Strategy Officer

The IRC’s Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) oversees IRC’s global acute emergency preparedness and response activities. The mission of the EHAU is to expand and improve IRC’s ability to help affected communities survive in acute emergencies and hard to reach contexts by investing in people, systems, and solutions to complicated humanitarian challenges. The EHAU team achieves this mission through ongoing rigorous risk analysis, investing in capacity strengthening of frontline humanitarians, partnership with local actors, offering collaborative support and technical assistance to teams working in emergencies and hard to reach places, and deploying and supporting world class emergency response staff as they help people affected by acute crisis situations.

Job Overview/Summary

The Strategy Officer will provide support and monitor progress of the EHAU Strategy Action Plan implementation. The Strategy Officer will be responsible for project management support and coordination to the EHAU’s Senior Management Team. Projects will include new and ongoing initiatives and activities undertaken by all EHAU sections.

Major Responsibilities

1. S100 implementation planning

• Facilitate the development of the EHAU Strategy Action Plan implementation plan, working with all EHAU Section Directors to build out clear metrics, actions and timelines for accountability.

• Work with EHAU Section Directors and their teams to update and maintain the SAP implementation plan for quarterly reporting and review.

• Organize and facilitate quarterly SMT reviews of SAP implementation plan progress; and quarterly or bi-annual all-EHAU reviews of SAP implementation progress.

• Work with the Director of Delivery and Regional Emergency Directors to organize bi-annual share-out with regional CRRD leadership on EHAU SAP implementation plan.

2. Communication and information management

• Convene and ensure facilitation of EHAU SMT meetings, working with Section Directors and EHAU Staff Representatives to identify relevant topics for information-sharing, consultation, and decision-making at the SMT level.

• Work with members of the SMT and the wider team to identify topics for all-EHAU team meetings via the EHAU Weekly Meeting Planning Team, and to facilitate a dynamic, inclusive meeting space.

• Provide clear notes, recordings and other readouts of team meetings to promote transparency and information-sharing within and beyond EHAU.

• Support the scheduling and organization of other strategic meetings, fora and exchange within EHAU and at cross-departmental or cross-team levels.

• Work with other team members across EHAU to ensure the development of clear communications products to highlight the work of IRC and our partners in emergency preparedness and response.

• Support the EHAU SMT to coordinate with other IRC departments and ensure that their planning and policies adequately reflect IRC’s emergency vision.

• Set up and maintain files on Teams and Box for collaborative knowledge management cross EHAU.

3. EHAU community development

• Support key initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion and cohesion in EHAU.

• Work with the EHAU SMT to facilitate a quarterly ‘health check’, or review of SMT accountability to shared performance objectives and EHAU community agreements.

• Work with team members across EHAU to facilitate dialogue and learning related to diversity, equity and inclusion in our team and in humanitarian work.

4. Strategic support to emergency initiatives

• Work with EHAU Director of Strategic Initiatives and other EHAU Sections as relevant on discrete, specific projects, supporting with coordination, work-planning and communication.

• Convene EHAU crisis calls and task forces, working closely with the Vice President, EHAU.

• Support key organizational initiatives related but not limited to mainstreaming climate change work, and other organizational initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years work experience, with a focus on project management, communications, reporting, or other related task ideally with humanitarian organizations.

• Knowledge of operational support functions.

• Knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors, and of procedures, accountability frameworks and best practices in emergency contexts.

• Understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion and demonstrated interest in promoting progress in these areas within a team context.

• Ability to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.

• Attention to detail and customer service orientation.

• Fluency in all standard PC office software such as Word, Outlook, Excel.

• Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills; demonstrated ability to successfully work in a fast paced environment, within and across departments/functions and develop positive relationships with local and remote staff.

• Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure with professional grace.

Language skills: Strong English-language oral and written reporting skills. Other language skills an additional advantage.

Working environment: Some travel (5-10%) may be required, including to insecure field locations.

The Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a unit and deliver the best possible services to our clients.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

https://rescue.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/13759?c=rescue