Director, Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC)

What We Are Looking For:

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is seeking a dynamic and visionary Director for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). This is a rare opportunity to shape the organisation’s strategy in a changing context, build partnerships with other actors in the sector, and ensure that IDMC’s work continues to inform decision-makers and achieve impact.

As Director, you will drive the organisation’s vision and strategy, ensuring a sustainable business model adapted to the new funding landscape and leading organisational change processes. You will be a spokesperson for IDMC, leveraging its work to increase awareness of and global political commitment to internal displacement. You will develop and diversify IDMC’s funding base and strengthen its partnerships, including with governments, UN agencies, NGOs and multilateral institutions. You will also lead and further develop a multi-disciplinary and diverse team and build a collaborative and inclusive team culture.

Since its establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, IDMC has become the world’s leading independent source of data and analysis on internal displacement, including through its flagship Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID). Its work informs policy and practice, builds capacity and promotes measures to improve the lives of internally displaced people worldwide and reduce the risk of future displacement. 

If you are an experienced leader with the ability to drive change, create alliances and build strong teams, we invite you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

What You Will Do:

Leadership and management: Manage and inspire a team of 20+ staff, including a senior & multi-disciplinary management team. This includes:

• Performance management of all staff under direct reporting line, setting clear goals aligned with organisational strategy and priorities, providing regular feedback and following up and supporting staff performance. 
• Oversee and support managers in processes such as workforce planning, recruitment, staff induction and development, performance management and Duty of Care.
• Provide coaching to line managers within team, fostering a values-driven leadership culture.
• Lead and nurture a high-performing, inclusive and collaborative team culture grounded in technical excellence, accountability and respect for diversity.
• Champion talent development, continuous learning, and cross-team collaboration, while promoting psychological safety, equitable opportunity, and regular feedback.
• Follow up on all results from annual IDMC/NRC staff surveys and pulse checks, including workshops with staff and team building exercises.
• Oversee all future organisational development and change processes as required by a rapidly evolving funding and operating environment. 

Financial and organisational sustainability: Manage IDMC’s organisational budget, increase and diversify its funding base and put in place all necessary measures to ensure the organisation’s long-term  sustainability. This includes:

Fundraising and business development

• Further develop and implement IDMC’s fundraising and business development strategy including both institutional and private funding sources and develop a more sustainable business model aligned with the new funding landscape. 
• Line manage business development and grants management staff and lead efforts to identify and prioritise new funding opportunities 
• Maintain strong relationships with all existing funding partners.
• Financial and organisational management and accountability: 
• Manage an annual budget of approx. 3-4M USD ensuring IDMC meets its reporting commitments to donors and to NRC. 
• Work closely with the Director of PnP and Head of Support to oversee budget development, financial performance tracking, and overall financial stability.

External engagement and representation: Represent IDMC to external partners and consolidate and nurture a strong network of political and financial partners including governments, multilateral and UN agencies and NGOs. This includes:

• Maintain IDMC’s position as a thought leader within key global policy debates on displacement and migration, humanitarian action, sustainable development, climate change, DRR, and data governance.
• Regular engagement with Permanent Representatives of Member States, UN agencies and other partners in Geneva and other global hubs to discuss IDMC’s work and their position on issues of relevance to IDMC’s policy agenda.
• Convening and participation in dialogues, conferences and events to increase awareness of internal displacement and global political commitment to the issue.
• Convene annual meetings of IDMC's Advisory Group for feedback and advice on IDMC’s strategic plans and activities. 
• Oversee the development and publication of IDMC’s annual flagship report Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID), organising its annual launch through a series of high-level events at global and regional levels.
• Be IDMC’s main spokesperson in global media, and increase the dissemination of IDMC data and analysis in relevant media outlets. 

Relationship with other parts of NRC. Manage institutional relationships with other parts of NRC including NORCAP, ensuring complementarity across global policy, partnerships and operations, including coordination related to communications, brand alignment and fundraising. This includes: 

• Contribute to NRC/PnP internal processes and policy discussions and ensure good coordination and collaboration with other parts of NRC/PnP. 
• Ensure coherence and leverage synergies between IDMC's strategy and activities and NRC’s global strategy and operations, including in relation to policy and advocacy work, data initiatives and taking account of operational considerations.
• Ensure that effective and standardised accountability, monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems are in place.
• Compliance and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures, and a specific responsibility for IDMC’s policies and procedures.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position. 

What You Will Bring:

• Master’s degree or above in social science, politics, economics, international development, migration and displacement, or another relevant field
• Minimum 10 years of progressively senior leadership experience in the humanitarian or development sector at both country and HQ level, including managing inter-disciplinary and multicultural teams. 
• Strong leadership and management competencies including in driving change management processes and with the ability to develop and bring people along with a stated vision and strategy. 
• Proven success in fundraising and donor relations, with experience in raising funds from government, multilateral and private donors.
• Proven track record of building strategic partnerships with governments, UN agencies, donors, and civil society organisations.
• Outstanding representation, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Solid experience in designing, implementing and improving systems, workflows and planning cycles.
• Highly professional, inspiring and proactive leader, capable of working independently.
• Fluency (written and spoken) in English and at least one other language of operation (Arabic, French, Portuguese or Spanish).
• Demonstrated experience leading complex organisational change including managing distributed and remote teams, addressing and resolving conflict, and driving accountability and performance.
• Academic and/or operational background in displacement, migration, conflict, disasters, climate change or related issues.
• Solid understanding of the internal displacement and policy landscape, including relevant actors and systems.
• Operational experience in countries affected by displacement is an advantage.

What We Offer:

• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.
• Duty station: Geneva, Switzerland.  
• Contract: 2 years with possibility of extension.     
• Travel: 20 - 30%.
• Salary/benefits: Grade 12 on NRC’s Resident salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions. 

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• For Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

If you have any questions about this role, please email ho.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

Why Nrc?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. 
Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world's most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people. 
At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. 
Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.
Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:  • treat everyone with respect and dignity  • contribute to building a safe environment for all  • never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)  • always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH