Senior Director, Economic Recovery and Development (ERD)

Position description

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.

Scope and Purpose

The Senior Director, ERD, is a key member of the Technical Excellence (TechEx) Leadership Team and the Senior Leadership Group (SLG), playing a pivotal role in advancing IRC’s vision for economic well-being across crisis, recovery, and post-crisis development contexts. The Senior Director provides strategic direction, thought leadership, and influential representation for IRC’s global ERD portfolio driving innovation, integration, and impact across programs, policy, and partnerships.

As a senior leader, the Senior Director:

• Partners with IRC’s regional and country leadership to ensure that technical assistance, program design, and delivery are contextually relevant, adaptive, and high-impact.

• Collaborates across TechEx to ensure IRC’s program models are integrated, outcome-driven, and evidence-based, shaping policy and influencing resource allocation at the global level.

• Leads the ERD Technical Unit, setting a clear strategic vision that aligns with organizational priorities, promotes innovation, expands funding opportunities, and positions IRC as a global thought leader and partner of choice in economic recovery and development.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic and Thought Leadership

• Define and communicate a compelling strategic vision for IRC’s Economic Wellbeing portfolio identifying core competencies, emerging trends, competitive advantages, and new opportunities for influence and growth.

• Serve as IRC’s principal thought leader in the ERD space, internally and externally, shaping global dialogue on economic recovery, livelihoods, cash and market-based interventions, and financial inclusion.

• Advance evidence-based practice by fostering rigorous research, learning, and innovation that position IRC as a recognized global authority in economic programming.

• Anticipate and respond to shifts in the humanitarian and development landscape, ensuring IRC remains at the forefront of policy, practice, and partnership.

2. External Representation, Influence, and Fundraising

• Represent IRC at the highest levels, engaging with donors, governments, policy makers, and peer agencies to influence global agendas and promote evidence-based solutions.

• Lead strategic fundraising efforts, cultivating and managing high-value partnerships across bilateral, multilateral, and private sectors.

• Position IRC as a trusted advisor and go-to organization for effective and scalable ERD interventions through strategic communications, publications, and global forums.

• Champion IRC’s advocacy priorities in collaboration with Policy & Advocacy teams to advance systemic change for people’s economic wellbeing.

3. Organizational Leadership and Change Management

• Act as a visible and values-driven member of the department’s Extended Senior Management Team and IRC’s Senior Leadership Group, contributing to accountable leadership, cross-departmental collaboration, and organizational decision-making.

• Drive organizational change within the ERD Technical Unit, ensuring structure, systems, and culture are fit for the future and responsive to evolving strategic and financial realities.

• Cultivate a high-performance, inclusive culture that values innovation, accountability, and professional growth.

• Lead change and transition processes with transparency and empathy, maintaining morale and clarity through periods of transformation.

4. Business Stewardship and Operational Excellence

• Ensure strategic alignment and disciplined management of ERD resources, including sound financial oversight, grants management, and reporting.

• Work with regional leadership to align economic wellbeing programming to the strategic vision they have articulated, phasing out programming that falls outside the strategy and scaling up the most evidence-based and contextually relevant programming approaches.

• Partner with Finance, Awards, and other TechEx units to improve efficiency, forecasting, and impact measurement.

• Strengthen internal systems to support agility, accountability, and continuous improvement.

5. Talent Leadership

• Recruit, develop, and retain top technical talent, ensuring the ERD team has the skills, diversity, and motivation to deliver excellent technical support and global technical leadership.

• Foster a learning culture that encourages innovation, collaboration, and thought partnership across IRC’s global technical and country teams.

• Mentor and empower emerging leaders within the ERD network and across IRC.

Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree (PhD preferred) in Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience in international development, economic recovery, or related technical fields, with substantial experience in humanitarian and post-crisis settings.

• Demonstrated success in strategic leadership, external representation, and fundraising from bilateral, multilateral, and private donors.

• Deep and broad connections across the economic wellbeing, humanitarian and development spaces is essential for the role.

• Proven record of driving change, leading complex global teams, and navigating matrixed organizations.

• Deep understanding of the global ERD landscape, including major donors, networks, and policy platforms.

Competencies:

• Exceptional strategic thinker and influencer, able to translate vision into action.

• Strong communicator and public speaker; adept at representing the organization in global fora and with senior-level stakeholders.

• Demonstrated fundraising and partnership-building acumen.

• Skilled in change management, leadership development, and organizational design.

• Deep commitment to IRC’s mission and values, with a strong sense of integrity, humility, and collaboration.

Language:

• Excellent spoken and written English required; proficiency in French, Arabic, or Spanish preferred.

Working Environment: Travel up to 25% of time.

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 Pay Range: $185,000 – $205,000

• Switzerland Pay Range: 185,000CHF- 200,000CHF

• UK Pay Range: £85,000 – £95,000

Application instructions

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