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.