Vice President, Policy & Advocacy

Background:The External Relations (ER) Department was created to mobilize 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 Policy & Advocacyteams use the power of IRC's ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC's clients across the "arc of crisis." 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, in particular by partnering with politicians, policy makers and civil society. 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 as well as externally.

Job Overview:The International Rescue Committee has recently redesigned and globalized its approach to policy and advocacy, placing greater focus on robust policy and solution development, while also refining the discipline of advocacy at the IRC. You will be responsible for leading two distinct, yet inter-related teams: a Policy & Solutions team ("Policy Team"), responsible for developing scalable, high-impact and pragmatic policy recommendation and programmatic solutions and an Advocacy & Influence team ("Advocacy Team"), responsible forsecuring tangible and durable change for IRC clientsthrough strategic advocacy. You will work collaboratively with a network of policy analysts and experts across the IRC and partners to bring together a brain trust than can unlock solutions for our clients. You will be the leading IRC specialist on a prioritized sub-set of these solutions - IRC's global influence priorities - and will lead a team of advocacy experts in different global markets tobuild the political salience of these priorities.You will be responsible for leading our influence strategy globally. This includes building political will to act by strategically leveraging IRC's programmatic and research evidence, surgical policy and practice solutions, political intelligence, advocacy partnerships, and trusted brand. You will also be a leading voice in IRC's public relations, helping to shape our narrative in the media and gain alignment on IRC's key messages and voice. This 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 fundraising objectives.

Major Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Lead two high-impact global teams:a policy team, responsible for developing scalable, high-impact and pragmatic policy recommendation and programmatic solutions and an advocacy team, responsible forsecuring tangible and durable change for IRC clientsthrough strategic advocacy
• Work with IRC's CEO, Leadership Board and cross-functional counterparts to set IRC's Policy and Advocacy Priorities based on impact, feasibility and IRC added-value. Act as key advisor to IRC leaders on policy and advocacy strategies.
• 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 and fundraising goals.
• Collaborate with Leadership Board and Chief Marketing & Mobilization Officer to develop IRC's strategic position and voice, informed by our influence priorities, political analysis, and deep understanding of complex humanitarian issues.
• 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 - including through client-led engagement and advocacy.
• Lead IRC's Washington, D.C. Office and cultivate a positive, inclusive culture amongst IRC's DC workforce.

Analysis and Policy Development

• 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
• 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 Marketing & Mobilization leaders to translate analysis into best-in-class products and reports to guide both IRC's internal priorities and to influence policymakers.
• Collaborate with IRC's Emergency Unit to lead IRC's global crisis analysis capacity to deliver real-time insights as well as analytical products such as the annual "IRC Watchlist"

External Engagement and Influence

• Advance IRC's key influence priorities by leading the development and implementation of robust advocacy strategies. Oversee the development of comprehensive power maps for priority issues to identify advocacy targets at global, regional and national levels and ensure IRC capitalizes on external opportunities.
• Develop, launch and sustain strategic influence tactics, including with non-traditional partners, that inspire and activate policy makers and publics and align with IRC's brand and programmatic priorities.
• Expand IRC's legislative reach and be IRC's foremost expert in how our policies support or clash with political agendas and positions in IRC's key global influence markets, and lead execution of strategies to ensure these solutions are adopted.
• Amplify IRC's influence priorities by developing surgical media and public relations strategies that leverage earned media, communications partnerships, and IRC channels including digital advocacy.
• Represent the IRC in high level policy-related meetings, committees and fora with donors and key policy makers in key influence markets globally and, across government and multi-lateral agencies and policy-making bodies.
• Act as IRC's foremost influence spokesperson, communicating with journalists, thought leaders and the public to showcase IRC's policy solutions and amplify our advocacy messages and strategies.

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to:Senior Vice President, External Relations

Position directly supervises:Manages policy and advocacy teams

Internal contacts:Technical Excellence leads; Program leadership; Marketing & Mobilization, Awards Management; President's Office

External contacts:Key experts in academic, research/think-tanks, multi-laterals, governments, INGOs and beyond, key opinion formers and policy makers globally

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Job Requirements:

Education:

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

Work experience, skills and competencies:

• 15 years of experience working on sophisticated humanitarian and/or development issues, preferably in the areas of conflict and fragility, forced displacement and refugee response, and overseas development aid reform.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional and global teams and integrating perspectives from diverse team members to ideate and problem solve
• Demonstrated experience and leadership in policy analysis and development and familiarity and networks within institutions that will be targeted to achieve policy change objectives
• Excellent political judgment and an understanding of political and policy dynamics in the US, Europe and the countries where IRC delivers programs as well as deep political relationships
• Demonstrated experience leading effective global advocacy strategies which have mobilized teams in multiple capitals to deliver tangible results.
• Outstanding interpersonal, organizational, analytic, and oral and written 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.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with experts, high level decision-makers, and colleagues in the migration/protection pathways, humanitarian and development fields
• Ability to think strategically and creatively, being solutions-oriented when traditional advocacy means do not suffice
• Fluency with key parts of the IRC's organizational strategy and existing policy and influence priorities.
• Demonstrated dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion and a strong passion for our mission!

Working Environment:Up to
25% travel required.

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 requirements.

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.

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 $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, 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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