Climate Resilience Global Practice Lead

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

To achieve that vision, the IRC’s Technical Excellence (TE) group, located within the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) Department, provides technical assistance to IRC’s country program staff and shares what we learn to influence policy and practice.

IRC’s Technical Excellence team is comprised of five teams or sector “Units” which have deep expertise in their respective fields: Education, Economic Wellbeing, Governance, Health, and Violence Prevention and Response, as well as teams which provide measurement and finance/grant management support. Technical teams are also matrixed with a team that focuses on the quality and content of cross-sectoral programming in emergency responses.

IRC’s Technical Excellence teams offer five core services to IRC country programs and the wider organization:

1. Program Design: We support country and regional teams to design state of the art programming, incorporating the best available evidence, cost data, and expertise of what has worked elsewhere, with the knowledge that country teams, partner organizations and our clients bring to the table.
**2. Quality Assurance:**We partner with our measurement teams to design and drive the use of indicators to measure progress towards outcomes; we partner with regional and country teams to review program delivery progress and help address implementation challenges and adapt interventions to changed circumstances.
**3. Business Development:**We partner within and outside the IRC to design winning bids and identify winning consortia; we deploy technical expertise in public events and private meetings to position IRC as a partner of choice.
**4. Research & Learning:**We partner with our research lab to design cutting edge research to fill evidence gaps, and with country teams to learn from implementation such that we continuously improve our future design and delivery.
5. External Influence: We showcase the IRC’s programs, technical insights and learning in order to influence and improve the humanitarian sector’s policy and practice.

Technical Excellence is currently going through a change process called “Regional and Technical Alignment.” We are doing this to ensure that the impact of our programs and the influence of our ideas create meaningful change for people affected by crisis. This next phase of IRC’s commitment to program quality will more deliberately resource and link global thought leadership with practice on the ground. Updated Technical Unit structures will have new roles with clearer mandates. The Global Practice Lead is a new leadership role introduced by this change process.

As climate change increasingly affects crisis-affected populations, it will exacerbate resource stress, intensify social and gender inequalities, drive conflict over resources, and directly force displacement. This is why in 2020, we updated our mission statement to explicitly acknowledge the growing climate crisis: Our mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In addition to incorporating the required program adaptations that climate change requires for all of our programming areas, we are also implementing specific climate-related and environmental programming that address the needs of our clients. This role will be a critical leader for the CRRD department, serving as the global focal point for our climate resilience programming across IRC’s five outcome areas (health, education, economic wellbeing, power and safety) and a connection point for thematic areas such as disaster risk reduction and water security.

Job Overview

The Climate Resilience Global Practice Lead will be a global leader in climate-related programming, responsible for overseeing and driving climate resilience programmatic initiatives, including climate and environmental standards for programs. The Global Practice Lead will work with Senior Directors and Global Practice leads across sectors and Research & Innovation leadership to develop new climate-resilient program models, on a global scale, to address climate impacts and promote sustainability for the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) department.

The Climate Resilience Global Practice Lead will ensure the scope, quality and relevance of global technical standards, including the generation and promotion of evidence in the climate technical area. The Global Practice Lead will closely collaborate with other Technical Excellence colleagues, global leaders across practice areas, and regional and country colleagues to promote technical best practices. They will support Technical Unit-led and high-impact climate strategic business development by providing excellent technical insights and developing and maintaining strategic relationships and networks. In line with Strategy100, the Climate Global Practice Lead will lead strategic planning for the climate practice area in Phase 2 (2024-2027) of our 13-year strategic plan.

The role reports into the Vice President and Head of Technical Excellence and will supervise highly specialized experts and/or specialist colleagues to generate global evidence and best practices as the portfolio requires.

The role is responsible for establishing a center of excellence on climate considerations for programming, and will coordinate the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development department’s efforts.

Major Responsibilities

Strategy, Program Design and Business Development

• Develop and guide the implementation of a comprehensive global strategy for promoting climate readiness and resilience, considering environmental, social, and economic impacts of CRRD programs across all outcome areas

• Act as the organizational leader for CRRD in climate resilience programming conversations, internally and externally

• Support IRC Technical Units and Country Programs in the development of sustainable and scalable solutions to promote climate resilience and adaptation, and reduce vulnerabilities to climate impacts for the people and communities we serve, in line with Technical Unit and Country Program strategic priorities related to renewable energy, conservation, water security, climate-smart agriculture, and more

• Collaborate with other Global Practice Leads to promote integrated, adaptive program designs within TechEx, and across all IRC sectors that increase scale and deepen impact

• Develop strategic partnerships with climate and environmental organizations to complement/strengthen IRC’s capacities to deliver climate-resilient programming

• Guide Technical Excellence global business development for Climate-resilient programming and support strategic project level proposals

• Coordinate with AMU and respective other Global Practice Leads to drive fundraising from Public and Institutional donors and with External Relations to drive fundraising from Private donors to meet the organizational strategic priorities related to climate

Global Practice Implementation and Leadership

• Accountable for the development of high-value tools and methodologies to better integrate climate resilience into programs

• Oversee Technical Excellence-led strategic awards in Climate, working closely with respective other Global Practice Leads and regional Technical Advisors as applicable, and the Grant Operations and Analytics Team

• Build and lead (as funding permits) a multidisciplinary team of professionals, sometimes via management in partnership (MiP) with other respective TUs, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture

• Overseeing budgets and resource allocation for climate programs, ensuring effective use of funds and alignment with organizational goals

Research, Data, Knowledge Management, and Organizational Learning

• Staying abreast of the latest advancements in climate resilience interventions and policy work, to integrate innovative approaches and solutions into programming

• Lead a Community of Practice and other channels for collaboration on climate resilience, to ensure proactive and inclusive management across sectors with sustained learning, professional development, innovation, and best practice sharing for colleagues

• Guide research and evidence-use efforts at the intersection of climate and other topics, together with the Airbel Research & Innovation department and respective other Global Practice Leads, as well as regional colleagues

• Establish robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms to track the impact and progress of climate-related programming initiatives, and communicate results to relevant stakeholders

External Influence, Relationships and Representation

• Work with governments, organizations, and stakeholders, together with IRC’s policy and advocacy teams, to influence and shape climate-related policies affecting our clients at international, national, and local levels

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders, including governments, NGOs, businesses, and local communities, to foster collaboration and collective action

• Serving as an advocate for climate-related issues, both internally within the organization and externally, to raise awareness, mobilize support, and drive positive change

• Represent IRC in external forums as relevant

• Collaborating with international partners, institutions, and organizations to create a unified and coordinated approach to addressing global climate challenges

Key Working Relationships

**• Position Reports to:**Vice President, Head of Technical Excellence

**• Direct Reports:**Climate Specialists

Desired Experience and Skills

Education:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in environmental science, climate studies, sustainability, public policy, development studies, or a related field

Experience:

• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressively responsible experience in climate-related roles, with a track record of leadership and impact

• Demonstrated experience of people management, mentoring and coaching, creating and fostering inclusive and diverse work environments and ensuring continuous growth and learning of individuals as well as the organization in the areas of climate resilience

• Substantial experience working at an international level, collaborating with diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, businesses, and communities

• Proven success in developing and implementing global programming strategies and programs for people affected by climate change, with preference for experience in humanitarian and crisis affected contexts

Skills:

• Comprehensive understanding of how climate and environmental issues intersect with conflict, social and economic issues, and other risk drivers

• Strong strategic thinking, change management and planning skills, with the ability to translate vision into actionable initiatives

• Excellent leadership and team management abilities, with a demonstrated capacity to build and lead diverse, high-performing teams

• Exceptional communication and advocacy skills, including the ability to effectively engage with and influence stakeholders at various levels

• Financial management skills, including budgeting and resource allocation

Qualities:

• Passion and commitment to addressing climate change and promoting sustainability

• Global mindset and cultural awareness, with the ability to work effectively in diverse international settings. Lived and/or professional experience in one of the IRC’s regional or country contexts in East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East & North Africa, is a huge advantage

• Adaptability and resilience in the face of complex and evolving challenges

• Visionary thinking and the ability to inspire and mobilize others towards a common goal

• Strong ethical standards and a commitment to integrity in all aspects of work

Additional Assets:

• Previous experience working with international organizations, such as large NGOs, the United Nations, or other global institutions

• Familiarity with emerging technologies and innovative solutions in the field of climate change.

• Networks and relationships within the global climate community

• Fluency in English required; Arabic, French and/or Spanish also strongly preferred

• Ability to travel globally up to 25% of the time, occasionally on short notice

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.

US Benefits:

The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.