JOB DESCRIPTION

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 40 countries and 29 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.

1. Background:

The Humanitarian What Works Centre (HWWC) is a new initiative with potential funding from FCDO designed to transform how research and innovation address critical, high-consequence challenges in humanitarian settings. Led jointly by Elrha and the IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab, the Centre will adopt a challenge-led, end-to-end innovation model to move from real-world problem identification through to the delivery of evidence-based, scalable, and cost-effective solutions that meet the needs of crisis-affected populations.

While the humanitarian sector has seen growing volumes of research, uptake of findings into policy and practice remains limited. Persistent evidence gaps, capacity constraints, and fragmented innovation efforts have prevented solutions from achieving meaningful, sustained scale. The HWWC seeks to bridge these gaps through:

• A virtual Centre offering shared tools, technical support, and governance
  Structured Challenges with an end-to-end journey from evidence gap identification to solution handoff
• Deep engagement of payers, doers, and end users to ensure uptake and scale
• A Knowledge Hub providing methods, tools, and expert support to the sector

The Centre will be co-led by Elrha. In this scoping phase, the co-leads are jointly investing resources to define the Centre’s structures, governance, operating procedures, and shared assets.

2. Purpose of the Consultancy:

The Senior Consultant will play a core programmatic and coordination role in the scoping phase, working closely with both Elrha and IRC teams supporting the development of methodological tools that build on the best of what Elrha and IRC have to offer and which can support the consortia and act as public good supporting more robust research and innovation in the sector. The consultant will support project management, coordinate the synthesis of tools and approaches across the two organizations, and facilitate the drafting of key documents — including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other foundational materials that will guide the Centre’s launch and operations. The development of the Centre’s governance framework, structure and SOPs will be led by a Governance Support Consultant. Where appropriate, the Senior Consultant will support the Governance Support Consultant on specific tasks.

3. Scope of Work:

Working in close collaboration with designated points of contact at Elrha and IRC Airbel as well as the Governance Support Consultant, the Senior consultant will engage in:

Project Management and Coordination:

• Provide program management support across the scoping phase
• Lead the drafting and maintaining of a shared workplan as well as tracking progress against milestones
• Coordinate regular check-ins, document decisions, and ensure alignment between workstreams
• Facilitate effective information flow between partners
• Engage key team members (including Elrha, IRC and governance support consultant)
• Participate in workshops and co-creation sessions, particularly the in-person inception workshop (likely in London).

Synthesis of Tools, Resources, and Capabilities:

• Compile and review existing methods, tools, and assets from both organizations relevant to innovation pipelines, research design and evaluation; knowledge translation and scale-up
• Identify and synthesize relevant approaches and tools from both organizations that support the design and operational planning of solutions at scale, including handoff strategies; uptake facilitation and sustainability considerations
• Synthesize this material into a brief or presentation that identifies gaps, overlaps, and opportunities for integration

Stakeholder Engagement Approach Mapping and Development

• Review and summarize strategies and best practices for identifying, engaging and supporting large-scale doers and payers throughout the innovation lifecycle (from challenge definition through to scale)
• Provide recommendations that can be integrated into Centre’s standard operating procedures
• Contribute to the development of a stakeholder engagement plan and related messaging

Development of Operational Documents:

• Propose options for standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to the research and innovation lifecycle
• Iterate towards a draft set of SOPs based on discussion and feedback with Airbel and Elrha focal points.
• Assist the Governance Support Consultant with the articulation of roles and responsibilities between the two partner organizations
• Collaborate with the Governance Support Consultant to draft and revise additional foundational documents as needed to support launch readiness

4. Deliverables

Deliverable

Indicative Timeline

Inception plan and shared workplan

Within 2 weeks of start

Monthly progress updates/synthesis memos

Monthly

Organizational tools/methods mapping brief or presentation

Month 2

Recommendations for Stakeholder engagement plan and messaging

Month 3

Draft SOPs (iterative versions)

Month 4

Final SOPs and operational guidance documents

Month 5

Final summary report on scoping process

End of consultancy (Month 6)

*Note: Deliverables may be adjusted in coordination with the Centre co-leads. *

5. Duration and Time Commitment

Duration: 6 months
Level of Effort: Up to 17 days per month

The Senior consultant should be able and willing to travel to London for a 3 or 4-day workshop during this consultancy.

6. Reporting and Management

The consultant will report to the IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab’s Senior Director of Research with a dotted reporting line to Elrha focal person and will collaborate closely with the Elrha team. A joint working group will serve as the core reference team and will meet regularly to provide input, review deliverables, and support alignment.

7. Required Profile and Qualifications

The ideal consultant will have the following:

• Essential:

• 10+ years of experience in humanitarian research, innovation, or program design
• Proven experience facilitating or managing complex partnerships or consortia
• Strong program and project management capabilities
• Demonstrated skill in developing SOPs, governance frameworks, or operational toolkits
• Exceptional written communication and synthesis skills
• Familiarity with knowledge translation, research-to-practice strategies, and uptake planning
• Ability to work independently and coordinate across virtual, international teams

• Desirable:

• Understanding of the humanitarian evidence ecosystem
• Experience with challenge-led innovation or end-to-end innovation models
• Prior engagement with either Elrha or IRC, or similar organizations

• Experience with FCDO funded research and innovation projects
• Knowledge or experience of What Works centres or other evidence centres

• Competence or experience in organizational development and/or strategy development
• Familiarity with applied research and innovation scaling approaches

• Experience or interest in the use of AI tools for research synthesis, innovation, or knowledge management

8. Application Process

Interested candidates should submit by 23:59 EST on Friday 26th September, 2025.

– A cover letter outlining suitability and relevant experience
– CV
– A brief (1–2 page) proposal outlining approach to the consultancy including proposed daily rate.
– Two references

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.

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US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.