions. A strong personal network across these sectors would be advantageous;
• Knowledge of disaster risk financing or adjacent fields (climate, humanitarian response, resilience) is desirable;
• Ability to both initiate work and deliver independently, and engage collaboratively across teams;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong programme design and delivery skills.

Application

We invite applications from individuals and organisations with the specified required skills and experience. To submit an application, please share your CV and a one page cover letter detailing how your skills and experience equip you for success in leading this activity as well as if can commit to the position full-time or part-time on a consultancy or employment contract. Applications should be submitted to through DAI’s recruitment portal by the 29 th of June at 23:59pm.

Fee Rates and Payments

Remuneration will be based on individual experience and skills while, as the Centre is a UK aid-funded project, all rates for consultants and staff are subject to controls. The position is fixed term for 9 months from July 2025 (with the potential to extend beyond this) on a part-time or full-time basis. With the flexibility of offering the position as employment contract in the UK or consultancy, depending on the contracting location and commitment to the position. Payment Consultant fees will be payable on actual usage of days evidenced by timesheets, subject to completion and approval of key deliverables due at the invoicing point. Any expenses will be paid on actual costs (against receipts) using an agreed invoice and timesheet template. Negotiation and finalisation of commercial terms DAI on behalf of the Centre reserves the right to negotiate on any aspects of the proposed costs and payment and is not bound to accept any offer.

DAI Eligibility Criteria

All individual(s) shortlisted will undergo an initial eligibility criteria assessment. This includes vetting of the organisations in line with terrorism checks, company history of improper conduct, any legal acts against the organisation(s) and initial vetting of proposed personnel. Where disqualification factors are discovered, the application may be rejected without notification. Successful individual(s) will be subject to detailed vetting analysis and relevant reference checks, and, in the case of organisations, also a due diligence assessment through DAI’s Management Capacity Assessment Tool (MCAT). This will include an assessment of:

• Organisational details
• Safeguarding policies, procedures and systems
• Financial management policies, procedures, practises and systems
• Duty of care
• Modern Slavery policies and procedures.

Final award of contract will not be confirmed until these checks are complete.

Intellectual property

Any Foreground Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arising out of the performance of project will belong to the Managing Agent of the Centre for the purposes of awarding to the Centre perpetual, irrevocable licence to use, sub-licence or commercially exploit such IPRs in the delivery of its mission and likewise to the Centre’s funder, the UK FCDO. The Management Agent, on behalf of the Centre, will provide the Service Provider right to use such IPRs and other Centre IPRs to the extent needed to perform their obligations under this project. IPRs relating to any background intellectual property drawn upon by the Service Provider in delivery of the assignment shall remain with the Service Provider, who will provide the Centre (through its Managing Agent) and FCDO rights to use such intellectual property to the extent it is integrally required to enjoy their rights to use the results of the Project and the foreground IPRs.