IT Business Relationship Director, Americas

Background/IRC Summary

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. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide for a better future.

The IRC's Technology department is the engine behind the organization’s ambition to reach 40 million clients by 2033. We are transforming how we work to reach more people through technology and enable faster, better decisions, whilst maintaining a reliable operational foundation that drives down the cost of delivery.

Job Overview

We are hiring an IT Business Relationship Director to ensure IT service delivery meets the operational needs of program offices across the Americas geography (US and LATAM), translating business needs into IT priorities and IT technical capability into business value. The role sits at the intersection of IT and program operations — building trust with leadership, diagnosing where IT processes break down, and brokering the cross-office knowledge and escalation paths that don't currently exist structurally.

This role will operate as the connective layer between IT and Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) and Crisis, Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) leadership across the US and LATAM, working alongside the Global IT Solutions team, the Americas IT Service Desk (POD) and RAI Operations staff. They will build a regular engagement cadence with RAI office and CRRD program leadership, develop enough programmatic fluency to judge whether an IT solution will work in the field, own escalations, knowing when an issue needs IT leadership, a vendor, or executive attention. The role embeds proactive communication and cross-office knowledge-sharing into how IT and program operations work together, so that consistency across offices is structural rather than dependent on individual relationships.

The ideal candidate has direct experience in complex, distributed program operations, and brings credibility with program leadership as a result — not just IT service management experience. They are equal parts relationship manager, translator, and escalation owner: able to build trust with operations staff, assess whether a proposed IT solution will hold up in the field, and judge when to resolve something directly versus route it structurally. They have a bias for proactive communication, a high bar for consistency across offices, and a clear instinct for equipping program and office staff with the tools, access, and know-how to handle their own work.

This role reports to the Senior Director, IT Business Relationship Management and partners closely with RAI and CRRD leadership through an agreed engagement model. The role will also work closely with the Global IT Solutions Team, including the Service Delivery Center of Excellence, Helpdesk team, Enterprise Applications and Infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities:

Relationship Management and Engagement

• Serve as the senior IT partner to RAI office and CRRD program leadership, providing strategic guidance and thought partnership on IT service delivery performance, planned initiatives, and emerging risks across the US and LATAM
• Maintain a regular engagement cadence with RAI operations directors and senior CRRD leadership, ensuring IT priorities are aligned with program needs and that leadership has visibility of service delivery against commitments
• Act as the accountable IT point of contact for escalations from office and program leadership — owning the response, not just the routing
• Build sufficient familiarity with the programmatic context of each cluster to advise credibly on whether IT solutions will work in practice, and to represent office needs accurately to HQ IT
• Own cross-office knowledge brokering — surfacing what's working in one office to others, and serving as the connective point for "what are other offices doing on this?" questions that currently have no structural answer
• Act as the strategic focal point for IT initiative rollouts across RAI offices and CRRD programs in the Americas – shaping appropriate timing, delivery and relaying infrastructure, application, and programmatic IT needs from offices to HQ IT teams and vice versa.
• Support IT budget planning for the Americas region and ensure asset documentation, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance obligations are maintained

Escalation, Risk Management and Service Performance

• Own escalation pathways for issues that fall between the helpdesk and engineering teams, knowing when to involve specific IT leads, vendors, or procurement and following through to resolution
• Monitor service delivery performance and key performance indicators across the Americas region, identifying patterns and recurring issues that should trigger problem management review; escalate trending patterns as they emerge for either immediate action, system enhancement, or larger risk management
• Partner with the Global Service Desk Manager on T1/T2 technician performance, ensuring ticket priority logic and SLA adherence

Job Requirements:

Knowledge & Experience

• 6-8 years in a relationship management, business partnering, or program/operations role bridging technical and non-technical stakeholders — direct experience with humanitarian, nonprofit, or similarly complex distributed-operations environments strongly preferred
• Working knowledge of the IT service and technology lifecycle, from planning and delivery through operations and continuous improvement, sufficient to engage credibly with technical teams and evaluate whether a proposed solution is fit for purpose
• Familiarity with IT best-practice frameworks and delivery models (e.g., ITIL, Agile/Scrum, or equivalent project delivery methodologies) and how they apply to service management and technology rollouts; ITIL Foundation certification preferred, not required
• Demonstrated experience translating operational needs into technical priorities and representing technical capability back to non-technical leadership
• Experience defining and tracking performance metrics (KPIs, SLAs, or equivalent) and running a recurring review cadence with stakeholders

Personal Attributes

• Spanish language proficiency
• Builds credibility quickly with leadership
• Comfortable holding ambiguity and structuring it
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate fluently between technical and program audiences

Working Environment***:***

This position is based in the US – Hybrid. The role may require travel to US and LATAM Offices as necessary.

Compensation: (Pay Rate: $132,000/yr). 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.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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.

Professional Standards: 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 is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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 $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.