Senior management should accompany and contribute to the strategic planning process, ensuring that it is properly led, resourced, coordinated, and connected to governance. The guideline suggests that the coordination team should include a senior manager with management accountability for the process, dedicating at least 20% of their time to overseeing the process and liaising with National Society governance where needed. The wider senior management team should provide accompaniment so the coordination team can achieve its goals effectively and on time.
Senior management also has a critical role after approval: translating the strategic plan into operational plans, budgets, indicators, monitoring systems, and implementation arrangements. The guideline presents senior management as responsible for developing operational plans, budgets, and the monitoring system, and Chapter 5 reinforces that implementation requires clear accountability, budgeting, resource mobilisation, and annual operational planning.
More broadly, senior management helps create the conditions for a successful participatory process. This includes inspiring engagement across the National Society, ensuring that staff, volunteers, branches, and partners contribute meaningfully, and making the process transparent, focused, and connected to real organisational challenges.