WRC Director of Global Research and Impact

Accountabilities:

• Provide strategic direction for research and evaluation initiatives across priority areas including gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, protection, displacement, self-reliance, technology, and priority geographic contexts.
• Lead the development of research proposals in partnership with technical and development colleagues, identifying opportunities to expand the research agenda and secure funding from public and private donors.
• Manage and support a geographically distributed research team, consulting experts, and Humanitarian Futures Fellows while fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and learning-oriented research culture.
• Build research capacity across the organization by strengthening staff expertise in research methods, evaluation design, ethics, and evidence generation.
• Champion participatory, peer-led, and community-centered research approaches alongside rigorous conventional methodologies, ensuring findings are communicated in accessible language to affected communities.
• Establish and maintain clear standards for community data ownership, ethical research practices, and fair compensation for enumerators and peer researchers.
• Serve as principal investigator for key research projects, ensuring rigorous implementation and compliance with donor requirements, ethical standards, and established research protocols.
• Oversee the documentation and dissemination of research findings through participant reports, project and donor reports, publications, speaking engagements, conferences, and other external channels.
• Identify and promote evidence-based program models in humanitarian settings while encouraging stronger use of high-quality data and evidence throughout the sector.
• Lead the finalization and implementation of a flagship conceptual and indicator framework focused on the rights and well-being of women and girls affected by displacement.
• Guide the Humanitarian Futures Fellowship program, creating opportunities for co-learning while supporting fellows' research, advocacy, and professional development.
• Lead efforts to define, measure, track, and communicate organizational impact by developing frameworks and metrics that demonstrate how research and advocacy influence policy and practice.
• Translate research and impact evidence into compelling narratives for affected communities, donors, board members, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Programs, Communications, and Development teams to effectively package and position evidence for key audiences and advocacy priorities.
• Serve as a senior global representative, developing relationships with donors, UN agencies, research institutions, humanitarian organizations, policymakers, and other sector leaders.
• Convene researchers, practitioners, and policymakers through roundtables, working groups, conferences, and other forums focused on shared evidence and advocacy priorities.
• Strengthen research systems covering data collection, cleaning, coding, analysis, dissemination, storage, sharing, version control, and reproducibility.
• Support the adoption of appropriate data and analytical tools that improve the speed, quality, rigor, and reliability of evidence generation.
• Partner with development colleagues to secure funding for research priorities and systems while overseeing research budgets and proactively addressing financial or operational risks.
• Support advocacy delegations and field engagement in displacement contexts as needed.

Requirements

• Ph.D. preferred in development, humanitarian intervention, public health, or a related social science discipline such as economics, epidemiology, political science, or gender studies; candidates with a master’s degree and equivalent research leadership experience will also be considered.
• 10+ years of research experience, including significant work in humanitarian or development settings and ideally in displacement, gender, protection, or related fields.
• Extensive experience designing and leading research programs and managing research teams in low-resource and humanitarian environments.
• Demonstrated ability to translate empirical evidence into clear, actionable guidance for advocacy, policy, and program audiences.
• Proven experience contributing to business development and fundraising for research initiatives supported by public and private donors.
• Experience developing and executing research and organizational impact strategies within complex organizations.
• Strong publication and authorship or co-authorship record in peer-reviewed journals.
• Established professional networks within humanitarian, development, research, and policy communities.
• Strong leadership and people-management capabilities, with the ability to align diverse teams around shared objectives and communicate effectively with senior leaders, technical experts, advocacy teams, and communications colleagues.
• Demonstrated ability to represent an organization externally and convene diverse stakeholders around shared research, policy, and advocacy priorities.
• Excellent public speaking, writing, interpersonal, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in French, Arabic, or Spanish is an advantage.
• Ability to work effectively across international time zones and collaborate with teams based in North America, Europe, and other global locations.
• Collaborative and coaching-oriented approach, with a strong commitment to ethics and integrity when working with vulnerable populations.
• Commitment to continuous learning, personal development, knowledge sharing, and giving and receiving constructive feedback.
• Adaptability and a growth mindset, with the ability to operate effectively in evolving environments, respond to changing priorities, and drive new approaches to increase impact.
• Strong self-direction and the ability to work remotely while developing trusted relationships with a globally distributed team.
• Candidates must have work authorization in their country of residence.
• Ability to travel internationally up to 25% of the time and access to a major airport is required.
• The role is designed for candidates based in countries with significant populations of refugees or displaced women, with priority given to Nairobi, Bogotá, Amman, Beirut, Warsaw, Mexico City, Lima, Kyiv, Cairo, and Panama City.
• Candidates must be located within UTC−8 through UTC+3 time zones.

Benefits

• Competitive, globally structured compensation based on experience and the job market in the employee’s country of residence.
• Sample annual salary range of $85,000–$104,000 USD for candidates based in Kenya or Lebanon.
• Sample annual salary range of $78,000–$96,000 USD for candidates based in Ukraine or Colombia.
• Progressive global salary structure designed to account for differences in local costs of living and labor markets.
• Globally based, remote working environment.
• Opportunity to work closely with colleagues and leadership across international locations, including North America and Europe.
• Significant leadership scope across research strategy, evaluation, organizational impact, and global evidence generation.
• Opportunity to influence humanitarian policy and practice through rigorous, community-centered research.
• Direct engagement with donors, UN agencies, research institutions, policymakers, and humanitarian organizations.
• Opportunity to mentor research professionals and fellows and contribute to capacity development across a global team.
• International travel of up to 25% for research oversight, global convenings, donor engagement, and field-based work.
• International employment through an Employer of Record for staff hired outside the United States, providing statutory protections and benefits applicable in the employee’s country of residence.
• Inclusive environment welcoming applicants from diverse backgrounds and nationalities.