Senior Director, Humanitarian Policy At Save the Children – US

Summary

The Senior Director for Global Humanitarian Policy will oversee Save the Children’s policy portfolio relating to conflict, natural disaster, famine and other humanitarian responses. The Senior Director for Global Humanitarian Policy reports to the Associate Vice President for Government Relations and manages a team dedicated to humanitarian policy and advocacy work. They will lead the development of lobbying and advocacy strategies and be held accountable for producing measurable results in the legislative and executive branch arenas, and coordinating our global humanitarian policy work with other Save the Children offices, U.S. and international coalition partners, and other leaders in the humanitarian policy, advocacy, and programmatic community and coordinate with other teams in government relations as needed.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Develop and advance Save the Children’s U.S. global policy and advocacy strategy on countries and issues where the organization is providing major humanitarian and recovery assistance. (45%)

• Manage and track concurrent international emergencies in coordination with humanitarian response staff in headquarters and in relevant regional and country offices.
• Work with Executive Branch, Congress, and multilateral organizations to advance humanitarian agenda.
• Lead policy development for on-going and emergency humanitarian situations, including strategic and tactical planning using all U.S. government policymaking tools, including legislation, appropriations, executive orders, regulatory authority, and internal agency policies.
• Lead and manage production of reports, written briefs, and other materials related to humanitarian policy and advocacy for use with policy makers or the public.
• Represent Save the Children on key humanitarian working groups and coalitions.

Manage the humanitarian policy team and serve on the Government Relations Senior Management Team (15%)

• Manage a team of policy and advocacy staff dedicated to humanitarian policy and advocacy.
• Hire, train and manage humanitarian policy staff.
• Oversee staff job performance. Work with each to set annual performance and development goals, address any issues that may arise, and compete mid-year and annual performance reviews.
• Serve on the Government Relations Senior Management Team, working with colleagues to coordinate Save the Children U.S. engagement across policy teams and to achieve strategic and campaign goals.
• Contribute to efforts to fund international humanitarian policy and advocacy work.
• Develop the budget and policy priorities for the international humanitarian policy team, in coordination with the Government Relations Senior Management Team.

Improve the reach and scope of Save the Children International’s (SCI) humanitarian advocacy through collaboration with wider SCI membership. (15%)

• Represent Save the Children US in global Save the Children humanitarian policy and advocacy teams.
• Prepare, contribute to, and review reports and other written materials related to humanitarian policy and advocacy, as well as key crises and conflicts.
• Develop relationships with peers in other Save the Children member, regional, and country offices, as well as Save the Children International and Save the Children representative offices for international organizations.

Manage new, emerging, and sensitive humanitarian situations. (15%)

• Track and gain subject matter expertise on emerging humanitarian crises beyond those covered by the Humanitarian Policy Team.
• Brief Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns leadership and other colleagues on new and emerging situations, and lead Save the Children’s outreach to policy makers in the Administration and on Capitol Hill on new and emerging situations.

Lead Save the Children’s policy work concerning civilian-military relations. (10%)

• Represent Save the Children U.S. in civilian-military coalitions, including InterAction’s civilian-military working group and the US Institute for Peace-hosted interagency civilian-military working group.
• Coordinate internal positions within SC US
• Draft position papers and develop strategy as required

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 10 years of relevant experience
• Proven experience in legislative, lobbying, government relations, or international relations, including experience on Capitol Hill, relevant federal agencies, and/or international organizations.
• Proven experience working in U.S. humanitarian policy or humanitarian response situations
• Experience working in coalitions required
• Demonstrated familiarity with the legislative process, including authorization and appropriations.
• Proven staff management experience, including planning, prioritization and execution skills, along with demonstrated experience in managing multiple priorities and competing demands.
• Demonstrated strategic and analytical ability,
• Demonstrated professional oral and written communication skills in English
• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with individuals and teams across a complex organization, leveraging the strengths and buy-in of others
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to a changing work environment and develop creative solutions to strategic challenges.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in humanitarian policy at a senior level on Capitol Hill, the State Department, USAID, other federal agency involved in humanitarian response, or a non-governmental organization.
• Experience working in and managing people in large, complex, global organizations.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

*Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.*

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.