The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
The IRC’s vision is that the impact of our programs and the influence of our ideas empowers those caught in crisis to make lasting change in their lives. To support achievement of this vision, the IRC’s Technical Excellence (TE) unit provides technical assistance to IRC’s country program staff and shares what we learn to influence policy and practice. The TE unit supports technical excellence through the following ways:
The TE Unit is comprised of five technical Units, all of which have deep expertise in their respective sectors: Education, Economic Wellbeing, Governance, Health, Violence Prevention and Response, while cross-cutting work happens with the Gender Equality Unit and the Research & Innovation Unit. The Health Technical Unit (HTU) is organized in three sectors; Health (integrating general primary healthcare including sexual and reproductive health, child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, mental health & Psycho-Social Support), Environmental Health and Nutrition. The structure emphasizes a clear division of roles between technical assistance core and important functions versus other specialized support functions to best meet the needs of country programs and regions. In 2021 the HTU supported programming in 6 regions and 34 countries.
Job Overview / Summary :
Major Responsibilities :
1. Staff management and program delivery support :
If needed, provide guidance to Health TAs on technical support to specific countries, including guidance on action plans, project/program design, fund-raising, and monitoring and evaluation as well as staff capacity development. This may involve joining calls between technical advisers and country programs, supporting review of documents and project design and implementation, or join a field visit as needed.
Collaborate with Health TU STAs from Environmental Health, Emergency Health, SRH, Health-specialized areas and Nutrition as well as the MEAL STA to ensure technical assistance is seamless and coordinated to each country and region needs. Support engagement with CPs for strategic TU-led BD opportunities, this includes supporting preparation, design and implementation and backstopping TAs as needed.
2. Other functions :
Represent the health unit and the IRC in academic fora, donor meetings, inter-agency working groups, and various global/regional fora as assigned by the supervisor.
Key Working Relationships :
Position Reports to : Director- Health (Country Support), Health Unit
Directly supervises : four-regionally-aligned Health Technical Advisors and one STA-Health.
Other Internal contacts : This position requires a collaborative working relationship with other health unit teams, other technical units, AMU, Private Fundraising, country programs and regional offices and departments –Deputy Directors for Programs in country offices and Deputy Regional Directors.
Job Requirements :
- Medical, nursing, or other clinical degree plus MPH or equivalent.
- At least 8 years public health experience in senior technical and management positions, including provision of remote technical support, with evidence of progressively increasing responsibilities.
- Demonstrated expertise in multiple technical areas (e.g., primary healthcare, child health, sexual and reproductive health), strategic areas (e.g., governance, health systems strengthening, cash programming in health programs and research), and program management and fund-raising (e.g., program development, proposal writing, monitoring & evaluation, and management of donor relations).
- Proven experience in strategic thinking, strategy development and implementation.
- Excellent leadership and team management experience and skills – the ability to lead a team, motivate staff and promote productivity, resolve conflict, and contributes to a pleasant work environment.
- Excellent communication skills – the ability to write professional documents, and create and deliver presentations to different audiences: project/program staff, management staff, mature professionals, policy makers, donors etc.
- Solid organizational skills – the ability to be flexible and work well under pressure, dealing with competing priorities, in a fast-paced team environment.
- Professional-level fluency in English; French proficiency will be a huge plus. Ability to travel approximately 30% of the time.
