Strategy Manager, Strategy & Planning

The External Relations (ER) department has been created in February 2020 and is comprised of 3 main but complementary functional areas: Private fundraising, Communications and Advocacy. The ER department is at the beginning stages of creating a new radical and ambitious strategy that will enhance IRC’s ability to ‘punch above its weight’ in private income, advocacy and brand awareness. The main objective of the department is to enable this organization of more than 12,000 staff to have the resources needed to continue serving 18 million people worldwide in places affected by war and disaster, shape the humanitarian sector by influencing key policies and reforms and build and grow IRC’s reputation.

The Project Manager, Strategy & Planning will support the implementation of the External Relations strategy across all ER functional areas working closely with ER VPs and their team to contribute to strategic projects considered high priority by ER leadership. The Project Manager will be expected to lead specific components of large strategic projects and work closely with Strategy & Planning team members to drive to results.

The Project Manager will be expected to find solutions, persuade and influence, build and innovate, and use structured thinking and evidence to solve problems where there is no pre-defined methodology. Focusing on the highest priority initiatives of the External Relations team, this role will build relationships across External Relations, and IRC more broadly to deliver high quality results at a pace a leading private sector organization would be proud of.

This is a fast-paced role – you will work hard, learn and grow quickly. Ultimately the measure of your success will be your impact - the lasting benefit you bring to the IRC through your contributions.

Major Responsibilities:

• Personally drive specific components of strategic projects within the multi-year ER business strategy, partnering with Senior Manager or Associate Director of Strategy & Planning and senior-level staff across the ER department and IRC more broadly to provide problem-solving support, and facilitate decision-making and consensus-building at each stage of the transformation

• Drive specific work-stream or project delivery, generating critical insights and tailoring and delivering effective communications to drive change, through the proactive solicitation and use of information, judgment, problem-solving methodologies and sector knowledge

• Effectively manage own work-streams and collaborate closely and regularly with the supervisor to align on work planning, iterate on solutions and find workarounds as needed

• Closely manage progress against objectives, highlighting risks and roadblocks as soon as they arise and taking personal ownership for high-quality timely delivery

• Escalate issues where required and push towards a speedy resolution

• Promote a positive, collaborative, efficient team working environment where team members enjoy working with each other and feel able to do impactful work and grow professionally over time

• Ensure close collaboration across the Strategy & Planning team, and the External Relations team more broadly