Climate Resilience Specialist at International Rescue Committee

Job Overview: 

The Climate Resilience Specialist will lead efforts to adapt IRC programs to be more resilient and responsive to the impacts of climate change. The postholder will provide advice and support in three principal ways: 

• Support learning and innovation across Crisis Response, Recovery, and Development (CRRD) to promote climate resilient / responsive programs; 
• Demand driven support to Technical Units, Regional Units, and Country Teams to design services that are climate resilient and/or build community resilience; and  
• Develop practical resources to help the organization adopt and scale climate resilient/responsive interventions. 

The Climate Resilience Specialist will be part of the Program Quality Support Unit (PQSU). The postholder will report to the Snr Director, Program Quality Support and will work closely with other climate specialists and champions within PQSU and across CRRD. 

Major Responsibilities:

The Climate Resilience Specialist will have responsibility for the following: 

• Support to strategic design and business development opportunities related to climate resilience and wider efforts to position IRC in this space. 
• Targeted support to Technical Units in adapting priority intervention approaches and providing intervention-specific guidance on how to promote climate resilience. 
• Work with regions and technical units to better understand and adapt to the projected impacts of climate induced disasters.
• Build organizational resources to help to develop IRC’s portfolio of climate resilient / responsive programs. 
• In addition to the above, the Climate Resilience Specialist will support the following work led by the Climate Change Advisor: convening learning exchanges between climate specialists, building mitigation and adaptation efforts into business processes.   

Job Requirements: 

Work Experience: 

• Experience of leading programs that: respond to the impacts of climate change, and build resilience to future impacts, gained through 6-8 years of experience working in fragile contexts.
• Expertise in delivering / supporting programs related to one or more of IRC’s outcome areas: Economic Well Being, Education, Health, Power, and/or Safety.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: 

• Strong knowledge of the intersection between conflict and climate and the role humanitarian assistance can play in building resilience.
• Ability to provide practical technical advice and support strategic direction setting. 
• Strong data literacy and the ability to support evidence and learning informed decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills, including strong written and verbal communication skills in a multi-cultural environment. 
• Collaborative and pro-active colleague with a talent for working across interdisciplinary teams. 
• Project management skills and the ability to deliver products on time and to high quality.
• Dedication to IRC values of Equality, Service, Integrity and Accountability, a strong passion for our mission and commitment to learning and continuous improvement.
• Ability to manage virtual meetings and navigate collaborative technology applications.
• Ability to travel to IRC country program locations. 

Preferred experience & skills: 

• Personal lived experience of the impacts of climate change. 
• Experience in managing stakeholders’ engagement, facilitating decision making amongst leaders and supporting organizational change. 
• Ability to work in Spanish, French or Arabic.
• Mastery of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.