Job Overview

• The Global Practice Lead, Protection – Rule of Law is the organizational leader for Humanitarian Protection , Rights and Rule of Law for the Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) department and is a core member of the Violence Prevention and Response Unit’s Senior Management team. They are responsible for devising and leading strategies to raise the quality, impact, and scale of IRC’s Humanitarian Protection, Rights and Rule of Law programming.
• The Global Practice Lead Protection – Rule of Law will ensure the scope, quality and relevance of global technical standards, including the generation and promotion of evidence in their technical area. Global Practice Lead will closely collaborate with Regional Leads, Technical Advisors, and Technical Coordinators in promoting technical best practice in CRRD programming. They will facilitate Technical Unit-led and high impact strategic business development by providing excellent technical insights and developing and maintaining strategic relationships and networks. In line with the Safety Strategy, the Global Practice Lead Protection – Rule of Law will lead strategic planning for the practice area. The Global Practice Lead reports to the Senior Director, VPRU and may manage highly specialized experts/specialists colleagues to generate global evidence and best practice as their portfolio requires.
• This role provides overall leadership to policy, sectoral coordination, advocacy, learning and innovation for humanitarian protection, rule of law. It involves representing the IRC in key external engagements and global policy spaces, maintaining strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders and movements, and relevant networks and campaigns globally.
• This role advances IRC’s work in support of prioritizing protection programing in emergencies, supporting necessary system adaptations and changes, amplifying emerging learning, spearheading sector-wide transformative shifts towards more inclusive, localized, evidence-based programing.
• The Global Lead will help to frame strong collective positioning across Humanitarian Protection and Rights priorities, building consensus and supporting learning and the generation of knowledge across the IRC and the wider Protection sector, in support of realizing the Centrality of Protection in humanitarian programming.
• A key aim of this role is to encourage coherence between IRC’s work at local, national and international levels, seeking to consolidated gains, promote high-impact strategies and policy influencing work. In collaboration with the Airbel Research Lab and the Advocacy, the role will advance ground-breaking research and advocacy work. Close coordination with the Deputy Director of VPRU will ensure local learning feeds into global positioning, advocacy and mobilization.
• This role will develop a strong collaborative relationship with the Global Leads for Child Protection, Women Protection and Empowerment, as well as counterparts in the Health, Economic Recovery and Development, Education and Governance in support of enhanced, integrative protection programming, supporting the overall coherence of IRC’s strategic priorities.
• The Global Lead will lead and coordinate strategic resource mobilization and oversee management of innovation and strategic projects falling within the purview of the role.

Major Responsibilities

Strategy, Program Design and Business Development

• Act as the organizational leader for CRRD in Protection – Rule of Law internally and externally
• Lead strategic direction for Protection – Rule of Law in line with the organizational global strategy (both S100 and Violence Prevention and Response Strategy)
• Responsible for identifying global areas of programmatic risk in Protection – Rule of Law and elevating issues to Regional Leads and VPRU leadership
• Collaborate with other Global Practice Leads to promote integrated program designs within Protection and across all IRC sectors that increase scale and deepen impact
• Lead Technical Unit led global business development for Protection – Rule of Law and support strategic project level proposals
• Lead coordination with AMU to drive fundraising from Public and Institutional donors and with ER to drive fundraising from Private donors to meet VPRU’s strategic priorities related to Protection – Rule of Law
• Oversee Technical Unit-led strategic awards in Protection – Rule of Law, working closely with regional Technical Advisors as applicable and the Grant Operations and Analytics Team
• Line manage global practice area and strategic project staff

Global Practice Implementation Support

• Responsible for drawing on evidenced-based best practice to provide technical oversight of IRC’s global technical standards, methodologies, and tools for Protection – Rule of Law
• Accountable for the development of a limited number of high-value tools and methodologies to better integrate cross-cutting issues into protection – rule of law programs (e.g., gender equality, diversity and inclusion, climate adaptation, etc.).
• Accountable for establishing information and knowledge management systems that support Regional Leads and Technical Advisors staying up to date on global technical standards, methodologies, and tools
• Establish competency framework for Protection – Rule of Law and work closely with Regional Leads to identify competency gaps and drive capacity strengthening
• Accountable for ensuring Technical Advisors and Technical Coordinators have the tools and resources that are needed to measure programs in protection – rule of law
• Support Technical Advisors and Technical Coordinators with thorny technical problems, career planning support, and mentorship, as appropriate

Research, Data, Knowledge Management, and Organizational Learning

• Accountable for establishing and maintaining a Community of Practice and other channels for protection – rule of law to ensure pro-active and inclusive management with sustained learning, development, innovation, and best practice sharing
• Coordinate with Regional Leads and Technical Advisors to lift up program learning for cross-sharing and incorporation into global best practice
• Oversee Technical Unit-led strategic awards in protection – rule of law, working closely with regional Technical Advisors as applicable and the Grant Operations and Analytics Team
• Guide research and evidence use efforts in Protection – Rule of Law, working closely with colleagues and leaders in Airbel, VPRU, other technical units, and regional colleagues
• Provide technical inputs to Protection – Rule of Law specific MEAL tools and methodologies, and support data interpretation in learning routines

External Influence, Relationships and Representation

• Act as a key strategic advisor to Policy & Advocacy, Research & Innovation, and External Relations teams on advocacy campaigns and priority policy and practice shifts related to Protection – Rule of Law
• Responsible for identification, development, and maintenance of strategic relationships and global partnerships with relevant stakeholders (e.g. donors, UN agencies, NGOs, research and educational institutions, private sector actors) in [Global Practice] area.
• Represent IRC in external forums as relevant

Key Working Relationships

• Position Reports to: Senior Director, VPRU, CRRD Technical Excellence
• Direct Reports: Relevant global practice area and strategic project staff

Key Internal Relationships

• VPRU Deputy Unit Director
• VPR Regional Leads across 6 regions, and regional Protection – Rule of Law Technical Advisors
• Global Practice Leads for Child Protection and Women’s Protection and Empowerment
• Prevention and Inclusion Advisers
• VPRU Policy and Advocacy Lead
• VPRU Business Development and Partnership Lead
• Policy Solutions, Advocacy Influence, and Systems Change Global Teams
• CRRD Senior Management Team and Leadership Group; Regional Leadership Teams
• Global HQ and AMU focal points

Key External Relationships

• Global Protection Cluster leads and stakeholders
• Humanitarian protection, IHL, and human rights counterparts at other INGOs
• Humanitarian protection, IHL, and human rights counterparts at Red Cross/Crescent Movement
• International Protection Coordination Platforms and Coalitions
• Humanitarian protection, IHL, and human rights focal points for donors and policy makers’
• Humanitarian protection, IHL, and human rights counterparts in relevant UN agencies

Requirements

Desired Experience And Skills

• Established or growing recognition as an expert in the practice area, at regional or global level, with a minimum of 12+ years of progressive experience of designing, leading and implementing programs with 7+ years in the areas of humanitarian protection, international humanitarian law, refugee law, rule of law in emergencies.
• Strong track record of driving uptake of evidence-based practice
• Demonstrated experience in sectoral strategy design and planning.
• Experience with sectoral policy and advocacy efforts and campaigns for change (as relevant)
• Excellent communication, influencing, and storytelling skills.
• Excellent management and leadership skills including coaching, mentoring, and performance management.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and convert business development opportunities for self and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to influence across a wide range of diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Demonstrated ability to shape the vision and agenda within the domain area they are working.
• Ability to work, manage, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment; outstanding business acumen, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills required.
• Superb inter-personal, written and verbal communication skills with ability to collaborate across countries, cultures, and departments.
• Track record of scaled innovations preferred, ideally including experience working on both digital and analog solutions.
• Fluency in English required – Arabic, French and/or Spanish also strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel globally up to 25% of the time, occasionally on short notice.

Education:

• Master’s/post-graduate degree in International Law, Human Rights Law, international development or relevant field or equivalent combination of education and work experience background is required. Sound training on the use of data and research evidence for programmatic decisions and rigorous analytic skills are an advantage.