Position: Humanitarian Officer, First Response Fund (FRF)

Status: Full-time, fixed-term, 3 years, with possibility of extension

Team: Global Programs

Reports to: Director, First Response Fund

Language(s): English required, French is a strong asset

Location: Remote, within Canada

Salary: $69,248

Deadline for Applications: 7 June 2026, 11:59pm ET

About the First Response Fund

The First Response Fund (FRF) is a new global pooled fund, currently in its pilot phase, that seeks to resource humanitarian responses led by feminist civil society organizations - by leveraging women’s and feminist funds’ (W/FF) funding capacity, reach, and relationships with women’s rights and women led organizations (WROs/WLOs) across regions.

Twelve feminist and women’s funds (along with Prospera, the international network of women’s funds) worked together to design the First Response Fund centering the strategies of local WLOs/WROs in ODA-eligible countries, providing resources and accompaniment via a global network of over 50 Women’s and Feminist Funds. FRF represents an innovative advance on localization because it moves core, flexible resources to local WROs/WLOs for the life-saving, humanitarian services prioritized by their communities.

FRF is a new initiative that builds on the existing expertise of WROs/WLOs doing critical humanitarian response and of W/FFs resourcing these groups. We are creating an accessible channel for donors to resource the humanitarian activities of WROs.

FRF is hosted by the Equality Fund, a feminist fund based in Canada, resourcing feminist movements through global grantmaking, gender-lens investing, policy advocacy, and feminist philanthropy. Launched in 2019, the Equality Fund has activated $100 million to date which flows to more than 1,800 organizations working across 100 countries.

The Opportunity

The Humanitarian Officer provides hands-on program support as a member of the FRF Secretariat for the execution of humanitarian grantmaking efforts. Reporting to the FRF Director, this position provides crucial administrative and project coordination assistance, supports day to day operations and assists with communication and outreach to women’s and feminist funds receiving FRF humanitarian resources.

The successful candidate must demonstrate a good understanding of humanitarian contexts and engagement with humanitarian donors, grantees and stakeholders. We are looking for candidates that are committed to power shifting and enabling local responses, with strong accountability to the needs and priorities of communities and movements in crisis affected countries.

The Humanitarian Officer is based at the Secretariat, not working in the direct implementation of humanitarian activities. The role works closely with the rest of the FRF Secretariat team and relevant Equality Fund staff and FRF partners to achieve the planned results during the pilot phase of the pooled fund. The successful candidate will interact and communicate frequently with diverse external stakeholders at the working level such as women’s and feminist funds and occasionally their WLO/WRO partners, FRF’s Advisory Group, strategic partners in the feminist and humanitarian ecosystem and bilateral donors.

Scope & Responsibilities

Assists the Director in the execution of FRF’s humanitarian grantmaking as per the response strategies determined by the FRF Advisory group;
Drives day-to-day tasks such as scheduling, meeting invitations and agendas, presentations, management of the general FRF email account;
Contributes to the preparation of key humanitarian programming deliverables, including Annual Work Plans, Budgets, Grant Dockets;
Liaises with Grant Officers in the Global Programs Operations team for distributing funding calls, planning grantmaking workflows and managing grants operations tasks in Asana, Salesforce and other relevant duties;
Conducts preliminary eligibility and program reviews on Salesforce and assists the Director and other Secretariat staff in the pre-vetting and grants due diligence process;
Coordinates the contracting and post-award process, supported by the Global Programs Operations team;
Ensures accurate record keeping and program information management on Google Drive and Tresorit;
Compiles humanitarian information from partner assessments, partner activities and other relevant sources to share with donors and/ or internal audiences;
Plans and manages proposal development processes for resource mobilization;
Arranges team member travel and provides support including for site visits and team retreat planning, including budget preparation and logistics;
Liaises with Finance colleagues on behalf of FRF to facilitate key financial administrative processes including procurement, expense claims, and invoice payments;
Acts in accordance with our policies around nurturing a safe and respectful work environment; never engaging in harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form, or anything else contrary to our code of conduct.

Qualifications & Competencies

Experience

A bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as public administration, development studies, social sciences or non-profit management is required
Minimum three years experience in program coordination, project management or a similar support role in humanitarian or development programming is a must
Professional working proficiency in English, and proficiency in French, is an asset
Understanding of feminist issues, advocacy, movement building and/or women’s rights organizations is an asset
Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines are essential
Demonstrated high ethical standards, integrity, honesty, and ability to work with sensitive information in a confidential manner
Commitment to the work and values of the Equality Fund, which include Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, and Intersectionality; Feminist Leadership; Accountability; and Radical Love
Experience with project management software (e.g., Asana), and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) is highly valued

Adaptive Competencies

High emotional intelligence with the ability to build trust, foster collaboration, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics.
Ability to thrive in a nuanced, dynamic, complex environment and respond effectively to changing priorities and challenges.
Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to address systemic issues and implement innovative solutions.
Ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization, fostering a culture of shared purpose and accountability.

Requirements

Must be legally eligible to work in Canada
Available to travel 1-2 times per year for up to 4 weeks total per year
Occasional evening and/or weekend work may be required when coordinating with people in other time zones
Willing and able to work remotely on mostly computer-based work

Our Environment of Care

We trust our talented team and are pleased to offer a flexible and virtual work environment.
We are driven by our values: anti-racism, anti-oppression, and intersectionality; feminist leadership; accountability; and radical love. We believe our values are realized through collaboration, a growth and learning mindset, emotional intelligence, diversity, authenticity, a global perspective, care, and building networks. We work to share power and create space for everyone to lead.
Equality Fund is proud to offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package which has no waiting period and includes 4 weeks paid vacation, paid sick time, parental leave top up, medical benefits, life insurance, Group RRSP, paid birthday off, and more.
Equality Fund is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and respectful workplace. We do not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation, or abuse of any form. We recognize that those behaviors are often rooted in abuse of power, which is contrary to EF's mission to make a more equitable world for women, girls, and trans people.
Equality Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We believe deeply in equality and value diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and all other protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and positionalities, and are committed to providing an accessible candidate experience. To let us know how we can make an accommodation or adjustment to facilitate the selection process and beyond, please reach out to people@equalityfund.ca.
This posting is for a new position.

Selection Process

Equality Fund does not employ the use of AI technology in the screening, recruitment, or selection process.
Equality Fund does not take informational interviews during the hiring process. We do this both from an equity perspective and a team capacity consideration as this helps to ensure everyone gets a fair chance in their application and that all candidates have equal access to the information that would help them in the hiring process.
Equality Fund’s People, Equity, and Culture team will work with the hiring manager to do an initial screening of applicants. Please make sure to detail your experience in your resume/cover letter to ensure the committee has the information they need to assess your qualifications for the role. This process takes about 1 week from the application deadline.
When there are many candidates who pass the initial screening, the People, Equity, and Culture team may conduct 15-30 minute phone screening calls.
The hiring committee will conduct first round interviews with selected candidates. These interviews usually occur 1-2 weeks after the application deadline.
The hiring committee may conduct a second round of interviews.
The People, Equity, and Culture team will conduct reference checks for the candidate to whom they intend to extend an offer. This process usually takes about 1 week.
The People, Equity, and Culture team will initiate a background check. This is intended to safeguard Equality Fund employees, grantees, and the organization. We recognize that some communities experience systemic over-policing. As such, only findings related to harassment, exploitation, coercion, sexual exploitation, fraud, abuse, or other findings specifically relevant to the duties of the role will be considered in relation to one’s eligibility for employment.
The People, Equity, and Culture team will send the selected candidate an Employment Agreement, which the candidate will have time to review and return.

JOIN US!

Though we work to respond to all applicants, at times we may only be able to follow-up with those selected for an interview.

Consent to the Use of Personal Information

I acknowledge that the personal information I provide as part of my job application to Equality Fund will be utilized solely for the following purposes:

Recruitment
Evaluation
Selection for available positions within Equality Fund

The personal information collected includes, but is not limited to:

Name
Contact details (address, phone number, email address)
Information about my professional and academic background
References

These terms and conditions are in addition to the Equality Fund Privacy Policy, which I have read and understood.

I understand that by giving my consent, I authorize the Equality Fund recruitment team to access the personal information I have shared in order to evaluate my application.
I hereby authorize Equality Fund to use my personal information for the purposes mentioned above.
I also understand that I can withdraw my consent at any time by contacting people@equalityfund.ca. However, I acknowledge that such withdrawal may affect the processing of my application.

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Je reconnais que les informations personnelles que je fournis dans le cadre de ma candidature à Equality Fund seront utilisées uniquement aux fins suivantes :

Recrutement
Évaluation
Sélection pour les postes disponibles au sein d'Equality Fund

Les informations personnelles collectées incluent, mais ne sont pas limitées à :

Nom
Coordonnées (adresse, numéro de téléphone, adresse électronique)
Informations sur mon parcours professionnel et académique
Références

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Je comprends qu'en donnant mon consentement, j'autorise l'équipe de recrutement d'Equality Fund à accéder aux informations personnelles que j'ai partagées afin d'évaluer ma candidature.
J'autorise par la présente Equality Fund à utiliser mes informations personnelles aux fins mentionnées ci-dessus.
Je comprends également que je peux retirer mon consentement à tout moment en contactant people@equalityfund.ca. Cependant, je reconnais que ce retrait pourrait affecter le traitement de ma candidature.

Pour plus de détails sur la manière dont nous collectons, utilisons et protégeons vos informations personnelles, ainsi que sur vos droits en matière de protection des données, veuillez vous référer à notre politique de confidentialité.

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Humanitarian Officer, First Response Fund (FRF)