Director of Advocacy

International Rescue Committee•Washington, DC

3d•$130,000 - $153,000•Hybrid

About The Position

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. This position is based in Washington, DC, and candidates must reside in the DC area. The External Relations (ER) Department mobilizes external audiences to raise the requisite funds, influence policies and achieve practice changes to improve outcomes for our clients, while growing and protecting our global brand. The Global Policy & Advocacy team is a dynamic part of the ER Department that leverages the power of IRC’s ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC’s clients across the “arc of crisis” and influence external stakeholders, in particular governments and multi-lateral institutions, to enact these solutions to ultimately make meaningful change for our clients. From addressing the drivers of conflict to meeting the needs of displaced people, the team partners with innovative thinkers, experts and those with lived experience to identify solutions and bring them to life. We take pride in being solutions-oriented and creative. We are precise in our goals, tactics, and messages. We drive change year over year, knowing that system change takes dedicated focus while maintaining the flexibility to respond to emerging needs across the globe. Finally, we are collaborative, constantly seeking new ideas and perspectives from others in our sector and beyond as we work side by side with programs, strategy, communications and research and innovation teams across the IRC. Job Overview: As the Director of Advocacy, you will lead development of the IRC’s advocacy efforts to support key priorities across crisis and solutions-driven global influence priorities for the International Rescue Committee. You are responsible for crafting our influence strategies using IRC’s programmatic and research evidence, surgical policy and practice solutions, and trusted brand to inspire collective action. You are the expert for understanding current federal legislative and policy trends in the US and how our policies cut across political agendas. You will engage key stakeholders across government and civil society. You will work across the IRC to develop advocacy campaigns and build relationships including with Congressional representatives, U.S. and other government officials in D.C. as well as foundations, think tanks, multilateral organizations, and other humanitarian organizations. You will also look across IRC’s global priorities, engaging relevant embassies and crafting specific advocacy messages for donor governments.

Requirements

Degree in relevant field such as Public Policy, Law or International Relations
Demonstrated experience in advocacy and advocacy strategy development with a focus on creativity and strategic thinking
10-12 years of experience working on complex humanitarian and/or development issues
Knowledge of U.S. Government functioning and prior work the U.S. Government or Congress are a plus.
Understanding of global issues, multilateral engagement experience.
Examples of influence/impact on legislative and executive policy.
Strong network of influencers and policy makers
Deep understanding of global issues related to the humanitarian field.
Ability to think strategically and creatively, being solutions-oriented
Extensive knowledge of humanitarian aid and refugee issues, particularly around the complex drivers of humanitarian need
Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with experts, high level decision and policy makers, and colleagues in the humanitarian and development fields.
Good public speaking skills.
Excellent writing skills and the ability to translate complex material and data into coherent narratives that resonate with policymakers
Fluency with key parts of the IRC’s strategy and existing policy strategy
Ability to work on tight deadlines and juggle competing demands
Self-motivated

Responsibilities

Advocacy Strategy: Lead advocacy strategies for specific policy goals, including thought leadership objectives relevant to the U.S. market, collaborating with policy leads to advance IRCs key influence priorities and maximize the opportunity for IRC to advance our influence objectives. Engage across the IRC with all relevant stakeholders. Craft advocacy strategies, drawing on IRC’s policy expertise, that are suited to global donor government priorities.
Influence Analysis: Develop U.S. power maps for key policy issues to identify influence priorities. Cultivate relationships across the U.S. Government and lead Congressional engagement. Work with team to support development and execution of creative influence strategies, including with nontraditional partners. Look across IRC’s global priorities and ensure they are integrated into advocacy and influence strategies.
Advocacy: Support efforts to build IRC’s credibility, profile and relationships by engaging with key policy stakeholders and supporting opportunities to raise IRC’s profile at key meetings and fora. Collaborate closely with other U.S. market staff and global policy and advocacy staff, contributing to efforts designed to build IRC’s credibility, profile and relationships in Washington.
Legislative and Policy Tracking. Expand IRC’s legislative reach by tracking and analyzing shifting Congressional and Executive branch positions, individuals engaging on our issues, and the politics around our issues. Translate policy asks into legislative asks. Engage U.S. Government stakeholders relevant to the IRC’s work in the U.S. Track U.S. legislative and executive processes.
Policy Engagement: Contribute to policy generation by providing U.S.-specific analysis that increases the credibility and efficacy of our solutions through constant collaboration. Support IRC’s policy team in identifying and developing policy priorities that are impactful and achievable in the U.S. as well as in global markets.
Communications: Provide market and audience expertise to communications team to shape policy communications specific to the U.S. Support the team in developing communications strategy and develop materials for advocacy targets. Support planning and implementation of strategic activities including events. Facilitate development and editing of internal and external advocacy products to ensure resonance in U.S. market and adherence to high standards of quality.
Steward Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: both in the culture of IRC, as well as in the policy solutions we develop and the ways we wield influence.
Spokesperson: Act as an IRC influence spokesperson on focused advocacy areas. Act as key interlocutor with legislative and governmental staffers.
Board and Advisors: Support relationships with IRC's Board and Advisors by identifying points of mutual interest and opportunities around our priority issues.
Teamwork: Support a positive team culture by acting openly and collaboratively, supporting colleagues in their work and sharing credit with others where appropriate. Potential supervision of Senior Advisor or other staff.

Benefits

10 sick days
10 US holidays
20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure
medical insurance starting at $163 per month
dental starting at $6.50 per month
vision starting at $5 per month
FSA for healthcare and commuter costs
a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching
disability & life insurance
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