Head of Media and Communications

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. The Airbel Impact Lab is the IRC's "R&D" unit, working to maximize the impact of every humanitarian aid dollar through rigorous testing, innovative new solutions, and evidence-based scaling. We have led the field in impact measurement and cost analysis, and we drive breakthrough innovations that achieve 10x scale potential, 2x greater impact, and 20% more cost-effectiveness than existing solutions. Our Strategy & Delivery team enables this work by building and delivering the systems, processes, and other infrastructure that help ensure the department is efficient, high-performing, and high-impact.
We are hiring a Communications & Engagement Coordinator to put Airbel's best case in front of its most important audiences. Airbel's narrative and value proposition - from preparing the CRIO for high-stakes internal and external meetings, to managing the Advisory Board's biannual convenings, to maintaining Airbel's public-facing digital presence, to coordinating donor-specific pitch materials. They are a strong communicator and storyteller, with a particular talent for translating highly technical, specialized work for audiences with no grounding in our content - moving fluidly between a donor pitch deck, a leadership briefing, a LinkedIn post, and a media brief, calibrating tone and framing for each. They can also own the practical logistics that make high-stakes engagement work: coordinating inputs across teams, managing timelines, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. If this person is great at their job, Airbel's work will be understood, valued, and supported by the audiences that matter most. CRIO Meeting Support

Provide comprehensive support to ensure the CRIO's high-stakes meetings - both internal (e.g., Solicit and coordinate inputs from collaborators across the department to ensure meeting materials are accurate, current, and strategically aligned.
Track action items and follow-through from key meetings, ensuring commitments are documented and progress is monitored.
Advisory Board Support
Own holistic management of Airbel's biannual Advisory Board meetings: agenda-setting and planning, preparation of briefing materials, coordination of logistics, and post-meeting follow-through.
Develop clear, decision-ready materials that enable productive Board engagement with Airbel's strategy and portfolio.
Manage ongoing Board communications and ensure timely follow-up on Board-generated action items and commitments.
Fundraising Engagement Support
Create and maintain a portfolio of pitch materials that showcase Airbel's topline value proposition to funders, ensuring they compellingly represent current work, impact, and strategic direction.
Coordinate donor-specific preparation - tailoring pitch materials, developing briefing documents, and aligning content to donor interests - primarily for the CRIO, with capacity to support other senior leaders and teams as available.
Work closely with fundraising counterparts to ensure pitch and reporting materials are aligned and of consistently high quality.
Communications & Digital Presence
Own Airbel's public-facing digital presence, ensuring the website and LinkedIn compellingly and accurately represent current work, team, and impact - in line with established brand guidelines.
Lead a reboot of Airbel's website as an early priority, ensuring it compellingly reflects current portfolio, impact, and strategic direction.
Manage Airbel's LinkedIn presence: develop a lightweight content calendar, draft and publish posts, and work with subject-matter experts to develop content for specialized areas.
Ensure streamlined execution of Airbel's earned media efforts by managing specialist resources (consultants and internal roles), providing the content and context needed to develop and pitch stories for media placement and speaking engagements.
4-6 years of experience in communications, strategic engagement, or a related role - ideally in close partnership with senior leaders in a research, policy, innovation, or humanitarian context.

• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills, with a demonstrated ability to translate complex, technical content into clear, compelling narratives for non-specialist audiences.
• Strong writing and editing skills across formats: executive briefings, pitch decks, web copy, social media, and media briefs.
• Excellent organizational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams, track deliverables across teams, and keep complex processes on schedule.
• Experience coordinating earned media efforts, including sufficient understanding of how stories are developed, pitched, and placed to effectively manage specialist resources.
• Experience managing a brand's digital presence across web and social channels, with comfort using content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, or similar).
• Demonstrated use of AI tools in professional communications workflows (e.g., drafting, research, content production), with openness to continued experimentation and adoption.
• Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Hybrid or fully in-office is an option

IRC UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.
IRC UK welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the UK.
IRC UK will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application and/or interview process, and for essential job functions if appointed to a role. All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.
Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $163 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, 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.
IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
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