The Policy & Advocacy Department is a dynamic team whose core purpose is to drive transformational change in the humanitarian sector, and to defend and promote core humanitarian policies, protections and assistance, which are under attack worldwide. The Policy and Advocacy team in Washington leads efforts on the IRC’s strategy to influence resettlement and asylum policy and advocacy.

Job Overview:

The Officer will work closely with the Senior Director and Senior Officer for Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Policy & Advocacy and other Policy & Advocacy colleagues to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen and rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and the U.S. asylum system, among other objectives.

In support of strategy implementation, the Officer will engage in direct congressional and executive branch advocacy; support in the development external-facing content, messaging, and positions to further strategic objectives; conduct policy research; represent the IRC with relevant coalitions and stakeholders; and strengthen engagement with other IRC departments including but not limited to RAI Programs and Communications. This position reports to the Senior Officer, Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Policy and Advocacy.

Major Responsibilities:

·Play a supportive role in the development and implementation of federal congressional and executive branch advocacy strategies to rebuild and strengthen the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and the U.S. asylum system, among other objectives

·Support the Senior Officer in developing policy positions and strategic messaging to influence policy decisions and inform positioning, tactics, and strategy

·Ensure routine coordination with relevant internal stakeholders, including Global Policy & Advocacy, Europe Policy & Advocacy, and RAI Programs to ensure a coherent approach to cross-cutting issues

·Work closely with the Senior Officer to support and coordinate with the Communications team to promote the integrity of published content and produce public-facing advocacy messaging

·Research and analyze complex policies to distill into public-facing reports, briefing materials, and talking points

·Collaborate with the state portfolio, digital engagement team, and partnerships specialist to build a unified, coherent strategy across portfolios and audiences

·Represent the IRC in external engagement with Members of Congress and their staff, administration officials, and counterparts at partner organizations

·Represent the IRC in coalition spaces to generate strong partnerships to further advocacy objectives

·Advance the Policy & Advocacy team’s and IRC organizational commitments on promoting racial and social justice through engagement with the IRC DEI initiative and coalition working groups

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to:Senior Officer, Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Policy and Advocacy

Position directly supervises:N/A

Internal contacts:

·Communications team, Europe P&A, US-RAI State P&A, Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) Programs, Global P&A

External contacts:

Coalition colleagues, partner organizations, congressional staffers, administration staff

Job Requirements:

Education: Degree in relevant field such as Public Policy, Law, or International Relations, or equivalent qualifications/experience in a relevant field

Work experience:

·3 years of experience, preferably to include interacting with government officials, elected officials, and their staffers at the local, state, or federal level, and proven experience implementing successful influencing strategies

·Experience working on refugee resettlement and asylum policy issues with experience with these issues in a congressional office a plus

Demonstrated skills and competencies:

• Proven political judgment and detailed knowledge of the workings of the federal government (administration and U.S. Congress)
• Knowledge of the U.S. resettlement program and asylum system
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to translate complex material and data into coherent narratives
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders
• Strong public speaking, presentation networking, and training/capacity-building skills

·Ability to demonstrate leadership capacity within the Policy & Advocacy team while also able to work in a support/advisory capacity and quickly form effective working relationships to deliver results

·Initiative and ability to work independently on fast-paced issues

·Commitment to the IRC’s vision, mission, and values

Language skills: No requirement.

Working Environment:Full time position. Standard office work environment or remote work environment in Washington, DC region.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards.

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