Policy Officer

Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are affected by conflict and disaster. Over the past 80 years, the IRC has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping those affected by acute crises and protracted conflict around the globe. At IRC, we work to provide emergency relief, relocate refugees, and rebuild the lives of those affected by chaos and disaster. IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation, creative partnerships, and accountability to the beneficiaries we serve, and is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

At Global Headquarters based in New York, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) team is situated in the Education Unit and works to ensure that children between ages 0 and 8 have access to safe, relevant, quality learning and development opportunities. Positioned at the nexus of health, nutrition, protection, and education, ECD is a multi-sector area of focus that requires sustained engagement with donors, policy makers, and implementors in refugee hosting settings to ensure parents, caregivers, and children are prioritized as a core component of humanitarian and development programming.

Job Overview: The Policy Officer will support the advancement the ECD and Education influence and visibility scopes of work, enabling the execution of standing policy change strategies in MENA, Latin America, and Africa. This role will support engagement on key bilateral and multilateral processes and lead on policy analysis, writing, and communications. This position will also support advocacy capacity-building across IRC’s ECD and education teams. This is a full time, fixed term one year contract.

Major Responsibilities:

• Enable relationship maintenance and consistent engagement with key relevant stakeholders
• Conduct policy research and writing, generating thought leadership content using programmatic evidence
• Lead on advocacy communications internally and externally, in partnership with communication teams and other departments to raise visibility of IRC’s work
• Support planning and execution of events
• Oversee knowledge management
• Work collaboratively with relevant technical unit and country program staff
• Administrative support

Job Requirements:

Preferred experience & skills

• Knowledge of multilateral and bilateral policy processes and foreign assistance priorities
• Understanding of humanitarian aid and refugee issues and/or caregiving, early childhood development and education.
• Strong writing and analysis skills; excellent written and oral communication skills in short and long form
• Ability to think creatively on how to present solutions and engage with high-level stakeholders; plus if experienced in webpage development, graphic design, or data analytics
• Experience in events planning, development, and execution a plus
• Highly organized with demonstrated capability of managing multiple priorities and workstreams while meeting deadlines, resulting in forward progress.
• Demonstrated relationships-building and networking skills with the ability to effectively manage all working relationships, both internal and external
• Commitment to IRC Way and positive addition to work environment and education team.

Education: University degree (four-year Bachelor’s) required; graduate degree in foreign affairs, international development, humanitarian assistance, or public policy preferred.

Experience: Minimum of 3-6 years of related experience in policy advocacy

Languages: English required. Working fluency in additional languages including French, Spanish, and Arabic encouraged.

Travel & Work Environment: Combination of standard office environment and remote work. Up to 5% travel expected.

Relationships:

• No direct supervision over other staff
• Other Contacts:
  • Internal: Education Technical Unit; Communications team; relevant country and regional staff; Policy and Advocacy team; international programs leads;
  • External: Sesame Workshop, LEGO Foundation, Moving Minds Alliance, Thrive Coalition, Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies, Interaction, and partner donors and humanitarian system actors such as USAID, World Bank, Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, UNICEF, World Health Organization, World Food Programme, UNHCR, and OCHA.

Working Environment:**

• Standard office working environment
• Some international travel may be needed, up to 5%
• This role may work in IRC offices or remotely full or part time with in-person meetings as required

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, Egalite, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement:

In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity:

IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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 $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), 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.

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.