Best Use of Resources Advisor 307 views0 applications

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 40 countries and 29 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.

Airbel—IRC’s Impact Lab—designs, tests, and scales life-changing, cost-effective solutions for people affected by conflict and disaster. Applying deep technical expertise and field experience, Airbel takes a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving in humanitarian contexts. With a desire to think afresh and the experience and reputation of a large-scale implementing organization, Airbel creates impactful and cost-effective interventions.

The IRC’s Best Use of Resources (BUR) team conducts analysis on the cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of key IRC programs. Humanitarian needs are growing while financial resources to meet those needs are limited. Project teams are faced with the complex decision of using limited budgets to bring the most impact to the greatest number of people in need. Providing technical assistance on cost-efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and strategic resource allocation to country teams, technical units, and partner organizations, the BUR team ensures programs have the greatest possible reach and impact per dollar.

The Best Use of Resources Advisor will provide research and technical assistance across a complex and developed portfolio of work.

Major Responsibilities:

• Conduct cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness analyses across a complex and developed portfolio of work.

• Lead scenario modelling analyses of the cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of products and services across contexts and scales. Understand the decision-making needs of counterparts and develop modelling plans that best address these questions given data constraints.

• Effectively communicate scenario modeling and analysis results and implications with program counterparts, to inform programmatic decision making, new product development, and scaling, including showing the impact of different program designs on cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

• Track and manage all projects within a given portfolio, including budgeting and planning, to ensure projects stay on-track, follow project guidance, and provide timely results.

• Provide peer reviews on BUR team analyses and reports.

• Provide on-demand advising, data, and strategic input to teams (including Business Development, Grants Support, Finance, and Policy & Advocacy) on cost topics such as “value for money,” outcome-based budgeting, and resourcing planning.

• Work collaboratively with country-based staff and technical teams, proactively identifying and solving risks to analysis quality as they arise.

• Build and develop program-specific databases of cost data. Relate cost results with evidence on the effectiveness of programs generated by the Airbel research team and external literature.

• Complete evidence synthesis to inform organizational learning around the cost of programs, collaborating across teams to ensure that learnings are shared and integrated.

• Support the development of evidence recommendations and evidence sharing, including peer reviews, and development of programmatic guidance.

• Support strategic projects to apply lessons from cost analysis to scaling and replicating effective interventions.

• Scope new research projects, suggest appropriate analyses to answer research needs, and create work plans.

• Provide research design and pre-award support to the development of proposals, working with finance and program teams to integrate cost data and review proposal budgets for alignment with workplans and targets.

• Lead on project reporting, including writing reports, delivering presentations, supporting communications staff, and contributing to broader BUR/IRC reports.

• Work under supervision to build advocacy and develop external partnerships, including the development of collateral and relationship building.

• Support overall research design, operations, and strategy across a given focus area, completing other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, a related field, or one or more of the positions’ focus areas, or equivalent professional experience;

• 3-5 years of similar work experience; minimum 1 year in LMICs strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of evaluation methods, applications, and cost-evidence literature in LMICs;

• Demonstrated proficiency in spreadsheet-based data cleaning and analysis;

• Experience managing five or more projects, including proficiency in project management;

• Implementation and/or monitoring and evaluation experience in safety, economic wellbeing, nutrition, primary health, or similar area;

• Strong writing skills including demonstrated ability to write for non-technical audiences with a focus on advocacy;

• Excellent speaking and presentation skills;

• Ability to work as part of a remote team across time zones, cultures, and contexts;

• Excellence communication skills, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, ability to improvise, team player;

• Commitment to IRC’s core values.

Strongly Preferred

• One or more years of experience managing individuals and/or teams;

• Demonstrated proficiency in statistical analysis software;

• Experience with quantitative evidence synthesis;

• Experience in writing peer-reviewed publications;

• Fluency in spoken and written English required; fluency in French or Arabic highly desirable.

Working Environment: This role may require working remotely full or part-time and part-time remote employees may be required to share workspace. Applicants must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work from during regularly scheduled work hours. Some international travel, as needed, up to 20%.

**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.