Head of Global Rapid Response and Readiness Unit

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

The Opportunity

At Plan International, humanitarian scale-up is a central pillar of our global strategy. As humanitarian needs continue to grow in scale and complexity, we have established four new global humanitarian capability units to strengthen our readiness and response capacity, including the newly created Rapid Response and Readiness Unit.

This is a rare opportunity to establish and lead a critical global function at the forefront of Plan International's humanitarian work. As Head of the Rapid Response and Readiness Unit, you will drive organisational preparedness, lead high-profile emergency responses, and ensure Plan can mobilise quickly and effectively when crises occur.

Leading a globally deployable team of humanitarian professionals and technical specialists, you will work across country offices, regions and national organisations to strengthen emergency capability, support rapid scale-up in major emergencies, and improve the quality and impact of humanitarian response. You will also play a key leadership role within the Global Humanitarian Team, contributing to strategic decision-making, organisational learning and continuous improvement across the humanitarian portfolio.

Beyond operational leadership, you will represent Plan International in senior-level humanitarian forums, build relationships with donors and external partners, and help shape sector practice and policy. This role offers the opportunity to influence how one of the world's leading children's organisations prepares for and responds to emergencies, helping ensure children, particularly girls, receive timely, effective and life-saving support when they need it most.

If you are an experienced humanitarian leader with a passion for preparedness, rapid response and organisational impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead Plan International's global readiness, preparedness and emergency response capability, ensuring the organisation is equipped to respond rapidly and effectively to crises.
• Coordinate and oversee large-scale humanitarian responses, particularly during Orange 2 and Red Alert emergencies.
• Provide leadership and support to country offices and regional teams to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacity.
• Manage and develop a global team of deployable humanitarian professionals and technical specialists.
• Mobilise and coordinate surge capacity, including deployments from Plan's global emergency roster.
• Support the design and delivery of high-quality humanitarian programmes, ensuring alignment with recognised humanitarian standards and best practice.
• Drive continuous improvement in emergency response systems, policies, procedures and operational capability across the organisation.
• Lead organisational learning from emergency responses and translate lessons into improved practice and preparedness.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with donors, UN agencies, governments and humanitarian partners to enhance influence, funding and impact.
• Represent Plan International in senior-level humanitarian forums and contribute to strengthening the organisation's profile, advocacy and leadership within the humanitarian sector.

About You

We're looking for an experienced and credible humanitarian leader with:

• Significant senior-level experience leading humanitarian preparedness and emergency response programmes in complex international contexts.
• Proven experience managing large-scale emergency operations and deploying teams in disaster and conflict settings.
• Strong leadership experience, including managing multidisciplinary and geographically dispersed teams.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders, donors, governments and humanitarian partners.
• Strong understanding of humanitarian standards, principles and best practice, including CHS and Sphere.
• Experience developing organisational capability, systems and processes that improve emergency readiness and response.
• Excellent communication, coordination and stakeholder management skills.
• A commitment to innovation, learning and continuous improvement within humanitarian operations.
• A passion for advancing the rights of children, particularly girls, in humanitarian settings.

Location: Flexible where Plan International has an office* that can employ on behalf of the Global Hub and you have the pre-existing right to work and live.

Type of Role: Fixed Term Contract

Reports to: Global Humanitarian Director - Preparedness & Response

Closing Date: 19th August 2026

Interview Process: We estimate that 1st stage interviews will begin w/c 24th August

*Applicable locations include: Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.