Chief Gender, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Officer at International Rescue Committee

Requisition ID: req14020

Job Title: Chief Gender, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Officer

Sector: Senior Executive Leadership

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: Yes

Job Description

As Chief Gender, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Officer, you will lead our global efforts to refine and deliver a comprehensive and coordinated strategic plan that builds an inclusive culture across IRC and ensures diversity, equality, and inclusion are central to all we do.  Building upon a strong existing foundation of advancing gender equality within IRC’s global program delivery and internal operations and the IRC’s stated ambition to become a feminist organization, you will establish a new Gender, Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (G-DEI) unit, with an expanded scope, to achieve IRC’s goal of being a fully inclusive organization.  These efforts will result in improved outcomes for our clients, a more inclusive work environment, and increased influence for good within the humanitarian sector.

 You understand that the root causes of inequality require shared solutions across sectors and systems and will guide IRC’s teams to test new approaches, expand innovations, and build strategic partnerships that challenge and shift the structures that perpetuate inequality.  You will work across all facets of a highly matrixed organization to achieve transformational change. You will place IRC’s staff and clients at the center of our work and maximize their influence over organizational decisions.  You will harness the power of lived experience and the value derived from diverse viewpoints to orchestrate programmatic and operational change.  

 Major Responsibilities –

• G-DEI Strategy
  • Refine, implement, manage and be responsible for IRC’s organization-wide vision, strategy, and delivery plan in a participatory way to evolve IRC into a fully feminist, diverse, and inclusive organization
  • Partner with key leaders and actors to confirm shared accountabilities in delivering on the G-DEI plan and support change management efforts needed to achieve success
  • Support the development and implementation of G-DEI related policies and practices in partnership with organizational program, functional, and shared services leaders
  • Collaborate with relevant teams to embed approaches to monitoring and evaluation and a culture of continuous improvement and learning in relation to G-DEI
  • Co-create a new G-DEI Scorecard and Action Plan to provide a clear vision, metrics and accountability system on which to gauge progress
  • Build G-DEI engagement, knowledge, and capacity within the organization at all levels
  • Communicate G-DEI priorities, action plans, and progress made
• Technical Leadership
  • Serve as a resource, thought partner, and assessor of progress
  • Support IRC leaders in obtaining the technical support needed to achieve IRC’s G-DEI priorities
  • Coordinate data gathering and analysis to inform organizational interventions and track progress made
  • Add to the sector’s knowledge base about what works best
• Team Leadership
  • Assemble and lead a highly matrixed diverse global team with the most appropriate skills and experiences to best achieve the goals of the unit
  • Support a consistently high level of team performance; manage, mentor, and coach team, modeling healthy, collaborative intra- and inter-departmental working relationships
  • Assemble and lead a community of practice throughout the organization where everyone is accountable for progress on defined Gender, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion goals
  • Cultivate a respectful and inclusive environment for all people
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Education: Graduate degree required in relevant field, or equivalent work experience
• Work Experience: 15+ years of related experience that includes:
• Direct experience leading and influencing organizational partners to embrace and adopt intersectional diversity, equality, and inclusion processes as core to all programs and activities
• Successful track record as a manager and leader in a complex global organization
• Experience leading and supporting change management to embed an inclusive work culture
• International program implementation experience
• Experience building communities of practice
• Experience with government contracting and/or government grant-making processes within the international NGO sector strongly preferred

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Deep commitment to and knowledge of strategies to advance diversity, equality, and inclusion; proven experience in incorporating feminist and gender perspectives and ensuring equal participation in the workplace
• Demonstrable understanding of how power dynamics affect organizations and the ability to amplify the voices of individuals from under-represented groups
• Knowledge of and ability to speak fluently about existing and needed evidence about how to achieve meaningful change for women and girls and other historically under-represented groups in development and humanitarian contexts
• Ability to engage, inspire to action, and influence people outside of direct reporting lines
• Strong, concise, and compelling written communication skills and excellent public speaking skills
• Receptive and collaborative leadership approach that contributes to a positive team environment; builds and maintains strong relationships with people from all backgrounds, genders, cultures, and viewpoints
• Strong people management skills, with a priority on setting clear expectations for high performance, managing technical specialists, delegation, and working in matrixed settings
• Ability to refine and shepherd the implementation of a cross-cutting strategy while actively incorporating enterprise priorities and appropriate direction and feedback from colleagues
• Ability to work effectively and with impact through matrixed relationships
• Understands the importance of operating with a global mentality and models global and cultural sensitivity

Language Skills:

• Excellent spoken and written English
• Proficiency in at least one other relevant language (French, Arabic, Spanish, Swahili, etc.) strongly preferred

 Working Environment –

Combination of standard office working environment and working remotely (i.e., telecommuting). Applicants must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work from during regularly scheduled work hours.

Some international travel as needed up to 30%