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 world-wide for a better future.
IRC UK
IRC UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its global headquarters in New York. Our team in the UK – approximately 220 colleagues – works to raise profile, deliver policy and practice change, and increase funding to help restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Since 2021, IRC UK has also provided integration services directly to refugees across the UK.
In Europe, the IRC currently operates in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Poland.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The People and Culture (P&C) Director works in a highly matrixed environment with staff from several functions across the global organisation. The postholder manages the HR team in IRC UK and is accountable for effective HR service delivery, HR compliance and continuous improvement within the scope of the People & Culture department, localising the IRC’s global people strategy. This position plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture that aligns with IRC’s values, through exceptional communication skills.
The role jointly reports into the UK Executive Director and Regional Director, P&C Europe – with additional reporting accountabilities to the UK Board’s People and Culture Committee. Working within global frameworks set by Global People & Culture, the role localises the implementation of People & Culture priorities and drives UK-specific change initiatives within IRC UK’s culture and regulatory environment.
As a member of the UK Senior Management Team (SMT), the role is jointly accountable for the delivery of IRC UK’s Strategic Plan, and has responsibility for the effective delivery of P&C priorities. The Director has a keen focus on building leadership competencies and organisational effectiveness.
Success in this role requires the ability to build strong relationships, influence decisions, and navigate multiple stakeholder perspectives to deliver effective people solutions within a matrix environment where accountability is shared.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. P&C Leadership (Advisory, Implementation, and Partnering) (25%)
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As a member of the UK Senior Management Team, assume collective accountability for the effective delivery of IRC UK’s Strategic Plan.
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Serve as an advisor and thought partner to the Executive Director and fellow SMT members on the UK application of IRC’s Global P&C strategy, and lead on strengthening IRC UK’s kind, inclusive and high-performing organisational culture.
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Support talent dialogues, performance conversations, and career development planning for IRC UK staff, embedding a culture of continuous learning.
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Partner with peers on workforce planning — including managing workforce adjustments such as staff reductions or scale-up, and organisational design work — in partnership with senior management, the Regional Director P&C Europe, and Global P&C Partners, ensuring compliance with local and global policy while minimising risk and supporting affected staff.
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Translate data and metrics into actionable items in line with IRC UK’s strategy.
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Lead, supervise, and develop the UK P&C team, accountable for team quality and effectiveness and for building a skilled, motivated team ready to advance.
2. Manage HR Service Delivery and Core Operations (~40%)
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Manage end-to-end HR service delivery across the employee lifecycle; recruitment, onboarding, contracts, payroll coordination, benefits, performance and leave management, offboarding, and HR information systems, maintaining high-quality, context-specific P&C practices aligned with organisational standards.
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Provide leadership on UK employment law and regulation to the UK HR team, ensuring the HR team supports supervisors of UK staff in the management of their teams in a supportive and compliant way.
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Provide high quality HR partnership to the Refugee, Asylum and Integration (RAI) UK Director and team to support programme needs and donor requirements.
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Advise supervisors on appropriate disciplinary actions, coordinating with Global Employee Relations and Legal on complex or escalated disciplinary proceedings, to ensure fairness and compliance with employment law.
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Responsible for P&C reporting for the UK Board of Trustees and People & Culture Committee, and for the annual production of IRC UK's Gender Pay Gap and Ethnicity Pay Gap reports, in line with IRC's global P&C reporting standards and applicable UK statutory requirements.
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Support any organisational restructure requirements, including active management of any necessary staff consultation and resulting redundancy processes, by providing expert guidance to management and affected staff throughout the process.
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Track UK P&C objectives set by Global P&C and contribute HR input - organisational structure, position scoping, staffing analysis - to proposal design and grant review processes.
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Lead the delivery of regular staff engagement surveys, analysing data and proposing leadership actions in response.
3. Workplace Culture (~15%)
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Promote employee experience, engagement, and inclusion, and oversee the integration of IRC's Values (the ‘IRC Way’), People Manager Standards, and Employee Success Factors across the employee lifecycle.
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Implement safeguarding standards set by the global Safeguarding function across hiring and onboarding, and ensure the IRC Way and reporting channels are visible in all IRC UK locations.
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Serve as a local advocate for Employee Wellbeing, Employee Engagement, and Safeguarding priorities set by global functions, and role model safe, inclusive, and caring leadership standards.
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Operate and promote collaboration in a highly matrixed environment where several units intersect and work together to reach joint decisions.
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Accountable for the effective delivery of specific P&C-owned elements of IRC UK's Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Strategy and Action Plan, as well as assuming joint accountability for the full GEDI Strategy and Action Plan as a key member of IRC UK SMT.
4. Trade Union Relationship (~20%)
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Working with the UK Executive Director, maintain the relationship with UK Trade Union (Unite) representatives, and negotiate and consult via the quarterly Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), driving progress on policy and annual salary review negotiations.
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Develop and manage union engagement and communication plans that support open, honest, and productive dialogue across the office.
KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
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Direct reporting line to UK Executive Director; indirect reporting to Regional Director, P&C Europe
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UK Board and P&C Committee
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UK SMT, with particularly close collaboration with Director, Strategy and Delivery, Financial Controller, and RAI UK Director
PERSON SPECIFICATION
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CIPD qualified with significant HR leadership experience across the full P&C spectrum, including complex UK processes such as restructures, TUPE, and employee relations.**
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Strong interpersonal and analytical skills, with proven ability to operate effectively in a complex, global matrix organisation. Solution-oriented, positive, ‘can do’ attitude.
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Strong knowledge of UK employment law, with experience of advising and influencing senior leaders.**
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Experience of working with Trade Unions, including leading on consultations and negotiations.**
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People management experience.**
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High level of confidentiality, tact, service orientation, and intercultural communication skills.Ability to manage competing priorities and complex, multi-stakeholder projects independently, with willingness to take on significant responsibility.
The mission of the IRC is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster.



Here at Action For Humanity (AFH), we are looking for Head of Fundraising to join us in our Manchester head office. You will join us on a full-time basis and in return you will receive a competitive salary of up to £55,797 per annum DOE.
AFH is an NGO that provides aid and assistance to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. Our vision is a world of crises-resilient communities. Our mission is to mobilise and respond to emergencies and critical needs through humanitarian, development and peace-building action, helping affected communities survive, recover and build a better future.
Our Head of Fundraising will take charge of developing, implementing, and monitoring our community-based income generation plan. The role holder will provide a creative and dynamic external focus to identify and develop a range of income generation initiatives beyond the scope of existing fundraising activity, including but not limited to; building corporate partnerships, benefitting from CSR schemes, utilising networks, developing long term relationships with high-net-worth individuals and major donors, forging new business opportunities, and managing and building our current team of fundraisers.
Your responsibilities will include the following:
1. Diversifying income streams and building new partnerships:
- To drive for full maximisation of income generation opportunities across direct response, corporate partnerships, events, grant making, major gift and legacy promotion activities
- To personally build and manage a “top prospect” list of high-net-worth individuals, corporate partners and grant making sources to lead from the front and have a measurable personal impact on fundraising goals
- Develop long term relationships with high-net-worth individuals and forge new business opportunities.
- To devise and implement a plan to help the charity maximise on a range of funding streams, exploring new and innovative opportunities
- To support the CEO with the development of new international fundraising offices, providing strategic and operational input as required, in countries such as Canada and France
- To work towards achieving income targets and KPIs.
2. Leading the Fundraising team, supporting external consultants, managing the budget and supporting the wider team
- Provide strong leadership to the Fundraising team through effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of all activities and campaigns
- Managing all reporting of fundraising activity, including for trustee reports, reports for donors, income and financial reports, and working closely with programmes on developing feedback / programmes update / reports for donors and / or fundraisers
- Manage the Fundraising budget, monitor income against targets, provide and support Finance on fundraising income reconciliation
- Managing, arranging, and attending Live TV Appeals
- Managing and arranging Deployments and Field Visits for fundraising, acting as the central point of contact for those travelling, as well as the point of contact for field and/or partner offices
3. Building the charity’s external fundraising profile, and positioning the charity effectively as an impactful, trustworthy and efficient charity of choice for donors:
- To work closely with the Executive Leadership Team to refine the charity’s fundraising strategy, and effectively communicate the charity’s vision to internal and external audiences, for fundraising purposes
- Work closely with marketing to capitalise and build on our new AFH brand and new website with specific focus on income generation
- Work closely with Marketing to look at how income generation can be considered in marketing plans and input into campaigns to ensure they align to the agreed income generation focus
- Build a strong external fundraising profile for the charity, and work with fellow team members to make use of the contacts of Board members and AFH to the full
- Focus on relationship building with AFH, the Board and other stakeholders to create an active network for identifying and building income streams
4. Compliance
- Ensuring fundraising policies and procedures are developed and followed
- Ensuring compliance with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Conduct
- Acting as the risk manager for the fundraising department
What we are looking for in our Head of Fundraising:
Education
- Qualification in Fundraising beneficial but not essential
- Qualification in fundraising, sales or business development beneficial but not essential
- An in-depth current knowledge of all aspects of fundraising and income generation
Experience
- A proven creative commercial approach to income generation activities backed up with a strong understanding of the market
- Evidence of a range of innovative ideas and thinking related to income generation that complements but extends beyond traditional fundraising
- Proven leadership success with securing new business with a strategic approach to engaging the charity in the process of identifying and pursuing opportunities
- Highly attuned and adaptable interpersonal skills with the ability to develop, foster, maintain and utilise a network of relationships
- Able to build and implement a programme to identify and foster medium- and long-term contacts for future income generation opportunities
- Strong negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to act in a diplomatic, credible and effective manner
- Able to earn the respect and confidence of a range of senior and influential contacts
- Ability to think strategically and plan ahead, whilst also being flexible and reacting swiftly to changing needs and demanding situations
- An excellent planning and project management approach with the ability to ensure varied activity is coordinated and coherent, to support others in this approach
Skills
- Resilience and the ability to deal with high pressure and difficult situations whilst supporting and maintaining the confidence of others
- Ability to identify problems and to work quickly to find long term, practical and diplomatic solutions
- Ability to provide inspiring leadership with appropriate line management ability, ensuring clear delegation of day-to-day operations to the team
- Able to work at a strategic and visionary level but also manage detail and complexities if required without relinquishing and maintaining focus on the bigger picture
- Ability to be a flexible and adaptable team player who can engage fully with their position on the senior team, and able to work transparently with peers, the Board and elated groups/committees
- Strong financial skills and numerical analysis with the ability to produce credible effective data or reports and discuss details with confidence
- Highly developed and effective verbal, presentation and written skills
Languages
- Strong written and spoken English essential
- Other languages such as Arabic, French, or Urdu beneficial but not essential
Benefits of joining us include:
- A competitive salary of up to £55,797 per annum;
- All work-related travel and other expenses paid;
- 25 days’ holiday allowance + bank holidays + your birthday off;
- Opportunities for frequent travel within and outside the UK;
- Enhanced sick, maternity/paternity pay;
- Structured annual performance development review process, which informs annual salary reviews and involves training and development provision;
- EAP which includes access to free 24/7 helpline, counselling, and legal and financial advice;
- Hundreds of discounts and special offers, for shopping, dining out, joining a gym, and more;
- Modern office in central Manchester location with free parking, break out room, and prayer facilities;
- Annual away days/retreats involving training, teambuilding, outdoor and social activities;
- Subsidised sports and social activities.
This would be an ideal role for an experienced fundraiser with leadership experience. We are looking to appoint this role ASAP and will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis so for the best chance of success please apply today – we would love to hear from you.
All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Action For Humanity also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.
By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Applications will close on Sunday 13th September at 10pm.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.


