Organization: IRC – International Rescue Committee
Location: London | Nairobi | New York City
Grade: Level not specified – Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
Economics
Disaster Management (Preparedness, Resilience, Response and Recovery)
Managerial positions
Closing Date: 2024-10-01
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 50 countries and more than 25 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.
This position is only currently open to IRC staff
IRC’s Technical Excellence comprises five teams or sector “Units” which have deep expertise in their respective fields: Education, Economic Recovery & Development, Governance, Health, and Violence Prevention & Response, as well as three enabling teams which provide MEAL, and finance/grant management support. Technical teams are also matrixed with a team that focuses on the quality of cross-sectoral programming in emergency responses.
IRC’s Technical Excellence teams offer five core services to IRC country programs and the wider organization:
1.Program Design: We support country and regional teams to design state of the art programming, incorporating the best available evidence, cost data, and expertise of what has worked elsewhere, with the knowledge that country teams, partner organizations and our clients bring to the table.
2.Quality Assurance: We partner with our measurement teams to design and drive the use of indicators to measure progress towards outcomes; we partner with regional and country teams to review program delivery progress and help address implementation challenges and adapt interventions to changed circumstances.
3.Business Development: We partner within and outside the IRC to design winning bids and identify winning consortia; we deploy technical expertise in public events and private meetings to position IRC as a partner of choice.
4.Research & Learning: We partner with our research lab to design cutting edge research to fill evidence gaps, and with country teams to learn from implementation such that we continuously improve our future design and delivery.
5.External Influence: We showcase the IRC’s programs, technical insights and learning in order to influence and improve the humanitarian sector’s policy and practice.
Economic Recovery and Development Technical Unit (ERD TU)
The ERD TU is a dynamic team of more than 30 professionals responsible for supporting the development, implementation, and monitoring of client-centered economic wellbeing (EWB) programs. These include, but not limited to, cash and voucher assistance (CVA), agricultural & climate-resilient livelihoods, financial inclusion, and employment (including self-employment) promotion across emergency, recovery and resilience programming contexts. The TU’s technical assistance to this wide variety of programs ensures quality and use of evidence-based practices; promotes innovation, diversity, equity, and inclusion; and drives data-based management and decision making, to achieve positive change in people’s lives.
Position Overview
The Deputy Director, ERD will play a critical role in the ERD Senior Management Team (SMT). Primary areas of responsibility include:
•Lead: Thought partner to the Senior Director (SD) and engaged member of SMT, cultivating a kind, supportive team culture that reduces bureaucracy and anchors strategic decisions in evidence and good practice.
•Manage: of a team of highly skilled regional leaders to ensure the delivery of high-quality EWB programming across IRC country programs.
•Oversee: the development and implementation of IRC processes and policies across the ERD TU e.g. budget allocation, strategic workforce planning, wider people and culture goals and policies.
•Champion: and support the implementation of the ERD TU’s strategic plan. Providing strategic leadership to the design of programs that are evidence-based and evidence-generating, supporting focused advocacy efforts in close collaboration with the Senior Director and Global Practice Leads as well as with key stakeholders within and outside of the ERD TU.
•Resolve: operational problems to ensure program challenges are promptly addressed and staff are supported.
•Promote: cross-functional collaboration and a ‘One IRC’ way of working both within the ERD TU and between the Technical Excellence, CRRD and the wider organization.
Management of technical support functions: The Deputy Director will ensure that high quality, effective technical assistance is delivered to IRC’s Country and Regional programs by translating technical norms and standards to practice and elevating examples of good practice as accelerators of quality, scale and impact.
They will do this by:
-Providing excellent line management to ERD Regional Leads in close collaboration with the Deputy Regional Director for each region, to enable colleagues succeed, feel supported and work well in a regionally aligned structure.
-Creating strong connections and communication between the Regional Leads and the TU, as well as across each other.
-Cultivating a strong and inclusive culture of performance, accountability, and collaboration, and ensuring high quality of technical support is provided by the team to IRC’s country programs.
-Ensuring the TA function is fit for purpose and innovative, as a key bridge between regions and countries and global practice and technical leaders and amplifying the voices of our clients and frontline staff.
-Providing strategic leadership to the design of programs that are evidence-based where possible and evidence-generating where necessary collectively and in close collaboration with the Senior Director, as well as with key stakeholders within and outside of the ERD TU.
-Representing the Senior Director as required.
Technical Unit strategy and operations: The Deputy Director, in close collaboration with the Senior Director, will foster operational and strategic excellence by cultivating a culture of data-driven decision making and leading on the operationalization and delivery of both the strategy of the ERD TU and the application of IRC’s overall strategy (“Strategy 100”) to EWB programming.
They will do this by:
-Overseeing the implementation of IRC strategic processes and policies across the ERD TU e.g. budget allocation, Strategic Workforce planning, wider people issues and policies.
-Taking forward strategic initiatives and change management processes as appropriate, contributing to the implementation of the IRC EWB strategy, TU-wide ways of working, setting direction and workplans, as well as performance and knowledge management.
-Ensure the responsible management of the ERD TU funds, partnering with technical and finance colleagues to harmonize planning, budgeting, and reporting. Driving improvements in ways of working across the TU.
-Providing strategic oversight and assurance of portfolio, including quality and performance of programs, staff capability and management of delivery risk.
-Building a strong network and collaborative relationships with other Technical Units, Regional and Country Leadership, Finance, People and Culture and other central teams to support the delivery of ERD TU objectives.
Key Working Relationships
•Position Reports to: Senior Director, ERD, CRRD Technical Excellence
•Direct team: Overall responsible for leading a team of 15+ regional & country-facing technical teams
•Directly manages a team of Regional Leads across 6 CRRD regions + the ERD TU Emergency focal role(s)
Key Internal Relationships:
•ERD TU’s Leadership Team
•ERD TU Global Practice Leads
•CRRD Senior Management Team and Leadership Group; Regional Leadership Teams
•Global leaders in the areas of Cash & Markets; Resilient Food Systems; and Economic Inclusion
•Global HQ, public and private fundraising teams
•Key External Relationships: INGO counterparts; sector coordination platforms
Professional Profile
Success in this position requires an individual with outstanding leadership abilities and deep expertise in designing, operationalizing, and delivering high-quality cash and livelihoods (rural and urban) programming across geographies and contexts. Extensive lived experience and deep understanding of cultural, societal, and political context in at least one of the regions where IRC operates is desired. A people-centered leadership style, driving performance enablement culture, engagement, and wellbeing.
Work experience desired:
•Substantial and all-round relevant experience, including programmatic experience in a service delivery NGO or international organization.
•Experience and familiarity with cash and livelihoods donors, peer agencies and national contexts required, preferably in humanitarian and transitional, post-crisis contexts, with familiarity with development programming strategies.
•Leadership and management experience in complex global organizations at regional/global levels.
•Experience and expertise raising funds from bilateral, multilateral, and private donors, and leading teams to design winning bids.
•Experience undertaking strategic planning and leading teams through change.
Demonstrated skills and competencies:
•Deep expertise in cash and livelihoods programming and hands-on experience (preferably in 1 or more of the ERD TU’s practice areas – Cash & Markets; Resilient Food Systems; and Economic Inclusion.
•Understanding of the humanitarian/development sectors and effective practices used by aid organizations to design, implement and measure the progress of interventions.
•Fluency in the relevance and use of empirical evidence to know what works best to achieve meaningful program outcomes.
•Excellent analytical skills and a demonstrated ability and comfort in effectively managing and using data and evidence to inform program design, adaptation and monitoring and learning.
•Demonstrated leadership and management proficiencies including the ability to build a diverse team, foster an inclusive team culture, encourage confidence and trust and lead team in a unified vision and strategy.
•Commitment to creating a learning culture and supporting internal learning within and beyond the team.
•Communicates effectively with IRC program leadership, technical peers, and colleagues in fundraising, communications, and advocacy.
•Demonstrated ability to navigate a large multi-national organization.
•An established and collaborative professional network in humanitarian and development communities.
•Excellent public speaking and writing skills in the English language are essential.
Education: Masters’ degree in economics, business management, international development or any other relevant fields or an equivalent professional experience of background is required. Sound training on the use of data and research evidence for programmatic decision making and rigorous analytic skills are an advantage.
Language Skills: Excellent spoken and written English essential. Proficiency in French or additional IRC relevant languages (Arabic, Spanish) strongly preferred.
Working Environment: Travel up to 30% of time. Preferably based in one of our international hubs in London, Nairobi, or New York. Other IRC locations may be possible.
Compensation:
Posted pay ranges apply to UK-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.
The deadline to apply for this role is October 1st, 2024.
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Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.