Background/IRC Summary:
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees, IDPs, and others affected by war or disaster . At work today in over 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. We address both the immediate, life -saving needs of conflict-affected people in an emergency and the reconstruction needs in post-conflict societies.
Job Overview/Summary:
The IRC recognized several years ago that while our focus on impact evaluations and research had put us on the cutting edge among NGOs for assessing contribution to impact, support to country programs on routine monitoring and use of data for decision making was not as strong as needed. In its five-year strategy, the IRC committed to developing the program frameworks and tools to become an outcomes-driven and evidence-based organization by 2020. The Evidence to Action Technical Advisor plays a critical role to translate this strategic organization commitment into reality. The Technical Advisor will create products, systems, and processes to translate the organizational commitment to making all IRC programs outcome-focused and evidence-based into organizational practice. This work will take place as part the Outcomes and Evidence Framework strategic initiative. The position is located within the Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Unit of the Policy & Practice Department and reports to the Deputy Director, Evidence to Action.
Specific responsibilities:
Finalize and institutionalize the Outcomes and Evidence Framework
- Work closely with technical units and the measurement initiative to ensure all remaining TOCs, core indicators and guidance notes, evidence reviews and gap maps are complete, of high quality, and made available to internal and external actors as needed;
- Work with technical units to develop program guidance documents for the use of evidence summaries and maps;
- Collaborate closely and hold structured reflection on the content of the outcomes and evidence framework tools, and devise and institutionalize a process of regular feedback and annual revisions.
- Collaborate with other units and teams under the organization’s effectiveness strategic objective and other relevant initiatives (for example Best Use of Resources) to coordinate or integrate the application of OEF, measurement, and context adaptability tools where possible.
Manage the Evidence to Action team and resources
- Manage the OEF budget;
- Hire short-term staff or consultants to fulfill OEF deliverables;
- Manage the Evidence to Action Manager, Evidence Assistant and other full-time or temp staff as required
Contribute to IRC thought leadership
- Actively develop and nurture alliances with key actors in the research and humanitarian community to further IRC’s evidence to action agenda;
- Communicate the IRC’s experience in a way that contributes to the organization’s goal of humanitarian influence internally and externally through participation in public for a and publications;
Support to other initiatives that increase the IRC’s effectiveness or research systems
Support the creation of an organizational research agenda and research process improvement work led by REL
Track the progress of the IRC’s commitment to improving our effectiveness through evidence-based or evidence-generating proposals;
Provide technical assistance to help technical advisors, regional management teams, and country program staff to design and implement evidence-based programming;
Feed into the improvement of the IRC’s research processes, so that they can be scaled proportionately to the growing size of the IRC’s research agenda;
The Outcomes and Evidence Framework Technical Advisor will work with several other staff in the IRC’s Policy and Practice Unit and Regional Units, as well as staff responsible for other complementary aspects of the IRC Strategic Plan on a regular basis.
Job Requirements:
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- Advanced degree in the social sciences with emphasis on quantitative and/or qualitative research
- At least five years of professional experience with demonstrated skills in
- Designing research protocols and conducting field research in developing or crisis-affected countries
- Experience with conceptualizing and conducting impact evaluations of humanitarian or development projects preferred
- Experience conducing or leading systematic reviews of social science research desirable
- Designing and managing humanitarian or development projects in developing or crisis-affected countries
- Knowledge of the trends and issues in the use of evidence in international aid programs knowledge management and measurement/monitoring and evaluation
- Proven ability to think strategically
- Experience managing organizational change processes
- Experience supervising, training and mentoring staff
- Project management experience, and in particular the ability to manage multiple tasks and keep them on time and within budget
- Proven ability to coordinate effectively among a range of organizational units and achieve consensus and common goals
Proven team player with the ability to work with multi-cultural teams and under tight deadlines Strong oral and written communication and presentation skills
Fluency in English required; ability to work in French or Arabic an advantage.
Working Environment: Standard office environment
IRC leading the way from harm to home.
IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.
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