Background
The Health Technical Unit is a team of more than 70 professionals across Primary Health Care, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Nutrition, and Mental Health, supporting IRC’s 40-plus country offices with technical expertise, capacity building, and a cross-country perspective on what works.
Job Overview
The Specialist, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) sits within the Health Unit and provides targeted technical support for SRHR programming, with a focus on family planning (FP) and comprehensive abortion care (CAC). Reporting to the Senior Specialist, SRHR, the Specialist leads day-to-day support for strategic projects — including the IRC-supported Family Planning Impact Lab in South Sudan and Somalia — and provides surge support to scale contraception in humanitarian and fragile settings. The Specialist collaborates closely with country program teams, Health Technical Advisors, Regional Practice Leads, Airbel Impact Lab, and external partners to ensure program quality, fidelity, and learning.
Key Responsibilities:
Technical Support for Strategic Projects (50%)
- Lead day-to-day technical oversight of the Family Planning Impact Lab in South Sudan and Somalia, including:
- Coordinating multidisciplinary research, user-centered design, and SRH technical teams
- Overseeing program pilots and iterative adaptations
- Liaising with partner and donor teams on project timeliness, quality, and coordination
- Serve as the technical focal point for country program, Health Unit, Airbel, partner, and donor stakeholders on assigned projects
- Monitor program implementation and key indicators; drive course correction as needed
- Identify priorities and opportunities for strategic SRHR programs and research in collaboration with the Senior Specialists, GPL, Airbel and country programs
Technical Assistance & Scale (20%)
- Identify and address technical support gaps in IRC country programs working to scale family planning in humanitarian settings in collaboration with Health TAs and SRHR leadership
- Develop, disseminate and support the implementation of training materials, program tools, evidence briefs, and measurement frameworks to support contraception scaling
- Provide specialized technical assistance on contraception and abortion to Health TAs and country programs, ensuring alignment with global best practices
Knowledge Management & Learning (10%)
- Work with the SRHR Research team and Project Coordinator to support the documentation and use of best practices and evidence across the health unit and in country programs
- Support communities of practice on contraception, fostering cross-country peer exchange
- Ensure key lessons from strategic projects inform country-led program design and implementation
External Influence & Representation (10%)
- Contribute to thought leadership on select SRHR topics through blogs, working groups, and internal and external conference presentations
- Represent IRC in priority external forums including technical, policy, and advocacy workshops
Business Development (10%)
- Support strategic business development opportunities in partnership with Health Unit leadership, AMU, and country programs
- Provide specialized program design support on SRHR to TAs and country programs on request
Key Working Relationships:
Reports to: Senior Specialist, SRHR
Internal: Health TAs, Regional Practice Leads, Airbel Impact Lab, Global MEAL, SRH GPL, Violence Prevention and Response Unit, AMU, and EHAU
External: INGO counterparts, UN agencies, global coordination mechanisms, public and private donors
Job Requirements:
Education
- Degree in public health or a related field required; Master’s degree desirable
- Clinical degree (nurse or midwife) preferred
Experience & Skills
- Minimum 6 years’ experience in public health and SRHR, including field experience in humanitarian or fragile settings
- Demonstrated technical expertise in family planning and comprehensive abortion care; maternal and newborn health experience preferred
- Experience managing multi-stakeholder, multi-country projects across the humanitarian-development nexus
- Familiarity with implementation research, M&E, and program quality frameworks; experience designing or monitoring M&E plans for scaling initiatives strongly preferred
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to collaborate across countries, cultures, and departments
- Ability to work effectively in fast-paced environments with remote and multicultural teams
- Proficiency in English and French required; Arabic or Spanish an asset
- Ability to travel up to 30% of the time, occasionally on short notice
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 requirements.
- US Pay Range: $95,000 – $107,000
- UK Pay Range: £58,736 – £68,526
Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.
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 $163 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, 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.
How to apply
Please apply on our website:Â https://theirc.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External_Careers/job/New-York-NY-HQ-USA/Specialist–Sexual-and-Reproductive-Health-and-Rights_JR00003090