The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC is one of the leading providers of high-quality programming for refugees resettling in the United States. The mission of the IRC’s US Programs (USP) Department is to create opportunities for refugees to survive and thrive in America. The IRC’s USP Department provides services in 28 U.S. cities and through the IRC’s Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in East Asia. The USP portfolio has grown to encompass a spectrum of support in five program outcome areas with numerous local partners, hundreds of corporate, foundation, and government donors, and thousands of individual givers. In October 2016, IRC opened the New Jersey Office for Refugees (NJOR) to administer funding and provide technical support to ensure refugees receive the highest possible quality Education, Health, and Economic Empowerment services.

Job summary

The Capacity Building Officer spearheads partner-oriented training and technical assistance initiatives across the three technical sectors of Economic Empowerment, Education, and Health, as well as internal NJOR professional development and capacity-building training. The Capacity Building Officer leads the development of the NJOR’s technical support strategy, collaborating with the Director and Program Managers to set relevant goals and define work plans. To implement the approach, the Capacity Building Officer leads partnership development with key local and state government stakeholders, academic institutions, and others, as well as the execution of all service contracts and consultancies.

The Capacity-Building Officer engages and supervises consultants and service contractors hired to implement technical support, reporting, and communications initiatives.

Major responsibilities:

Technical Support

• Lead the development of an office-wide technical support strategy

• Lead project management of technical assistance projects

• Lead the coordination of internal IRC partnerships on technical support initiatives with other departments like PQI, RAL, and Switchboard

• Lead all office-wide research initiatives, including needs assessments, program and or client-focused research projects, and evaluation studies

• Develop training resources and materials compliance training for education and set-aside programs, with Program Team input and support

• Coordinate and facilitate training for sub-award partners with program staff and other content expert involvement

• Coordinate, facilitate, and lead strategy for training and technical assistance materials for sub-award partners, including webinars, self-paced e-learning, online certificate courses, etc.

• Oversee provision of consultation, guidance, and recommended resources in response to questions and technical assistance requests from sub-award partners

• Lead special TTA projects, including intensive capacity-building work in response to the rapidly evolving resettlement landscape

• Ensure related training and learning resources are developed and delivered on time and budget.

Staff Management

• Lead the development of relevant terms of references for, and the subsequent management of, all consultants and service contracts for technical support-related initiatives. Oversee work of part-time and occasional contributors to the Training team

• Oversee work of part-time and occasional contributors to the Technical Capacity portfolio

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Oversee the tracking of related TTA outputs and outcomes against targets (materials developed, training delivered, individuals participating, etc.).

• Review and analyze feedback data from related TTA participants

• Oversee provision of inputs into reports, including monthly activity updates and semi-annual Performance Progress Reports

• Lead the design and production of other primary communication tools, including blog posts, web posts and summaries of technical assistance and research initiatives

Job requirements:

• Related Bachelor’s degree to Economics, Education, Health, and Social Services required; Master’s degree a plus

• 3-5 years of related experience required; grant-making, research, and training facilitation experience a plus

• Prior staff supervision experience required

• Prior experience working in refugee/immigrant-related services is strongly preferred

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Excellent analytical skills: experience with data systems development and analysis strongly preferred

• Enterprising spirit with the ability to self-start and work in a fluid context

• Excellent diplomatic and cross-cultural skills, with the ability to work together with a variety of stakeholders across multiple teams

Work environment:

• Fully remote position

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirement.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.