Job
Head of Network Development
- Organization: HelpAge International
- Location: Ethiopia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe
- Deadline: Fri Oct 02 2026
- Category: Program/Project Management
About this opportunity
## HEAD OF NETWORK DEVELOPMENT
**Location**
Global, whereHelpAge can currently employ: Ethiopia, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom or Zimbabwe, with a preference for candidates based in the Global South.
**Department**
Network Development
**Reports to (Line Manager)**
Director of Global Impact
**Responsible for (Line managing)**
- Regional Advisers (4)
- Network SupportLead
- Humanitarian Capacity Strengthening Manager ([SHAPE](https://www.helpage.org/news/strengthening-age-inclusive-humanitarian-response-understanding-shape/))
- Network Platform Manager
- [SCORE](https://www.helpage.org/news/score-supporting-locally-led-change-for-older-people/) Programme Manager
**Indirectly responsible for**
- Country Director – Ukraine (viathe Network Support Lead)
**Grade**
F
**Contract Type**
Full time equivalent /Open-ended contract
### About HelpAge
HelpAge International works with a diverse global network of around 200 organisations across 99 countries to promote the rights of older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.
Through partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone as they get older. Our work is driven by our desire to achieve real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.
As countries prepare for and adapt to population ageing, we are seeking to make a difference at a critical juncture to how societies, economies and institutions adapt to this change.
Our Strategy 2030, *Ageing in a Just World,* sets out how we will work to shape the future we all share. By working together with our partners, we aim to inspire a
movement for change. By ensuring all our work promotes older people’s wellbeing, dignity and voice, we seek to transform the lives of older people now and in the future.
Guided by our commitment to our values of impact, learning, partnership, and inclusion, we partner with others to bring systemic change and impact at scale. By acting as a supporter, convenor and thought leader, we want to make an impact that matters for older people and their communities.
### Our organisational culture
The culture of the organisation aims to ensure:
- Accountability for All: Every individual and team member is responsible for their actions and decisions, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and commitments to partners and network members.
- Trust, Respect, and Inclusion: We strive to create an environment where mutual trust is the foundation of all relationships, diverse perspectives are valued, and everyone feels included in decision-making processes.
- Culture of Collaboration: Working together across teams, network members, and partners to share knowledge, maximise impact, and drive collective success, rather than working in silos.
- Openness and Transparency: Ensuring open communication, clear decision-making processes and actions, and a commitment to sharing information in a way that builds trust and accountability.
- Collective Responsibilities Within and With Partners and Network: Recognising that achieving our mission requires shared responsibility, we promote joint ownership of decisions, initiatives, and outcomes across HelpAge and its network members and partners.
- Staff and network members are valued: Staff and network members are recognised, and valued and appreciated for their contributions, fostering an environment where every individual feels respected, supported, and integral to our mission, with their input and expertise recognised as vital to achieving our shared goals.
The Behavioural competencies outlined below support this culture.
### About the Department
The Global Impact Team drives HelpAge International’s mission to advance the wellbeing, dignity, and rights of older people, by championing locally led action and global solidarity.
- At the heart of our work is a thriving, resilient HelpAge global network—a powerful collective of national civil society actors driving change that is rooted in the priorities and experiences of older people.
- We lead the delivery of HelpAge’s strategic approach to support, convene, and influence, across humanitarian and development contexts, to achieve lasting and inclusive impact.
Our goal is to ensure that:
- Older people have inclusive, improved access to secure and adequate income
- Older people have safe and secure access to humanitarian assistance
- Older people have improved access to inclusive health, care, and support services
- Age-inclusive laws, policies and systems guarantee older people’s rights across all sectors
- A thriving locally led HelpAge Network drives collective action to uphold older people’s rights, dignity, and wellbeing.
### About the Job
The Head of Network Development will provide strategic leadership for HelpAge International's global network engagement and development, localisation, and capacity strengthening work - advancing our commitment to locally led action and building strong, values-driven relationships with network members and other strategic partners.
This role will lead and be accountable for the development and delivery of the HelpAge network strategy, ensuring alignment with our global mission and enabling inclusive, sustainable collaboration across the HelpAge network.
The postholder provides strategic leadership for network engagement, development and capacity strengthening across all regions - Africa, Asia, Eurasia and the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. They lead through the Regional Advisers rather than delivering regional workstreams personally: setting annual priorities and deliverables for each region, in alignment with organisational priorities, and hold Regional Advisers accountable for delivery through regular performance management and review.
This is an evolving role. The postholder ensures the capacity strengthening and localisation offer is shaped by what members themselves identify as their needs and differentiated by region and member segment, rather than applied uniformly. They lead the mechanisms that connect global and regional levels of the network - regional convenings, member-to-member exchange, and the flow of regional intelligence into global strategy, positioning and funding decisions.
The role works in close partnership with internal stakeholders - Executive Leadership Group, Board, Leadership Group, and Team Heads - and external stakeholders including network members, civil society organisations, local consortia, donors, and institutional partners. The postholder leads the preparation and quality of Governance Committee submissions and Board papers on network development and engagement.
Alongside this regional remit, the role holder will lead directly on coordinating members in the Europe region, and work closely with the Head of Advocacy and Evidencing to develop our strategic niche on donor advocacy in Europe.
### Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities
To make an impact and influence, the role holder will shape and deliver the HelpAge network strategy and HelpAge's transition to locally led ways of working; provide strategic oversight of network member engagement, localisation, and the organisational capacity sharing strategy; lead HelpAge's support to country transitions, including Ukraine; and build an inclusive, resilient and effective global network of local and national organisations.
#### Network strategy and impact
- Lead delivery of the HelpAge network strategy, ensuring it supports locally led transitions, strong partnerships and member engagement. Lead the *Thriving Network Impact Vehicle* (one of six priority areas through which HelpAge delivers its strategy; the other five target external policy change - social pensions, health coverage, humanitarian action, legal rights, climate a
**Location**
Global, whereHelpAge can currently employ: Ethiopia, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom or Zimbabwe, with a preference for candidates based in the Global South.
**Department**
Network Development
**Reports to (Line Manager)**
Director of Global Impact
**Responsible for (Line managing)**
- Regional Advisers (4)
- Network SupportLead
- Humanitarian Capacity Strengthening Manager ([SHAPE](https://www.helpage.org/news/strengthening-age-inclusive-humanitarian-response-understanding-shape/))
- Network Platform Manager
- [SCORE](https://www.helpage.org/news/score-supporting-locally-led-change-for-older-people/) Programme Manager
**Indirectly responsible for**
- Country Director – Ukraine (viathe Network Support Lead)
**Grade**
F
**Contract Type**
Full time equivalent /Open-ended contract
### About HelpAge
HelpAge International works with a diverse global network of around 200 organisations across 99 countries to promote the rights of older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.
Through partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone as they get older. Our work is driven by our desire to achieve real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.
As countries prepare for and adapt to population ageing, we are seeking to make a difference at a critical juncture to how societies, economies and institutions adapt to this change.
Our Strategy 2030, *Ageing in a Just World,* sets out how we will work to shape the future we all share. By working together with our partners, we aim to inspire a
movement for change. By ensuring all our work promotes older people’s wellbeing, dignity and voice, we seek to transform the lives of older people now and in the future.
Guided by our commitment to our values of impact, learning, partnership, and inclusion, we partner with others to bring systemic change and impact at scale. By acting as a supporter, convenor and thought leader, we want to make an impact that matters for older people and their communities.
### Our organisational culture
The culture of the organisation aims to ensure:
- Accountability for All: Every individual and team member is responsible for their actions and decisions, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and commitments to partners and network members.
- Trust, Respect, and Inclusion: We strive to create an environment where mutual trust is the foundation of all relationships, diverse perspectives are valued, and everyone feels included in decision-making processes.
- Culture of Collaboration: Working together across teams, network members, and partners to share knowledge, maximise impact, and drive collective success, rather than working in silos.
- Openness and Transparency: Ensuring open communication, clear decision-making processes and actions, and a commitment to sharing information in a way that builds trust and accountability.
- Collective Responsibilities Within and With Partners and Network: Recognising that achieving our mission requires shared responsibility, we promote joint ownership of decisions, initiatives, and outcomes across HelpAge and its network members and partners.
- Staff and network members are valued: Staff and network members are recognised, and valued and appreciated for their contributions, fostering an environment where every individual feels respected, supported, and integral to our mission, with their input and expertise recognised as vital to achieving our shared goals.
The Behavioural competencies outlined below support this culture.
### About the Department
The Global Impact Team drives HelpAge International’s mission to advance the wellbeing, dignity, and rights of older people, by championing locally led action and global solidarity.
- At the heart of our work is a thriving, resilient HelpAge global network—a powerful collective of national civil society actors driving change that is rooted in the priorities and experiences of older people.
- We lead the delivery of HelpAge’s strategic approach to support, convene, and influence, across humanitarian and development contexts, to achieve lasting and inclusive impact.
Our goal is to ensure that:
- Older people have inclusive, improved access to secure and adequate income
- Older people have safe and secure access to humanitarian assistance
- Older people have improved access to inclusive health, care, and support services
- Age-inclusive laws, policies and systems guarantee older people’s rights across all sectors
- A thriving locally led HelpAge Network drives collective action to uphold older people’s rights, dignity, and wellbeing.
### About the Job
The Head of Network Development will provide strategic leadership for HelpAge International's global network engagement and development, localisation, and capacity strengthening work - advancing our commitment to locally led action and building strong, values-driven relationships with network members and other strategic partners.
This role will lead and be accountable for the development and delivery of the HelpAge network strategy, ensuring alignment with our global mission and enabling inclusive, sustainable collaboration across the HelpAge network.
The postholder provides strategic leadership for network engagement, development and capacity strengthening across all regions - Africa, Asia, Eurasia and the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. They lead through the Regional Advisers rather than delivering regional workstreams personally: setting annual priorities and deliverables for each region, in alignment with organisational priorities, and hold Regional Advisers accountable for delivery through regular performance management and review.
This is an evolving role. The postholder ensures the capacity strengthening and localisation offer is shaped by what members themselves identify as their needs and differentiated by region and member segment, rather than applied uniformly. They lead the mechanisms that connect global and regional levels of the network - regional convenings, member-to-member exchange, and the flow of regional intelligence into global strategy, positioning and funding decisions.
The role works in close partnership with internal stakeholders - Executive Leadership Group, Board, Leadership Group, and Team Heads - and external stakeholders including network members, civil society organisations, local consortia, donors, and institutional partners. The postholder leads the preparation and quality of Governance Committee submissions and Board papers on network development and engagement.
Alongside this regional remit, the role holder will lead directly on coordinating members in the Europe region, and work closely with the Head of Advocacy and Evidencing to develop our strategic niche on donor advocacy in Europe.
### Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities
To make an impact and influence, the role holder will shape and deliver the HelpAge network strategy and HelpAge's transition to locally led ways of working; provide strategic oversight of network member engagement, localisation, and the organisational capacity sharing strategy; lead HelpAge's support to country transitions, including Ukraine; and build an inclusive, resilient and effective global network of local and national organisations.
#### Network strategy and impact
- Lead delivery of the HelpAge network strategy, ensuring it supports locally led transitions, strong partnerships and member engagement. Lead the *Thriving Network Impact Vehicle* (one of six priority areas through which HelpAge delivers its strategy; the other five target external policy change - social pensions, health coverage, humanitarian action, legal rights, climate a
Program/Project Management
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