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.
The Movement Against Malnutrition is a new, highly ambitious effort with a single goal: to ensure that no child dies of hunger. We design and research groundbreaking innovations, deliver malnutrition services to millions of children and advocate for urgent action to end this global public health crisis of up to 2 million children a year dying of acute malnutrition. The Movement is a venture embedded within one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations but operating like a forward-thinking start-up to spur a global movement with partners across government, the nonprofit sector, academia, and corporate world. Our ambition is no less than transforming a broken humanitarian system into a succeeding one where no child dies of hunger.
The Advocacy & Influence Department is a dynamic team that uses the power of the organization’s ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC’s clients. From the drivers of global conflict to the needs of displaced people, the team partners with politicians, policy makers and civil society to bring these solutions to life. We take pride in being oriented towards solutions and creative. We lead change year over year, knowing that system change takes dedicated focus, while maintaining the flexibility to respond to emerging needs.
Job Overview: As the Director Advocacy & Influence for the Movement Against Malnutrition, you are this new venture’s Chief Advocacy Officer and the primary leader of all of IRC’s malnutrition advocacy work across all global influence markets. As a member of the leadership teams of both the Movement and IRC’s Advocacy & Influence Department, you will lead a team of market-based advocates, inspiring the team to collaborate closely with technical, programmatic and policy partners internally and externally to generate policy and practice change among donor countries, multi-laterals and host governments. You will develop and be responsible for the execution of the Movement’s forward-looking and creative global advocacy strategy, challenging the Movement Against Malnutrition to work with unexpected partners and drive for transformational change on behalf of children. You are the go-to expert for the Executive Director of the Movement and the IRC CEO on legislative and policy trends around malnutrition, creating opportunities to use those trends to further our agenda. You contribute your fresh and creative analysis to inform our advocacy strategies and our policy objectives.
Major Responsibilities:
Advocacy Strategy: Develop a multi-year, multi-geography advocacy strategy, in close collaboration with other leaders across the Movement Against Malnutrition and IRC to advance our global influence objectives. Be responsible for development of market-specific advocacy strategies that emerge from global strategy.
Influence Analysis: Assess power dynamics within and across influence markets and global entities related to Movement influence objectives. Ideate new opportunities to drive creative influence strategies, including with nontraditional partners. Continuously brainstorm and develop innovative approaches and partners that go beyond advocacy as usual.
Advocacy: Engage with policy stakeholders at the highest levels by representing the Movement and IRC at key global meetings and fora. Serve as chief influence thought partner for the Executive Director of the Movement and IRC CEO on our malnutrition influence agenda.
Legislative and Policy Tracking: Expand our influence reach by building and maintaining relationships with key decision-makers and influential stakeholders related to our malnutrition advocacy agenda. Use insights to drive cross-market strategy, and prioritization of opportunities across markets.
Policy Translation and Trend analysis: Be responsible for the translation of policy asks into market-specific legislative / policy asks.
Policy Generation: Contribute to policy generation by providing malnutrition-specific insights regarding policy and political trends to increase the credibility and efficacy of our solutions through constant collaboration and in focused policy roundtables.
Communications: Provide market and audience expertise to communications team to shape communications specific to malnutrition. Where relevant, support leadership communications and proactively find opportunities to raise influence and profile of the Movement through leaders and spokespeople, including clients and celebrity voices.
Advocacy Materials: Maintain oversight of advocacy materials across markets, ensuring a unified and consistent voice with targeted messages for different influence audiences.
Testing and innovation. Lead team in testing innovative approaches to influence in changing political and policy environments, including using digital targeting tools and public mobilization.
Spokesperson: Act as a Movement Against Malnutrition and IRC advocacy spokesperson on malnutrition.
Team Management: Develop and model new ways of working, lead impactful team and positively contribute to the Movement Against Malnutrition and IRC leadership teams and cultures. Create an inclusive environment by establishing a culture of care and encouraging different ideas. Share time and credit with team members, showing appreciation and increasing visibility by giving them access to more senior staff and highlighting their accomplishments.
Key Working Relationships:
Position reports to: Executive Director, Movement Against Malnutrition and VP, Advocacy & Influence
Position supervises: US Advocacy & Influence for the Movement Against Malnutrition; UK Advocacy & Influence for the Movement Against Malnutrition; and other country-level advocates (e.g., staff fully dedicated to malnutrition advocacy in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Somalia, and Niger). Other positions are planned to be hired in the future.
Internal contacts: Movement Against Malnutrition colleagues; Policy and Advocacy colleagues across the globe; Technical Excellence leads; Marketing and Mobilization; Awards Management; IRC President’s Office, External Relations Department
**External contacts:**Decision makers and policy experts in malnutrition across influence markets, including in multilateral institutions
Job Requirements:
Education and Experience
Master’s degree in relevant field such as Public Policy, Law or International Relations is preferred OR Demonstrated 10+ experience in advocacy and advocacy strategy development with a focus on creativity and strategic thinking. Significant years of experience working on complex humanitarian and/or development issues
Demonstrated skills and competencies:
• Demonstrable track record of influence/impact on legislative and executive policy. Expansive network of influencers and policy makers, particularly related to malnutrition
• Deep understanding of relevant legislative bodies and agencies, and familiar with leverage points within these institutions that can be targeted to achieve policy change objectives around malnutrition
• Ability to think strategically and creatively, being solutions-oriented when traditional advocacy means do not suffice
• Extensive knowledge of humanitarian aid and malnutrition issues
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with experts, high level decision-makers, and colleagues in the humanitarian and development fields
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to translate complex material and data into coherent narratives that resonate with policymakers
• Ability to work with tight turnaround times
• Initiative to work independently on fast-paced issues, and juggle competing demands
**Working Environment:**Standard office work environment. Up to 15% travel required
At the IRC, we seek to build a welcoming, inclusive environment not only for our refugee clients, but for all our employees.
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.