Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always focusing on the unique needs of women and girls. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, we now work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

The Global Policy and Solutions team is a dynamic team that maximizes the power of IRC’s ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC’s clients across the “arc of crisis.” From combating the drivers of conflict to meeting the needs of displaced people, the team partners with innovative problem solvers, 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 detailed in our goals, tactics, and messages. We lead change year over year, knowing that system change takes dedicated focus while maintaining the flexibility to respond to emerging global needs. Finally, we are collaborative. We work not only with programs, strategy, research and innovation, and communications teams across the IRC, but also externally. We are constantly seeking new ideas and perspectives from others in our sector and beyond.

Job Overview: As the Senior Policy Advisor you are in the epicenter of IRC’s idea marketplace: the solution network. You will be responsible for developing global resettlement, asylum and integration solutions that are high impact, have amplification potential and doable. You are a critical thinker and curious about IRC’s programs, practice and partnerships. You seek to make the most of IRC’s knowledge across departments and look for new and creative partnerships outside the organization. You help IRC cultivate a network of policy analysts and policy makers that enable you to rapidly test new ideas. You are clear communicator and can distil the complexity of policy for a range of audiences. This team is ambitious, quick moving, open to new insights, and collaborative. We operate within IRC’s broader External Relations Department to deliver on shared policy, profile and funding objectives.

Major Responsibilities:

Solutions Strategy: Support strategy development, working closely with internal collaborators across IRC and contribute to relationships with external policymakers, key opinion formers and publics.

Analysis and Solution generation: Work with internal and external partners (especially programmatic teams and Resettlement, Asylum and Integration leads) to understand the biggest challenges facing IRC's clients and support the team in the creation of a suite of technical and policy and practice solutions.

Thought Leadership: Be IRC's authoritative voice on solutions for the most pressing issues facing our clients. Lift other policy voices as appropriate, especially those of crisis-affected individuals and local organizations.

Collaboration and Convenings: Support policy team in maintaining a “solutions network” of IRC staff and external experts to continuously push IRC’s policy and solutions development. Build and maintain a network of relevant NGOs, think tanks, academics, international organisations, policymakers, and other experts with expertise in refugee resettlement, asylum, integration and inclusion policies to support the IRC’s policy and solutions development. Set the agenda and identify appropriate participants for policy roundtables to better understand challenges, policy options and channels for policy amplification.

Research: Regularly monitor, analyze, and report on developments in major humanitarian crises and refugee responses, with a focus on IRC’s core policy priorities. Work closely with Advocacy & Influence colleagues to track and analyze policies and legislation, governments and other actors in the international community that impact humanitarian crises, forced displacement and respective responses, focusing on IRC's influence priorities pertaining to refugee resettlement and other pathways to safety, access to asylum, and refugee inclusion. Support the development of policy analysis and recommendations for specific geographic areas, particularly the EU and its member states.

Focused Advocacy and Advocacy Analysis: Support advocacy team, representing the IRC at external meetings and/or contributing to briefs for policy targets. Where relevant, help identify advocacy targets (especially political appointees, civil servants). Work with Advocacy and Strategy colleagues to develop and strengthen effective and targeted advocacy plans, strategies and tactics that are as effective as possible, including supporting policy analysis for specific markets.

Content and message development: Develop analytical and policy content (reports, briefs, etc.) used across IRC for influence, funding, and profile-building opportunities. Support the maintenance of Advocacy Master Docs on priority issues for consistent voice.

Policy Communications: Provide subject matter expertise to communications team to craft global communications including op-eds and press releases. This may include acting as lead writer or reviewing existing materials from other departments to provide policy expertise and analysis.

Spokesperson: Serve as IRC spokesperson with media and at other external engagements as needed, including relevant conferences and policy events Represent the IRC at senior and technical meetings with policy stakeholders or advocacy targets, in close coordination with the Advocacy and Influencing team.

Steward Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion both in the culture of IRC, as well as in the policy solutions we develop and ways that we wield influence.

Teamwork: Support a positive team culture by acting openly and collaboratively, supporting colleagues in their work and sharing credit with others where appropriate.

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to: Director, Policy and Solutions

Position directly supervises: none

Internal contacts: Policy and Advocacy colleagues across the globe; Resettlement, Asylum and Integration leads; Technical Excellence leads; International Programs leads; Communications; Awards Management; President’s Office; External Relations Department

External contacts: Key experts in academic, research/think-tanks, multi-laterals, governments, INGOs, civil society organisations and beyond

Job Requirements:

Education and work experience

Graduate degree in relevant field such as Public Policy, Law or International Relations or equivalent of 6 years of experience working on sophisticated humanitarian, refugee protection and/or development issues. Demonstrated experience in policy analysis and policy strategy and development.

Demonstrated skills and competencies:

• Extensive knowledge of humanitarian aid and refugee issues, particularly refugee resettlement, access to asylum, and refugee integration and inclusion.
• Deep understanding of relevant policymaking processes, current debates, policy frameworks and the workings of institutions in regions of focus – notably Europe and the European Union – in relation to refugee resettlement, asylum and inclusion. Familiarity with leverage points within these institutions that can be targeted to achieve policy change objectives
• Bias towards collaboration and ability to bring diverse collaborators together to conceptualize and problem solve
• Ability to think strategically, synthesize sophisticated information and develop innovative policy and advocacy approaches
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with experts, high level decision-makers, and colleagues in the humanitarian, refugee protection and development fields
• 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
• Initiative and ability to work independently on fast-paced issues, and juggle competing demands

Working Environment: Standard office work environment. Up to 15% travel required