The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking applications for the position of Emergency Cash and Anticipatory Action Specialist. This is a full-time role within the Economic Recovery and Livelihood sector under a fixed-term contract. The position is open across three possible locations: New York, United States; Amman, Jordan; and Nairobi, Kenya. The IRC is open to considering remote arrangements for this role.
The IRC is a global humanitarian organization committed to responding to crises and supporting individuals and communities whose lives have been severely affected by conflict and disaster. The organization’s Emergency Management Unit (EmU) is central to strengthening preparedness, response, and resilience in emergency settings. By focusing on cash and voucher assistance (CVA), EmU supports rapid and scalable interventions that enable crisis-affected populations to recover and rebuild their lives.
This position offers an opportunity for an experienced professional to support both emergency cash programming and anticipatory action efforts. The role bridges the gap between pre-shock preparedness measures and post-shock responses, with a focus on applying predictive data, strengthening country-level cash readiness, and delivering scalable humanitarian support.
Position Overview
The Emergency Cash and Anticipatory Action Specialist will sit within the Emergency Unit’s Quality in Emergencies (QiE) team. The role will work closely with the Climate Practice Area to ensure that country teams are prepared to act both before and after shocks, particularly climate-related ones.
The successful candidate will play a key role in refining and rolling out IRC’s Emergency Cash Readiness Checklist, providing technical support to regional teams, contributing to the design of anticipatory action (AA) programs, and participating in strategic business development. Occasional field visits and direct support to emergency start-up operations in new country programs will also be part of the responsibilities.
Major Responsibilities
The responsibilities for this role are grouped into three main areas: Preparedness and Readiness Work, Business Development and Strategic Direction, and Team Culture.
Preparedness and Readiness Work
- Support the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for Cash and Emergencies and regional technical advisors in ensuring that IRC country programs—particularly those on the emergency watchlist or in regions prone to climate shocks—are cash ready.
- Conduct baseline assessments to evaluate current levels of preparedness for cash interventions and recommend actionable steps for improvement.
- Provide direct support, whether remotely or through in-person missions, to country programs. This may involve readiness assessments, training of staff in CVA, establishing partnerships with local organizations, and identifying reliable financial service providers.
- Leverage digital technologies to improve the efficiency, scalability, and speed of cash interventions during emergencies.
- Lead the development of strategic resources, including technical frameworks and user-friendly program implementation tools such as IRC’s STEP toolkits. These resources will support emergency and anticipatory action interventions.
- Support the establishment and standardization of monitoring and evaluation systems for emergency cash and basic needs interventions. This will involve collaboration with Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEAL) teams, the ERD Technical Unit, and the Measurement Unit.
- As necessary, provide technical support for household economic analysis, contingency planning, targeting strategies, transfer value calculations, and monitoring processes.
- Support financial tracking, budget monitoring, and donor engagement for strategic projects when required.
Business Development and Strategic Direction
- Collaborate with the STA for Cash and Emergencies to support anticipatory action teams with strategy development and program design, particularly in relation to cash-based interventions.
- Contribute to refining IRC’s approach to delivering pre-shock and post-shock support, ensuring both timely and appropriate intervention for affected communities.
- Provide technical inputs into the design of AA programs, ensuring quality standards and adherence to IRC’s policies and procedures on CVA.
- Work closely with other technical leads to integrate anticipatory action across different sectors, including health, water and sanitation (WASH), education, and protection.
- Explore opportunities for designing interventions that respond not only to climate events but also to conflict-related shocks and other crises.
- Promote effective partnerships by supporting the inclusion of local organizations and government partners in emergency and anticipatory action programming. This is in line with IRC’s emphasis on a “why not partner?” approach and prioritizing cash-first responses.
Team Culture
- Build and sustain strong working relationships with colleagues across EmU, regional teams, and the Climate Practice Area.
- Promote a culture of collaboration, respect, and inclusivity within the team and across the wider organization.
- Uphold IRC’s values by fostering gender equality, diversity, and inclusive practices in program delivery and team dynamics.
- Contribute to efforts that promote positive work environments, cross-team collaboration, and alignment with IRC’s “One IRC” approach.
Key Working Relationships
- Reports to: Senior Technical Advisor, Cash and Emergencies. Management responsibilities may also involve coordination with the Senior Anticipatory Action Specialist.
- Supervisory responsibilities: This role does not directly supervise staff. However, the Specialist may occasionally provide supervision to external roster staff or country team personnel during emergency deployments.
- Other key contacts: Technical colleagues across the EmU’s Quality in Emergencies team, the ERD Technical Unit, the Anticipatory Action team, the Director of Program Quality and Performance in Emergencies, and operations staff including finance and supply chain.
Job Requirements
The position requires a combination of academic training, professional experience, technical skills, and the ability to work in complex humanitarian environments.
- Education: A university degree in economics or a related field.
- Work experience: At least six years of experience in cash and voucher assistance (CVA), food security, or emergency livelihoods programming in low-resource settings, with a minimum of three years in emergency contexts.
- Field experience: At least three years of experience working in emergency or protracted humanitarian settings across a minimum of two different countries.
- Technical expertise:
- Proficiency in humanitarian needs assessments, program design, proposal development, and implementation.
- Capacity to provide technical assistance, training, coaching, and mentoring to staff and partners.
- Strong project management skills, with proven ability to prioritize tasks and deliver results under pressure.
- Knowledge of cash and basic needs emergency monitoring systems and tools.
- Partnership experience: Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with local NGOs and government partners.
- Communication: Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts into practical action.
- Languages: Fluency in English, with advanced proficiency in either French, Arabic, or Spanish.
- Travel: Willingness to travel up to 30 percent of the time, including to unstable or low-resource settings.
Working Environment
This role may be performed from a standard office setting or remotely, depending on the candidate’s location and work arrangement. Travel to field sites will be required as part of contingency planning, emergency deployments, or technical support missions.
Professional Standards
The International Rescue Committee operates according to the values and principles outlined in its global code of conduct. These include integrity, service, equality, and accountability. The organization enforces policies on protection from exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding, anti-harassment, fiscal integrity, and anti-retaliation.
Gender equality and inclusivity are core commitments at IRC. The organization promotes parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other supportive measures that enable staff to perform effectively and equitably.
Compensation
The role offers an annual salary ranging between USD 95,500 and USD 110,000, depending on experience and location.
Conclusion
This position represents a unique opportunity for a highly skilled professional to contribute to the International Rescue Committee’s global mission of supporting communities in crisis. The successful candidate will play a critical role in ensuring that IRC is prepared to respond effectively to emergencies while also delivering anticipatory interventions that reduce the impact of climate-related and other shocks.
