Job Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
IRC’s Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit
The IRC’s Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) is responsible for IRC’s global emergency response and humanitarian action efforts. This encompasses setting and sharing knowledge on organization standards for emergency response and humanitarian access, analysis, and ethics; maintaining organizational level crisis foresight and management systems, including for the IRC’s emergency funding; and finally, retaining and deploying surge staff to lead and support in the delivery of emergency response programming.
Job Overview
The Director of Strategy will be the engine facilitating continuous improvement in the way IRC responds to emergencies and ensures aid is delivered to the toughest places around the world. They will organize, manage, and facilitate the IRC’s Emergencies and Humanitarian Action leadership team to ensure the unit is effective in planning and delivering against our strategy. They will partner with individual leaders to scope and solve problems, offering project management, structure, and conceptualization to complex, high-stakes, high-priority projects. They will work with a small team to support strategic and thoughtful internal communications and organize high-impact events bringing together leaders and the wider team. The role will demonstrate strong strategic leadership with minimal oversight and support, and will report to the Vice President of Emergencies and Humanitarian Action, while maintaining collaborative working relationships with leaders across the unit and organization.
Responsibilities
Lead Emergency and Humanitarian Action Strategy
• Lead and project-manage the delivery and measure of IRC’s Strategy Action Plan (SAP) for Emergencies and Humanitarian Action.
• Lead routine reviews of SAP content ensuring the SAP narrative and implementation plan reflects up to date priorities and progress.
• Facilitate and support the collection and presentation of quarterly SAP reporting from EHAU Co-conveners to the EHAU Senior Management Team, EHAU Team, CRRD Senior Management Team, and Leadership Board.
• Collaborate with EHAU’s MEAL (Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) team to maintain the SAP measurement and analysis backend - including indicator selection, data collection, analysis platforms and reporting tools.
• Support the EHAU SMT (Senior Management Team) to deliver a routine approach to socialization of the SAP and delivery progress out to the EHAU team, specifically targeting and tracking an increase in buy-in and participation.
• Facilitate EHAU’s contribution to the formulation, implementation, and progress reporting of CRRD’s Delivery Letter.
Support EHAU Solution Finding, Workflows and Project Management
• Upon request, deliver ‘strategy’ support to EHAU leaders and their teams, identifying problems, finding solutions and designing project definitions and implementation plans.
• Lead effective project management processes for select, high value EHAU projects, supporting SMT member and project teams to deliver on time and within budget.
Facilitate EHAU’s engagement in IRC Strategy 100 phase two planning (timeframe: Q1 FY24 to Q3 FY25)
• Lead internal ideation and planning for IRC’s S100 (Strategy 100) P2 (Phase 2), balancing the need to carry forward existing priorities and introduce new ones. Ensure the voice and priorities of country and regional colleagues are reflected (in close collaboration with the Regional Emergency Directors).
• Develop and coordinate a communication plan to ensure emergencies and humanitarian action priorities are considered, and then subsequently reflected within S100 Phase 2.
• Coordinate closely with CRRD S100 focal points to ensure EHAU’s efforts are in step with other departmental priorities.
• As S100 P2 is finalized drive forward an update to the IRC’s Emergencies and Humanitarian Action SAP and implementation plan. Act as a thought partner to EHAU leaders for the successful integration of S100 Phase 2 objectives in the planning and administration of their teams and section/objective workplans.
• Support the SMT to deliver a routine approach to the socialization of S100 P2 processes and status out to the EHAU team, specifically targeting/tracking an increase in understanding/contribution/consensus/participation.
Facilitate successful collaboration, coordination and decision making
• Support efficient process within EHAU’s Senior Management Team
• Plan and convene impactful, twice monthly ad-hoc EHAU SMT meetings. Maintain a pipeline of high value meetings to improve use of SMT collective brain and bandwidth.
• Support effective decision-making processes, that drive forward action, while ensuring everyone is heard and final decisions are visible to the wider team. Follow up and support action items to ensure delivery.
• Champion simplification in all that EHAU does - from the SMT down to everyday processes.
• Be responsible for post-meeting, all-team communication to ensure clarity and trust around SMT processes and decision-making.
• Membership: Act as a full voting member of EHAU’s SMT. Routinely attend CRRD SMT as observer/advisor.
Coordinate and Represent
• Support the VP and EHAU Directors to continually cultivate and strengthen relationships and collaboration within the organization.
• Represent and coordinate with Directors of Policy, Planning, Strategy from around the organization.
• Represent EHAU in information, data management with Data Excellence team, plus CRRD lead.
• Represent EHAU to Strategy Unit to communicate what delivery of S100 looks like in acute emergency settings.
Team Communication and Event Management
• Lead planning and delivery of select high importance EHAU events, meetings and workshops. This will include the semi-annual EHAU retreat which brings together all EHAU staff. Collaboration with other SMT and team colleagues is key to success.
• Manage the planning and delivery of weekly team meetings, ensuring a collaborative planning and participation approach across a working group, that drives high value meetings.
• Supervise the planning and delivery of monthly EHAU newsletters that encourage inclusion, team building and transparency around team projects and achievements.
Any other duties consistent with strategy, planning and project delivery as assigned by the Vice President.
Key Working Relationships:
• Position Reports to: Vice President, EHAU
• Position directly supervises: Manage Strategy Manager and Unit & Events Officer.
• Works closely with: EHAU SMT, Departmental Strategy focal points and Directors of Policy and Planning, Strategy Unit focal points.
Job Requirements:
Essential:
• Exceptionally well-organized and structured critical thinking, work planning, and execution – with ability to remain adaptive and flexible to changing circumstances.
• Ability to proactively identify challenges and develop creative solutions, in close collaboration with partners.
• A proven track record in translating strategic objectives, and in driving and delivering organizational change.
• Shown ability to collaborate across diverse roles, functions, and geographies to devise and inspire change.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, orally and in writing, within a diverse team.
• An ability to accurately distil information, data, and opinion to draw out key messages and critical details.
• High integrity and ethical standards, collegial and collaborative behavior, high energy, resiliency, and creativity.
• High dedication to fostering a working environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Excellent spoken and written English.
• Ability to travel globally up to 20% of the year.
Preferred:
• Master’s degree or equivalent relevant work experience.
• 5 years in strategic analysis, project management and effectively advising senior management levels in a complex organization.
• 8 years’ experience working in the humanitarian or development sector.
• Consistent record serving as a role model, empowering others to translate vision into results; effective at delegating the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority.
• Receptive and collaborative leadership approach.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work in fast-paced, often insecure and stressful environments.
• Working knowledge of Arabic, French, and/or Spanish
EHAU strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a unit and deliver the best possible services to our clients.
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation
Narrowing the Gender Gap: The International Rescue Committee is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including a flexible hours (when possible), parental leave, transportation support, and gender-sensitive security protocols.
Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirement.
US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles
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