Managing Director & Country Representative, IRC Deutschland

The Managing Director (MD) is IRC DE’s most senior leader and primary external representative, accountable for strategic direction, financial health, programme quality and operational effectiveness. The MD leads IRC Deutschland, builds relationships with donors and stakeholders, and represents IRC in Germany and Europe.

Responsibilities

• Serve as IRC DE's primary external representative with key institutional donors (including GFFO, BMZ and domestic ministries), the Bundestag and the media.
• Build and maintain high-quality relationships to proactively improve the standing of IRC DE, resulting in secured and diversified funding streams as well as to ensure compliance with all statutory and reporting requirements.
• Represent IRC effectively in German civil society, including through membership of sector coalitions and engagement with peer organisations, to advance policy objectives.
• Act as a credible and effective public spokesperson on refugee, development and humanitarian issues in German media.
• Develop and execute a corporate and private fundraising strategy to reduce IRC DE's dependence on any single funding source and build long-term financial resilience.
• Act as an effective ambassador with corporate and foundations partners as well as private funders, cultivating relationships that translate into sustained financial support for IRC's mission.
• Effectively engage with opinion-forming partners and networks to protect and enhance the reputation of IRC DE among private sector audiences.
• Lead, motivate and develop a senior management team, setting clear direction and navigating the realities of a complex, matrixed global organisation so that staff across all functions have clarity about priorities and feel connected to IRC's broader mission.
• Build and sustain a high-performing, inclusive culture within IRC DE, actively implementing the organisation’s Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) strategy.
• Provide clear accountability frameworks, regular feedback and meaningful professional development for direct reports and the wider team.
• Shape and steward IRC DE's multi-year strategy in collaboration with IRC DE leadership, translating it into actionable priorities, budgets and plans aligned with the needs of IRC clients in Germany and IRC's global programme as well as profile and influence priorities.
• Identify and assess growth opportunities and regularly monitor external conditions — including policy, funding and crisis trends — adapting strategic direction in close partnership with the Executive Office team as circumstances require.
• Hold ultimate accountability for IRC DE's performance across programme quality, advocacy outcomes, public profile and financial sustainability, with the Executive Office leading day-to-day operational delivery and performance management on the MD's behalf.
• Ensure IRC DE operates fully within all relevant German statutory, regulatory and quality frameworks, maintaining robust financial and operational controls, an ethical fundraising culture and a sound approach to risk management.
• Work effectively within the structures linking IRC DE and IRC's global functional departments, ensuring material risks and strategic developments are escalated in a timely manner and that our supervisory board is engaged and supportive of our objectives.

Requirements

• A substantial track record — typically spanning at least ten years — in senior roles including meaningful experience leading sizeable teams and operating in a complex, matrixed or multi-site organisation, with the ability to align diverse teams around shared goals.
• Existing relationships with relevant decision-makers in German federal or state government, the Bundestag or major private sector stakeholders, with verifiable outcomes (funding secured, policy changes achieved, profile and partnerships built).
• Demonstrable track record of success building funding streams in the private space (Corporates, HNWI, Foundation, Mass Markets).
• Demonstrable track record of successful relationship building — including securing multi-year funding from institutional donors such as GFFO, BMZ and other German development or domestic donors, as well as leveraging civil society coalitions to deliver impact.
• Experience as a public spokesperson and advocate on humanitarian, development, refugee, integration or related topics, including direct engagement with journalists, political officials and senior policymakers.
• Experience stewarding stable relationships with a Supervisory Board and Works Council.
• Fluency in German and English, with the ability to communicate persuasively in both languages in high-stakes environments (written and spoken) is essential.
• Direct experience with program delivery in Germany or international settings relevant to IRC’s (desirable).
• Sufficient Financial Fluency for financial reporting and budget management to ensure legal obligations are met and organisational fiscal health is maintained (desirable).
• Experience leading organisational change and navigating uncertainty (desirable).
• Personal experience of forced migration or displacement, which informs and enriches leadership of an organisation working in service of those communities (desirable).

Skills

• Senior Executive Leadership
• Team Leadership
• Matrix Organization Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Government Relations
• Private Sector Fundraising
• Institutional Donor Relations
• Multi-year Funding Acquisition
• Civil Society Coalition Building
• Public Advocacy
• Media Relations
• Policy Advocacy
• Supervisory Board Relations
• Works Council Relations
• Bilingual Communication
• Financial Reporting
• Budget Management
• Program Delivery
• Organizational Change Management

Languages

German, English