Global Practice Lead

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 currently only open to IRC Staff** **Background**: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. We aim to make our programs a model for the highest global standards and to cultivate power and lasting change not just for our clients but for all people affected by humanitarian crises. To achieve that vision, the IRC’s Technical Excellence (TE) group, located within the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) Department, provides technical assistance to IRC’s country program staff and shares what we learn to influence policy and practice. IRC’s Technical Excellence team is comprised of five teams or sector “Units” which have deep expertise in their respective fields: Education, Economic Wellbeing, Governance, Health, and Violence Prevention and Response, as well as teams which provide measurement and finance/grant management support. Technical teams are also matrixed with a team that focuses on the quality and content of cross-sectoral programming in emergency responses. IRC’s Technical Excellence teams offer five core services to IRC country programs and the wider organization: 1. **Program Design**: We support country and regional teams to design state of the art programming, incorporating the best available evidence, cost data, and expertise of what has worked elsewhere, with the knowledge that country teams, partner organizations and our clients bring to the table. 2. **Quality Assurance**: We partner with our measurement teams to design and drive the use of indicators to measure progress towards outcomes; we partner with regional and country teams to review program delivery progress and help address implementation challenges and adapt interventions to changed circumstances. 3. **Business Development**: We partner within and outside the IRC to design winning bids and identify winning consortia; we deploy technical expertise in public events and private meetings to position IRC as a partner of choice. 4. **Research & Learning**: We partner with our research lab to design cutting edge research to fill evidence gaps, and with country teams to learn from implementation such that we continuously improve our future design and delivery. 5. **External Influence**: We showcase the IRC’s programs, technical insights and learning in order to influence and improve the humanitarian sector’s policy and practice. Technical Excellence is currently going through a change process called "Regional and Technical Alignment." We are doing this to ensure that the impact of our programs and the influence of our ideas create meaningful change for people affected by crisis. This next phase of IRC's commitment to program quality will more deliberately resource and link global thought leadership with practice on the ground. Updated Technical Unit structures will have new roles with clearer mandates. The Global Practice Lead is a new leadership role introduced by this change process. **Governance Technical Unit (GTU)** The Governance Unit supports IRC country programs in crafting and implementing programs that amplify the voices of people whose lives have been impacted by conflict and crisis. Governance programs help them regain control of their future by championing their right to influence the issues affecting their cities, towns, and communities. It amplifies the voices of those we serve, ensuring they can influence decisions that affect their lives, whether made by the IRC, the broader humanitarian system, or local and national systems. It also ensures that cost-effective solutions, developed with our partners, are sustainably scaled for lasting impact. **Job Overview***: The Global Practice Lead (GPL) is the organizational leader for Governance and Systems programming for the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) department and is a core member of the Governance TU’s leadership team. They are responsible for devising and leading strategies to raise the quality, impact, and scale of Governance and Systems programming. The GPL will ensure the scope, quality and relevance of global technical standards