Country: United States of America
Closing date: 12 Apr 2018
Requisition ID: req1226
Job Title: Health Policy & Communication Advisor
Sector: Health
Employment Category: Regular
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: USA-New York, NY - HQ
Job Description
Background/IRC Summary
The International Rescue Committee's (IRC) mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. IRC's health programs comprise the largest proportion of its overall program budget and are essential to both IRC emergency response and long term programming worldwide. The Health Technical Unit is a dynamic team of more than 45 professionals in Primary Health, Reproductive Health, Nutrition, Mental and Environmental Health. They provide IRC's 40 plus country offices and emergency response team with world class technical expertise, capacity building and a cross country view of what works to achieve outcomes in terms of both scientific evidence and practical experience. They also lead focused research agenda, influencing donor policy to support interventions and innovations proven cost effective to achieve positive change in people's lives.
Job Overview/Summary:
The Health Policy Advisor is a key member of the health unit, and IRC's larger Policy and Practice group which includes technical, research, communications and advocacy teams. This role offers an opportunity to draw on IRC's excellent track record implementing health programs in the most challenging contexts, and identify strategies to influence policy discussions. In order to do this effectively, the IRC seeks a Health Policy and communication Advisor to create a coherent set of well-researched, field-supported policy messages and develop a communication strategy for pushing these messages into external audiences.
Responsibilities:
Policy research and analysis
Support Senior Director for Health to develop clear and coherent global health policy agenda, including IRC health policy positions and actions IRC should take to influence and advance these positions.
Create a living map of the policy landscape in global health - where and who holds influence, around which issues, how these relate to one another.
Conduct policy research to inform IRC's health policy positions and the political landscape.
Communications
Draft policy positions for various mediums - op-ed, blogs, speeches, presentations
Draft more general communications material on health as needed
Support the wider work of the health unit, including gathering, compiling and analyzing health data for communication
Representation and networking
Be the contact point for communication with key groups and actors in the health policy space
Identify most important existing forums/ meetings through which IRC should send its messages, exert its influence
Recommend to Senior Director new forums, meetings, media opportunities, relationships IRC should invest in to advance its policy agenda
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Senior Director, Health
Position directly supervises: N/A
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: The position includes liaison and work with colleagues across all IRC departments, especially the other technical units, advocacy and communications teams; and the International Programs Department.
External: The position includes relationship-building and communications with partner organizations, policy-makers, donors and other influential constituents in the health policy space.
Job Requirements:
Requirements
- At least 5 years of experiences in the health sector.
- Master's degree in public health or closely related field:
- Expertise in research and advocacy: ability to formulate policy positions and present facts and information to substantiate such positions
- Excellent research and analysis skills in the health policy field: strong understanding of the political landscape in global health and health in emergencies; ability to identify the most salient issues in health
- Excellent written and oral communications skills; ability to communicate with many and diverse audiences; you listen intently and actively to all audiences; your communications are direct, simple and respectful.
- Strong negotiation, influencing and networking skills
- Fluency in English.
Working Environment: 15% travel.
How to apply:
Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=YXN0cmlkLm1hdGhldy41NjUxMy4zODMwQGlyY2NkLmFwbGl0cmFrLmNvbQ