Program Assistant, Education

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and in 27 US cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC delivers education programs in over 20 conflict-affected or post-conflict countries around the world. The IRC strives to help children and youth gain valuable skills through formal and non-formal learning activities that lead to tangible improvement in literacy, numeracy, social-emotional learning and marketable skills, and promotes the protection and psychosocial well-being of conflict-affected children and youth.

The Education Administrative Assistant position will provide core administrative support in the areas of event planning, meetings management, travel and procurement. The Assistant will report to the Senior Program Management Advisor and liaise closely with all of the Education Team staff.

Major Responsibilities:

Support to Education Unit leadership

• Manage the Senior Director’s and Deputy Director’s calendars. Schedule all meetings, assess availability for important external meetings, prepare for logistical requirements of those meetings (booking rooms, technology set up, note taking).

• Relationship management. Maintain a list of key contacts that includes tracking of engagements/ conversations/ follow up.

• Team Communication. Serving as focal point for information inquiries both internally and externally. Distributing org and team wide information.

• Travel. Reserve and book flights and accommodation for Senior Director, procure visas; liaise where necessary with IRC Country Program staff to arrange in-country travel logistics.

Support to Education Unit colleagues

• Manage department-wide meetings, including booking conference rooms, setting agendas, preparing print materials and taking meeting minutes. Support team members with any additional meeting requests.

• Provide administrative support on Human Resource forms, hiring processes, and on-boarding of new staff (including regular updating of onboarding materials), as well as additional support as needed.

• Serve as liaison for Education Unit staff with HQ support departments such as Finance, IT, HR and Global Supply Chain, as needed.

• Serve as Education Unit’s focal point for IRC’s Integra system, and regularly strengthen team capacity to use Integra and other administrative systems.

• Lead on all procurement, purchase requests, and payment of consultants and vendors, including tracking and initiating requests, and processing and tracking payments.

• Manage usages of the unit credit card, including tracking expenses and balancing books monthly

Event logistics

• Support logistics for external education events that we convene (1-2 annually) or attend, including:

- Comparing and choosing sites for events; liaising with vendors, obtaining quotes for services, reviewing contracts, finalizing all procurement requirements.

- Assist with the planning and running of Education’s internal retreats

- Reserve and book domestic travel and accommodations for international employees visited the United States for Education events or at an Education staff’s invitation, as needed

Information Management

• Update departmental data on a quarterly basis, including the Education Unit’s organizational chart, country coverage, country visits, international field staff list, and Quarterly Strategic Review.

• Maintain and distribute a detailed calendar of team member travel, time off and key events.

Job Requirements:

• 1-2 years of proven administrative experience, including skills logistic management, accounts payable and meeting minutes.

• Must have strong computer skills, including fluency in online research and Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Outline and Word. Experience with Box, Teams and Excel is an advantage.

• Must be very organized and detail oriented, with strong communication skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks.

• Fluency in English required; proficiency in French, Spanish and Arabic is desired/an advantage.

Preferred experience & skills:

• Knowledge of key issues in education, particularly in humanitarian and/or development contexts, a plus.

• Proven interest in humanitarian/development work with displaced or migratory peoples, a plus.

Working Environment:

• Standard office working environment

• This role may be allowed to work remotely part-time, but will be required to be in the NY Headquarters office as requested. The candidate must be NY based.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, Egalite, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement:

In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity:

IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

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