Deputy Team Leader at International Rescue Committee

Deputy Team Leader at International Rescue Committee

The Deputy Team Leader / Technical Director provides strategic technical leadership and operational oversight for the ReSET programme. Reporting to the Team Leader, this role ensures the technical quality, and coherence of programme delivery across all sectors and pillars. The Deputy Team Lead builds partner capacity strengthening within IRC’s localisation framework, leads value-for-money integration, and ensures effective coordination with key stakeholders.

The post-holder will deputise for the Team Leader as required and serve as a senior relationship manager with FCDO, consortium partners, and government counterparts.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Technical Leadership and Programme Quality

• Provide overarching technical direction across ReSET’s multi-sector portfolio, ensuring alignment with FCDO requirements, Sphere Standards, and IRC quality standards.

• Lead the development and harmonisation of programme technical frameworks, including cash-first delivery models, protection mainstreaming, and graduation approaches.

• Oversee context-adaptive implementation, ensuring evidence-based adjustments across both pillars.

• Champion accountability to affected populations (AAP) and ensure gender-sensitive, inclusive programme design and delivery.

• Lead consortium partner technical support and capacity-strengthening efforts within IRC’s localization framework.

• Support national and local NGO partners to progressively assume greater implementation and leadership responsibilities.

• Facilitate partnership governance mechanisms, including joint planning, learning, and review processes.

• Lead development and use of VfM metrics and frameworks to demonstrate ReSET’s cost-effectiveness to FCDO.

• Work closely with the Finance Director and consortium partners to monitor burn rates, flag underspends or overspends, and initiate timely budget revisions and realignments where required.

• Ensure all procurement, sub-grant management, and operational processes adhere to IRC and FCDO compliance standards, including anti-fraud, anti-corruption, and conflict-of-interest policies.

• Coordinate with internal audit and compliance teams to ensure appropriate risk management and audit readiness throughout the programme cycle..

• Represent IRC and ReSET in high-level coordination fora, including the Uganda Refugee Response coordination architecture (UCRRP), Protection Cluster, Cash Working Group, and OPM-led platforms.

• Maintain strategic relationships with FCDO’s programme team, UN agencies (UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, OCHA), OPM, and consortium partners to ensure programmatic coherence and shared accountability.

• Support the Team Leader in preparing for FCDO programme reviews, Annual Review processes, and any mid-term or end-of-programme evaluations, including development of required documentation and evidence packages.

• Identify and document emerging evidence, learning, and policy-relevant findings from ReSET for strategic communication and influence with FCDO and the broader humanitarian and development sector.

• Oversee the production of high-quality programme reports including quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports, ensuring findings are evidence-based, reflect programme learning, and demonstrate progress against logframe milestones.

• Champion a culture of learning and adaptive management across the consortium, facilitating after-action reviews, lessons-learned exercises, and pause-and-reflect sessions.

• Ensure documentation and dissemination of programme learning, best practices, and innovations for internal use and external policy influence.

• Lead inter-agency and consortium coordination, ensuring effective collaboration, avoiding duplication, and maximising complementarity across all implementing partners.

• Engage proactively with OPM, district local government, and settlement authorities to ensure ReSET activities are aligned with national refugee policies and locally-owned response frameworks.

• Represent IRC in relevant technical working groups, cluster meetings, and inter-agency coordination platforms relevant to ReSET’s scope.

• Line-manage senior technical leads and provide mentoring and performance support.

• Foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement within the ReSET team.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in complex humanitarian and/or development programming, with at least 5 years in a senior technical or management role.

• Master’s degree in international development, humanitarian affairs, social sciences, public policy, or a related field. Equivalent professional experience may be considered.

• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale, multi-sector FCDO-funded programmes (or equivalent bilateral donors).

• Proven expertise in two or more of the following sectors: protection, cash and voucher assistance (CVA), economic recovery, health, or education.

• Substantial experience in refugee response, displacement contexts, and working with OPM or equivalent government counterparts.

• Track record of leading consortium partnerships and supporting localisation agendas.

• Experience applying value-for-money frameworks in programme management and donor reporting.

• Strong understanding of cash-first programming, multi-purpose cash transfers (MPCT), and graduation approaches.

  • Familiarity with FCDO’s programming standards, logframe design, and results-based management.

  • Knowledge of MEAL systems, adaptive management, and evidence-based programme adjustment.

  • Understanding of protection principles, AAP, and gender transformative programming.

• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and representation skills.

• Ability to lead diverse, multi-cultural teams and manage complex stakeholder relationships.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a strategic mindset.

STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way: Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

GENDER EQUALITY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.