Job Overview

The Head of Strategy & Delivery holds a unique and expansive remit that spans both the development of IRC's organizational strategy and the hands-on leadership of delivery against that strategy, as well as enterprise risk management. The role sits at the intersection of long-range strategic thinking and practical, evidence-based problem-solving, ensuring that IRC's most critical priorities are not only well-defined but effectively executed, while balancing strategic direction with proactive organizational risk mitigation.

As the leader of the Strategy & Delivery Unit (SDU), you will work in close collaboration with IRC’s President/CEO, executive leadership, and teams across the entire organization. The role serves as a senior thought partner on the organization's highest-stakes strategic questions while simultaneously ensuring that the IRC's most pressing challenges are identified, unblocked, and resolved. This role works closely with the Senior Director of Policy & Planning in the President's Office and strategy and planning leads across the organization to regularly assess progress on strategic priorities and organizational health, and ensure cohesion across departments’ priorities.

IRC's Strategy100 (S100) provides the strategic direction for the organization through its centenary in 2033. The Head of Strategy & Delivery is the ultimate steward of S100 — championing it internally and externally, overseeing progress tracking, and leading the preparation and implementation of each successive phase. At the same time, you will be accountable for ensuring that the organization's capacity to deliver against those strategic goals is continuously assessed, strengthened, and where necessary, course-corrected.

You will oversee a high-performing, multidisciplinary team working across a portfolio of strategic and delivery-focused projects that are of critical importance to the IRC's mission to help more than 20 million people affected by conflict and crisis worldwide. The role requires exceptional strategic vision, strong advisory and influence capabilities, deep emotional intelligence, and a proven ability to lead and develop diverse, high-performing teams.

The role reports to the Chief Operating Officer.

Major Responsibilities

Strategy Leadership & Stewardship

• Serve as the primary champion and steward of IRC’s multi-year strategy, S100, ensuring alignment and momentum across the organization and in external engagement
• Act as a strategic thought partner to the President, COO, CFO and other Executive Board members on key organizational and sector-wide questions, including organizational budget decisions
• Assess organizational progress toward S100 priorities, in collaboration with leaders across the organization
• Lead preparation for each successive phase of S100, including reviewing results to date, assessing the evolving external environment, and refining strategic priorities accordingly
• Ensure strategy and ‘deliverology’ skills and practices are embedded across the Strategy & Delivery Unit’s approach and across the IRC’s network of strategy-focused roles

Delivery, Organizational Performance & Enterprise Risk Management

• Oversee a portfolio of complex delivery-focused projects, taking ownership for timely, high-quality outcomes — scoping work, driving to solutions, and resolving roadblocks as they arise
• Monitor overall organizational performance in partnership with the President’s Office; advise senior leadership on top priorities for strategic effort and enterprise risk management through direct counsel and performance routines, including the IRC’s Quarterly Strategic & Risk Reviews (QSRRs)
• Ensure that the IRC’s most pressing challenges in delivering on its organizational goals are identified, surfaced, triaged, and assigned to the appropriate team for resolution
• Facilitate difficult conversations and drive decisions with IRC senior leaders on organizational health, performance gaps, and delivery risks

Strategy & Delivery Unit Leadership

• Lead the Strategy & Delivery Unit: define the Unit’s mission and key areas of focus, identify and scope projects with internal ‘clients’ across IRC, and oversee project development and delivery
• Assess the SDU’s project pipeline and assign team priorities in line with organizational needs
• Provide direct line management to senior SDU members; provide overall oversight of team members at Analyst, Manager, and Senior Manager levels
• Recruit, develop, inspire, and retain exceptional and diverse talent, with a focus on attracting talent from outside IRC and building the next generation of organizational leaders
• Curate a positive, collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team environment where members can do impactful work, grow professionally, and receive regular developmental feedback
• Co-manage the Senior Advisor, Strategy & Performance, in collaboration with the President’s Office Senior Director of Policy & Planning
• Represent the Strategy & Delivery Unit in internal and external forums, championing both strategic priorities and delivery excellence

Job Requirements

Work/Educational Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required
• At least 10-12 years of relevant work experience, including demonstrated experience in strategic analysis, organizational performance, project management, and advisory of senior leaders
• Track record of high performance with progressively increasing responsibilities, ideally spanning both strategy development and delivery/implementation functions

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies

• Deep strategic thinker with the ability to lead an organization in reflecting on its role in a rapidly changing environment, using qualitative and quantitative data to develop, refine, and drive implementation of transformational strategies
• Proven track record in driving strategic change and organizational change management at scale
• Repeated experience in project managing large-scale, cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced, complex environments
• Exceptional advisory and influence skills; ability to connect with, challenge, and support senior leaders in driving organizational change
• Strong organizational and time-management skills; ability to deliver on multiple simultaneous and often competing demands
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to structure and creatively solve complex, ambiguous problems
• Understanding of and passion for IRC’s work and the evolving humanitarian and development sectors, with a desire to shape change across these fields
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to present and influence at the highest organizational and external levels
• Highly collaborative with the ability to work independently in a dynamic, multicultural, cross-functional global structure
• Experienced people leader with a strong track record of recruiting, developing, inspiring, and retaining high-performing and diverse teams
• Comfortable with ambiguity and resilient to shifting priorities; able to make progress with imperfect information
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office suite

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Experience in a strategy role at a leading strategy consulting firm, or in the strategy development or organizational performance function of a major global organization
• An MBA, Master’s degree, or equivalent in international development, human rights, or another field related to IRC’s work
• Experience in a humanitarian, development, or comparable mission-driven organization
• Knowledge of French, Arabic, or Spanish

Working Environment

• Standard office working environment in the New York office
• Some international travel required
• This role may require working remotely full or part time; part-time remote employees may be required to share workspace

Compensation: (Pay Rate: $165,000 - $195,000). 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.