Senior Director - Global Policy and Solutions

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Job Overview: The International Rescue Committee’s approach to policy and advocacy places great focus on robust policy and solution development and strategic engagement with global policy makers. This role will be responsible for leading a team that will be 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. You manage a global team of policy experts and serve as a thought partner for the CEO, COO and VP of Policy and Advocacy. You are a connector and an entrepreneur. You develop relationships with experts in understanding crisis, those who are leading the development of innovative solutions, and visionaries for funding reforms to benefit IRC’s clients and support of the IRC’s bold Strategy 100. 

Major Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the Global Policy and Solutions team. Manage a diverse team of policy experts, ensuring cohesive policy strategies across global markets. Manage consistent and timely policy outputs in the form of reports and briefs. Inspire and model collaboration and problem-solving between IRC’s Global Policy and Solutions team, Advocacy 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 priorities and define a clear agenda across markets. 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. 

• Engage with Senior Policy makers across global markets. 

• Balance long-term systemic change with near-term, politically feasible gains

• Create events, policy convenings, and forums that bring together thought leaders in support of developing new ideas and cultivating new champions for IRC’s policy recommendations. 

• 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. Work closely with the advocacy team in crafting creative advocacy messaging and resonant policy products around key policy priorities and maximize engagement around tentpole moments to advance policy engagement. Identify priority policy windows of opportunity. 

• 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 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. 

• Collaborate with the Communications leads to craft sharp and policy messages in op-eds, speeches, and briefings. 

• Deliver policy briefings, speeches, and other products for senior officials in collaboration with global advocacy leads. 

• 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.

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to: Vice President, Policy & Advocacy 

Position directly supervises: Manages global policy team 

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

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education:

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

Work experience, skills and competencies:

• Significant experience working on humanitarian and/or development issues

• Demonstrated experience working with or alongside think tanks and policy organizations, including participation in policy discussions and forums. Track record of effective engagement in high-level policy forums and discussions.

• 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

• Experience engaging with senior policy makers 

• Outstanding interpersonal, organizational, communication and writing 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.

• Excellent writing skills and proven policy-writing experience is required. 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.

Working Environment: Standard office work environment (full time role, at least 3 days a week physically in the office required). Up to 15% travel required.

Compensation: ($200,000 - $225,000). Posted pay ranges apply to U.S.-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 requirements.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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Benefits: IRC offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. Highlights include 10 paid sick leave, 10 U.S. holidays, 20-25 generous paid time off based on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $163/month, dental starting at $6.50/month, and vision starting at $5/month, flexible spending accounts (healthcare, dependent care, and commuter), a 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer match (immediate vesting) along with a non-elective employer contribution based on age and years of service (3-year vesting), disability and life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering confidential counseling and support services for employees and their families.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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