Senior Director, Global Policy Solutions

***THIS OPPORTUNITY IS OPEN ONLY TO CURRENT IRC STAFF***

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BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always with a focus on the unique needs of women and girls. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, we now work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

The External Relations (ER) Department mobilizes external audiences to raise the requisite funds, influence policies and achieve practice changes to improve outcomes for our clients, while growing  and protecting  our global brand. The Global Policy & Advocacy team is a dynamic part of the ER Department that leverages the power of IRC’s ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC’s clients across the “arc of crisis” and influence external stakeholders, in particular governments and multi-lateral institutions, to enact these solutions to ultimately make meaningful change for our clients. From combating the drivers of conflict to meeting the needs of displaced people, the team partners with innovative thinkers, experts and those with lived experience to identify solutions and bring them to life. We take pride in being solutions-oriented and creative. We are precise in our goals, tactics, and messages. We drive change year over year, knowing that system change takes dedicated focus while maintaining the flexibility to respond to emerging needs across the globe. Finally, we are collaborative, constantly seeking new ideas and perspectives from others in our sector and beyond as we work side by side with programs, strategy, communications and research and innovation teams across the IRC.

IRC UK
IRC UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its global headquarters in New York. Our team in the UK works to raise profile, deliver policy and practice change, and increase funding to help restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Since 2021, IRC UK has also provided integration services directly to refugees in England, a programme that is rapidly growing. 

In Europe, the IRC also has offices in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Geneva and Stockholm. 

The Purpose of the Role

The International Rescue Committee’s approach to policy and advocacy places great focus on robust policy and solution development. This role will be responsible for developing scalable, high-impact and pragmatic solutions. You seek to make the most of IRC’s knowledge across teams and, where relevant, look for new and creative partnerships outside the organization to deepen IRC’s diagnosis of policy issues and development of surgical, specific solutions. In particular, you work closely with our program colleagues to bridge into a vast network of subject matter experts and effectively prioritize. . Your team is bold, quick moving, open to new ideas, and collaborative, working in lockstep with IRC’s broader External Relations Department to deliver on shared policy, profile and funding objectives and in particular, partnering closely with our Communications colleagues and President’s Office 

Key Working Relationships

Position reports to: Vice President, Policy & Advocacy (NB: Interim position will report to COO)

Position directly supervises: Manages policy team & MIP reports Strategy/Delivery and Project Manager

Internal contacts: Technical Excellence leads; International Programs leads; Communications; Awards Management; President’s Office

External contacts: Key experts in academic, research/think-tanks, multi-laterals, governments, INGOs and beyond

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the Global Policy and Solutions team. Inspire and model collaboration and problem-solving between IRC’s Global Policy and Solutions team and teams from across IRC to use the power of our ideas to create bold policy solutions.
• Support the VP, Policy & Advocacy in working with IRC’s Leadership Board and cross-functional counterparts to set IRC’s Policy Agenda. Equally, enable IRC’s emergency response by assessing opportunities to proactively shift agenda to unlock urgent policy changes, while maintaining sustained focus on long-term policy shifts that can bring the largest impact to our clients. (NB: Interim position will lead this work)
• Together with External Relations Department Leaders, partner with IRC CEO, Leadership Board, Board of Director and Advisors, and Program Leaders (e.g., Executive Directors, Country Directors) to develop influence strategies that advance IRC’s profile, funding and fundraising goals.
• Steward Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion both in the culture of IRC, as well as in the policy solutions we develop and ways we wield influence.

Policy and Solutions 

• Create open and adaptive ways of working with IRC teams (especially programs, technical and research teams) to continually assess the biggest challenges facing IRC's clients, IRC’s most effective solutions, and corresponding barriers to scale. Be the foremost expert on assessing relevance of policy solutions to unlocking these barriers.
• Apply deep knowledge of political and power systems to co-develop surgical, specific and creative solutions in IRC’s priority policy areas. Develop partnerships and relationships that advance and refine solutions and influence opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional development of IRC’s signature annual policy products. Oversee analysis of quantitative and qualitative data to build a rigorous annual analysis of accelerators and decelerators of conflict and resettlement. Identify corresponding solutions to unlock impact at scale. Partner with Advocacy and Marketing & Mobilization leaders to translate analysis into best-in-class report to guide both policy makers and IRC’s internal priorities.
• Brief IRC staff and leaders, including the CEO and leadership board on key policy areas, while building a culture of lifting other policy voices as appropriate and relevant.
• Support and partner with the VP, Policy & Advocacy and Advocacy leadership team in developing influence strategies that translate policy goals to achievable advocacy strategies. Serve as IRC spokesperson with media and at other external engagements

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Education:

• Graduate degree in Public Policy, Law, International Relations or related field

Work experience, skills and competencies:

• **Significant experience working on sophisticated humanitarian and/or development issues, preferably in the area of conflict, forced displacement and humanitarian financing.
• **Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and integrating perspectives from diverse team members to ideate and problem solve
• **Demonstrated experience in policy analysis and policy strategy and development and familiarity with institutions that can be targeted to achieve policy change objectives
• **Outstanding interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills with a demonstrated capacity to translate complex material and data into coherent narratives that resonate with diverse groups of policymakers, business leaders and influencers.
• **Fluency with key parts of the IRC’s strategy and existing policy strategy
• **Demonstrated dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion and a strong passion for our mission!

Criteria in the Person Specification marked with ** are the minimum criteria in line with our commitments under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme. Candidates who state that they have a disability and meet these criteria, will be invited to interview.

Standard Responsibilities:

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion and cohesion in IRC London office
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies

Standard Job Requirements

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.

Related standard content: 

IRC 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 team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.   

UK: 

Narrowing the Gender Gap: The IRC 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 flexible hours (when possible), enhanced maternity/adoption leave and pay and gender-sensitive security protocols.

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

The application deadline is 7/18.

IRC UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

IRC UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the UK. 

IRC UK will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application and/or interview process, and for essential job functions if appointed to a role. Please contact us if you may need such adjustments.  

Recruitment Process

The process for this role will be as follows:

• Screening call online
• First round panel interview online – including assessment / test
• Second round Interview with team leadership

If you have any questions or need assistance with the online recruitment process, please contact the IRC UK HR team at applications@rescue-uk.org

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