JOBS: Senior Design Advisor at International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization.
Leah Mukangai 
The Purpose of the Role
The Senior Design Advisor is a newly built position that will sit in the Program Quality Support Unit (PQSU). The Advisor will play a central role in driving forward the IRC’s Design Ambition. The post holder will report to the Senior Director of PQSU and will work closely with other team members and with colleagues across CRRD and beyond.
Key Accountabilities and major responsibilities
- Drive an organizational shift in practice to a more collaborative, inclusive, timely, and learning-informed design, by identifying/harnessing the resources, incentives, and guidance.
- Deliver a simple, flexible, and accessible design process for projects and partnerships.
- Support organizational efforts toward more strategic and integrated design.
- Support business development process improvements and serve as a connector around improved design with colleagues within and between Technical Excellence and the Awards Management Unit.
- Determine solutions for long-term capacity strengthening and support for design, including, but not limited to, the development of design facilitation training, the promotion of technology for remote design, and identification of staffing solutions for appropriately resourced design.
Key Working Relationships:
- Report to: Senior Director, Program Quality Support
- Collaboration with: PQSU, the leads of other IRC Strategic Ambitions,
- Country and Regional Teams, Technical Units, Grants Operations & Analytics Team, Measurement Unit, Awards Management Unit, and Research & Innovation Department.
Essential skills and experience
- 7 years of progressively responsible experience in the humanitarian and development sectors;
- Considerable experience in leading the design of humanitarian and development strategies and projects;
- Demonstrated experience in leading inclusive design processes, promoting the participation of clients, partners, and front-line staff;
- Strong design facilitation skills;
- Ability to address needs in a practical way;
- Ability to work collaboratively with a spirit of kindness and modesty;
- Able to find simple solutions for complex problems;
- Structured thinking and attention to detail;
- Strong written and oral communication skills;
- Ability to work in a team or independently and to respond to unexpected demands;
- Strong project management skills; and
- Able to travel to IRC country program locations;
Preferred experience & skills:
- Able to work in Arabic, French, or Spanish is an advantage;
- Experience with organizational change;
- Understanding of humanitarian principles and approaches to raising program quality;
- Familiarity with IRC processes; and
- Mastery of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
