NGO JOBS

Organization: International Rescue Committee
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 14 Oct 2013

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading humanitarian relief and development organizations. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC today responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps uprooted people survive, recover and rebuild their lives in the aftermath of armed conflict and natural disaster. We are committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and thorough accountability to those we serve.With operations in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, the IRC is the only refugee assistance agency with large-scale international and domestic operations. Projections call for the IRC’s 2013 budget to exceed $440 million.The programs in the CASAMENA region represent the range of IRC’s work with conflict-affected populations—from emergency relief to post-conflict development. The region includes two of IRC’s longest running programs, Pakistan (established 1979) and Afghanistan (1988), newer interventions in Yemen and the Palestinian Territories, and a long-standing project in Chechnya (Northern Caucasus/Russia). It is also home to the largest single award in IRC’s history, the USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project. The region integrates care and assistance for IDPs as well as capacity building efforts with community-based organizations in humanitarian and developmental contexts. With over 1,000 staff located throughout the region, and encompassing some of the most challenging environments IRC works in, CASAMENA is one of the most diverse units within the organization.

SCOPE:

Based in New York City, the Regional Director is an exciting opportunity to provide strategic and dynamic leadership for the IRC’s Caucasus, South Asia, Middle East & North Africa (CASAMENA’s) growing country programs. The Regional Director leads program and operational excellence with a focus on quality and impact in the CASAMENA region, which currently consists of country programs in Afghanistan, North Caucasus (Russia), Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, and Yemen. The Regional Director supervises all Country Directors, the Pakistan Reading Project Chief of Party, and the CASAMENA regional team.

The Regional Director will play a pivotal role in regional advocacy, fundraising, communications and media engagement. The Regional Director will provide outstanding human resource and financial management and lead regional efforts in donor relations and new program development, with an emphasis on strategic partnerships. He/she is also expected to formulate and advance key advocacy messages and assist in agency-wide initiatives spanning external relations and branding.

The Regional Director will be an inspiring and experienced leader with demonstrated success in a senior management role within large, complex and multi-cultural contexts. He or she will bring strong leadership, expertise, innovation and passion to the CASAMENA region and to IRC’s mission, people, partners and donors.

The Regional Director will be an outstanding communicator and collaborator. He/she will effectively manage relationships between the country programs, senior International Programs staff and IRC departments including Finance, Human Resources, Development, Global Supply Chain, Government Relations, Legal, Advocacy and Communications. He/she will also play an active part in delivering on IRC’s ambitious new five year Strategic Plan. The Regional Director will report to the Vice President, International Programs.

The Regional Director will be required to travel regularly to country program field sites to maintain an acute understanding of the regional context, provide expertise and guidance, and lead in all aspects of IRC CASAMENA’s programmatic and operational work. With the Regional Director’s leadership, CASAMENA’s clients and partners will have an increased opportunity to improve their lives and to build a sustainable and peaceful future.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership and ManagementEnsure alignment of CASAMENA’s country programs within the IRC’s mission, vision, and strategic plan goalsDirectly supervise and lead CASAMENA’s country directors, Pakistan Chief of Party, and regional team (currently consisting of nine staff based in New York, Nairobi and Amman), supporting performance management and country program strategic planning and deliveryIn collaboration with the IRC HQ Finance department, provide oversight of country program Operating Budgets, burn rates, and financial planning, as well as manage the CASAMENA regional unit budget and allocate usage of unrestricted funds to country programsIn collaboration with other key stakeholders, maintain IRC’s commitment to technically sound and evidence based program design, monitoring and evaluationPromote a local-first approach that makes certain CASAMENA is supporting the efforts of state, civil society and market actors to respond to crisis and rebuildSupport the IRC-UK in working with key European donors and ensure that approaches to donors are integrated in the strategy and operational plans for CASAMENAEngage senior leadership to optimize business practices to ensure appropriate control and compliance and empower country program decision-makingManage, in collaboration with the Regional Senior Safety and Security Officer, the risks associated with working in dangerous and volatile security environmentsChampion staff development efforts, in collaboration with Human Resources, including efforts to diversify leadership in country programsAdvise IRC’s senior leadership team on strategic trends, needs and opportunitiesExternal Relations and DevelopmentDevelop and maintain a high level of understanding of donor priorities, country plans and planned funding initiatives, and coordinate those plans with IRC’s strategiesCollaborate with External Relations (especially Institutional Philanthropy) and Business Development units to identify, cultivate and maintain existing and develop new relationships with donors, partners and constituents, both domestic and internationalRepresent IRC CASAMENA with a range of key donors, policy makers, host governments, public and private partners, and news mediaAdvocacyWork closely with the Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy, to strengthen IRC’s advocacy work by implementing existing plans and developing new plans in relation to the countries in the region and other emergencies that ariseIn coordination with U.S., U.K. and European Union advocacy teams, act as Regional/country program representative in donor and policymaker advocacy in key fora, including in Washington DC, London, Brussels and GenevaQualifications:

10 or more years of senior management experience, with career path demonstrating increasing levels of responsibilityExtensive field experience leading humanitarian programs, with proven ability to manage complex and insecure working environmentsDemonstrated experience starting up and overseeing large, multi-year USAID projects with multiple international and local partnersExcellence in effectively and passionately leading, motivating, mentoring, developing and retaining staffDemonstrated ability to balance pressing needs in the emergency context with strategic and longer term planningProven success leading remote global teams of different cultural backgrounds in multiple countries with an emphasis on accountability and transparencyStrong understanding of current advocacy and policy issues in the region, including but not limited to the situation in Afghanistan and PakistanStrong presentation, negotiation and diplomacy skillsAbility to listen and communicate with colleagues at all levels and a decisive manner tempered by an inclusive consensus-building approach to managementProven ability to maintain professional grace under pressureFluency in English; Arabic proficiency a plusUniversity degree, with graduate study in international relations, general management, or similar disciplines preferredCommitment to IRC’s core values of Integrity, Service and Accountability

How to apply:

Please apply online:http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH02/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&r...