Senior Director - Policy

Senior Director – Policy

New York City or Washington, D.C

Opportunity

IRAP is seeking a visionary leader to direct and develop our policy strategy to advance the rights of forcibly displaced people in this pivotal moment. The Senior Director of Policy will lead IRAP’s Policy Department, focusing on systemic advocacy to advance the rights of displaced people seeking safety in the United States. The Senior Director will also supervise and support the Climate Director and Climate Department developing program strategy to advance the rights of climate migrants globally. The Senior Director will also provide critical strategic partnership to IRAP’s Communications, Legal, and other Program Departments to further cross-departmental priorities. The Senior Director is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, a key leader of cross-departmental work especially with U.S. legal programs and communications, and acts as a key partner to the Executive Leadership Team. The Senior Director- Policy and Climate reports to the Executive VP- Program and Strategy.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a strategic vision for IRAP’s Policy Department to advance the rights of forcibly displaced people, particularly as it relates to individuals seeking safety in the United States, including by ensuring progress toward stated goals, developing new initiatives and partnerships, monitoring developments in our spheres of advocacy, implementing strategic cross-departmental initiatives, and advancing a state/local strategy through IRAP’s collaboration with the Refugee Advocacy Lab.
• Supervise and support the Climate Department to advance their strategic vision regarding climate displacement, including research, strategic advocacy initiatives, narrative change, and engagement in international climate justice spaces. The Senior Director will provide responsive management to the team, including key communication from upper management.
• Manage and facilitate strategy development by leading and facilitating necessary cross-departmental discussions and serving as the Department’s liaison to the Executive Leadership team, Senior Leadership Tea,m and the Board of Directors.
• Make decisions regarding IRAP’s major advocacy positions, including through consultation with appropriate staff and leadership members across IRAP on a full range of issues related to our mission.
• Represent IRAP in external policy and advocacy spaces as appropriate. Manage external relationships and promote IRAP’s policy work, including by liaising with outside partners, promoting the visibility of IRAP’s policy work, including with media, engaging with our donor/prospect community, and identifying opportunities for and encouraging appropriate external engagement by staff.
• Advance inclusion and representation, including by ensuring that the Policy Department seeks input from and supports the participation of affected refugee communities including through partnerships with refugee-led organizations.
• Manage the Policy team by providing responsive management and ongoing support and ensuring that the team is abreast of policy initiatives that are relevant to IRAP’s work.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the team’s work through collaborative efforts with IRAP’s Evaluation and Learning team.
• Manage the departmental budget.
• Participate in efforts to coordinate IRAP’s global policy initiatives, working with IRAP's Berlin, Beirut, and Amman offices who lead IRAP's policy advocacy strategy in Europe, Lebanon, and Jordan, respectively.

Qualifications

Education

• Law degree or master’s degree in a relevant field preferred.

Experience

• Eight or more years of immigration-related work experience with significant subject matter expertise in refugee law and policy;
• Relevant experience with federal and/or state/local advocacy experience in the United States strongly preferred.
• Extensive experience managing and supervising staff; Experience supervising staff working remotely is a plus;
• Experience advocating for policy change and designing, executing, or challenging legislative or administrative policies related to IRAP’s programmatic areas required;
• Demonstrated experience working with refugees and displaced people, immigrants, or other vulnerable populations and/or lived experience required;
• Demonstrated experience with external and internal stakeholder engagement required;
• Lived experience of displacement or refuge strongly preferred.

Values, Competencies, and Skills

• Successful record advocating for systemic change and advancing effective strategic communications and messaging campaigns.
• Sophisticated leadership skills and presence developed through management and leadership experience in policy work, with a demonstrable record of successful program management and direct supervision of staff.
• Demonstrated capacity to identify opportunities and build relationships that result in meaningful change, garnering broad support while staying true to IRAP’s core mission and values.
• Outstanding writing, research, and analytical skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Capacity to multitask and manage high-volume workload while remaining highly flexible and organized.
• The ability to listen, motivate, and make the team’s work as efficient and effective as possible.
• The ability to identify new opportunities and successfully integrate new initiative partnerships into Policy’s existing work.
• Deeply committed to IRAP’s mission and to understanding the critical role that legal aid, litigation, and policy advocacy play in advancing the rights of refugees and displaced people worldwide.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills and the ability to understand and handle sensitive and confidential information.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a leadership team to set organizational and departmental priorities and pursue opportunities that further come across departments.
• An optimistic outlook and the humor, integrity, patience, and perseverance necessary to advance efforts to ensure dignity and safety for displaced persons.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required; additional languages are a plus.

Location: This position requires being within commuting distance to an IRAP office in either New York or D.C.

Reasonable Accommodation:

IRAP is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, IRAP will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please refer to your request in the cover letter.

IRAP is an equal-opportunity employer; people of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. IRAP does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. We consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of all local, state, and federal laws related to the Fair Chance Act.