POSITION SUMMARY:

HIAS’ Director, Emergency Response & Readiness will be the organization’s standard-bearer for leadership in emergency responses. Reporting to the Senior Director, Emergency & Humanitarian Programs, this position has two key areas of focus, each to strengthen the growing institutional capacity within emergency response. The position holder will lead significant HIAS emergency response operations. Working closely with headquarters, regional and country office staff, they will be responsible for setting the standard of excellence in emergency response leadership through in-country and remote deployments. They will lead HIAS’ emergency response deployment team, with the requirement to deploy up to 50% to locations where HIAS is/has initiated emergency programming, sometimes within 72 hours.

In addition, the position holder will bolster the organization’s readiness through its response systems, standards and capacities. This work will include continuous improvements to HIAS’ emergency response systems, standard operating procedures and tools for more impactful, accountable and efficient responses. A focus of the position will be to build emergency response leadership capacity at the country level, facilitate capacity sharing and ensure ongoing mentoring and training in emergency concepts for HIAS and partner staff.

Note, the salary range for this position is $100,000.00-110,000.00.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

DEPLOYMENT (EMERGENCY RESPONSE)

• Develops and monitors implementation of Response Strategy that addresses strategic goals and humanitarian standards to meet humanitarian needs.

• Ensures response is staffed to meet response needs including requesting deployments from the roster and managing staff deployed to the response.

• Determines response organizational structure with HR.

• Ensures HR establishes a staff care function and mechanisms that support staff well-being.

• Consults the relevant country office to plan response team transition/integration.

• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with humanitarian actors, government representatives and other stakeholders.

• Represents the response in ECT and RCT (where activated).

• Creates and maintains collaborative relations and, where appropriate, partnerships with government, other NGOs, UN agencies, civil society, churches, bi-lateral missions and donors.

• Participates in consortium meetings and response-related national coordination meetings.

• Supports public engagement to ensure HIAS is represented at relevant technical and coordination mechanisms in-country.

• Provides oversight to funding allocation to ensure alignment with strategy and humanitarian needs.

• Ensures that adequate funding to address humanitarian needs is acquired.

• Facilitates the signing of MOUs and contracts with donors, HQ and other relevant stakeholders.

• Ensures that all programs are implemented, monitored and evaluated according to set plans and that agreements with donors and other stakeholders are adhered to.

• Ensures that funding is managed and accounted for in compliance with donors and HQ agreements, and HIAS standards.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

NON-DEPLOYMENT (EMERGENCY READINESS)

• Manages emergency response rapid deployment team.

• Ensures previous response learnings are integrated into global HIAS systems and standards.

• Provides coaching/mentoring of staff and on-the-job training to improve skills of the staff in emergency response.

• Develops and oversees the rollout of selected emergency response standards.

• Works on HIAS’ policies, procedures and tools for use during HIAS’ declared emergencies.

• Provides remote or in-person training on emergencies.

• Maintains, validates and updates the Emergency Response roster (internal and external).

• Provides remote support to emergencies.

• Coordinates and represents HIAS to other emergency response professionals/organizations.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject area or related experience.

• 6-8 years of experience in humanitarian emergency response, especially in rapid onset crises

• 3 years of direct field experience, including senior emergency response positions in complex operating environments

• Experience designing emergency response strategies, standards, tools and overseeing coordination and support for field teams.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; foreign language functional fluency preferred, especially Spanish and/or French.

• Ability to deploy within 72 hours for up to 12 weeks to high-stress, insecure environments with limited resources available.

• Experience managing an organization’s humanitarian operations in an international disaster/emergency response context.

• Demonstrated experience developing, designing or evaluating proposed humanitarian interventions against response or disaster risk reduction strategies and identified need.

• Demonstrated skills and abilities in coordinating relief, transition or disaster risk reduction activities with the international humanitarian community (e.g. donors, clusters, INGOs, NGOs) in the midst of international humanitarian crisis situations.

• Experience leading a diverse team of program, technical, operational and administrative staff as part of an international humanitarian crisis.

• Experience developing collaborative relationships with partner organizations to coordinate and/or support capacity strengthening.

• Knowledge of the humanitarian and emergency actors, coordination structures and roles and responsibilities.

• Demonstrated experience working with humanitarian rosters and deployment to emergency settings.

• Strong analytical, coordination and organizational skills.

• Proven ability to lead and manage teams to achieve demonstrable results.

• Ability to work across cultures and with a variety of stakeholders, both internally and externally, representing the Emergency Department and HIAS.

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment and meet conflicting deadlines with a minimum of supervision.

• Extremely flexible and can cope with stressful situations and frustrations.

• Travel, to include travel to insecure operating environments, may be required.

HIRING PROCESS:

We are committed to a fair and respectful hiring process, and we do our absolute best to respond to every applicant. We prioritize communication and transparency with all candidates, even those who are not moving forward. Here’s a snapshot of our hiring process:

Step 1: Submit your application!

Step 2: Phone screen with a HIAS recruiter.

Step 3: Video interview with the hiring manager.

Step 4: Video interview with a panel of HIAS employees.

Step 5: Online reference check with SkillSurvey.

Step 6: Offer and background check with Shield Screening or ESR.

Step 7: Start your professional journey with HIAS!

Note: Some of our hiring processes may vary, and not all candidates will advance to each step.

ABOUT US:

Over one hundred years ago, the Jewish community founded HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) in New York City, the immigrant gateway to America. Supporting Jews fleeing persecution and poverty in Eastern Europe, our founders were guided by the traditions, texts and history of the Jewish people—a history of oppression, displacement and diaspora. HIAS has since helped generations of Jews facing violence because of who they were, and HIAS remains committed to helping Jewish refugees anywhere in the world. Today, our clients at HIAS come from diverse faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds, as do our staff. We bring our experience, history and values to our work across five continents, ensuring that refugees today receive the vital services and opportunities they need to thrive.

HIAS is a learning community, committed to diversity and inclusion. We do our work with integrity, accountability, transparency and a commitment to the highest ethical standards. We seek employees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences to join our teams located in the United States and across the globe. People who identify as BIPOC, people with disabilities, people from the LGBTQ+ community and people with lived experiences of forced displacement or immigration are all encouraged to apply. We are committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects our vision, mission and values.

VISION:

HIAS stands for a world in which refugees find welcome, safety and opportunity.

MISSION:

Drawing on our Jewish values and history, HIAS provides vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocates for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.

VALUES:

Welcome • Acogimiento • Hospitalité • Hachnasat Orchim

We Welcome the Stranger

Justice • Justicia • Justice • Tzedek

We Pursue Justice

Empathy • Empatía • Empathie • Chesed

We Approach our Clients with Empathy

Partnership • Compañerismo • Coopération • Chevruta

We Believe in Changing the World through Partnership

Courage • Coraje • Courage • Ometz

We Act with Courage to Build a Better World

Resilience • Resiliencia • Résilience • Ruach

We Adapt and Thrive, Continuously Demonstrating our Resilience

DIVERSITY:

HIAS is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. As an equal opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnic background, ancestry, citizenship status, religious creed, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner or civil union status, familial status, pregnancy, childbirth, military status, protected veteran status, political orientation or other legally protected status.

SAFEGUARDING:

HIAS is committed to the protection of children, vulnerable adults and any other person from any harm caused directly or indirectly due to their coming into contact with HIAS. We will not tolerate sexual exploitation, abuse or any form of child abuse or neglect by our staff or associated personnel. Any candidate offered a job with HIAS will be expected to sign and adhere to HIAS’ Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policies. All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records. HIAS also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. Likewise, HIAS will share this information when other organizations inquire about current and former HIAS staff as part of their recruitment process. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.