Senior Vice President, North America - HIAS Inc

POSITION SUMMARY:

HIAS seeks a Senior Vice President, North America to oversee all components related to the programmatic success of HIAS’ global resettlement and complementary pathways programs, and its North America operations, consisting of five departments: Legal Services, Resettlement & Integration, Third Country Solutions, Resettlement Support Center, and U.S. Policy & Advocacy.

This role leads strategic processes and provides leadership to Vice Presidents, Senior Directors and Directors responsible for HIAS’ direct services and affiliated-social and legal service agencies across the U.S. This position oversees the Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Austria with sub-offices in Israel and Croatia, which provide processing support for specific U.S. resettlement-bound cases in those locations. In addition, with a deep technical knowledge of the global resettlement landscape and complementary pathways, the Senior Vice President, North America serves as the lead on all of HIAS’ third country solutions programming and represents HIAS in the U.S. and globally on resettlement expertise.

The successful candidate will supervise six direct reports and a large team of staff who are subject experts in six areas: 1) overseas resettlement and processing, 2) U.S. resettlement and integration, 3) immigration legal services, 4) reception and placement, 5) statelessness, advocacy, and 6) long-term social and economic integration of refugees and asylum seekers.

Bringing a deep understanding of migrant and refugee issues, the SVP, North America is a member of HIAS’ Programs Leadership Team, the Executive Leadership Team, and works with multiple departments to ensure the effective oversight of all North America based awards/grants being implemented by the team.

The SVP, North America works to support synergies across HIAS’ global programs, to ensure sharing of best practices and coherence across sector-specific programming, and to generate new evidence in durable solutions programming and protection solutions. This will include creating coherence of long-term strategy, development and structure as it relates to the legal and resettlement affiliate network and the North America regional programs capacities.

Note, the salary range for this position is $180,000.00-200,000.00.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Overall responsibilities fall into four broad functional areas: Programmatic Staff Oversight and Coordination, Programmatic Development and Collaboration, Amplification of the North America Profile, Advocacy, Donor Diversification and Business Development.

PROGRAMMATIC STAFF OVERSIGHT & COORDINATION

• Oversees staff responsible for programmatic work in the United States, including federal, state and private grants that support resettlement, legal and social services work at HQ, as well as along the border and throughout the legal network; oversees the State Department’s RSC agreement with HIAS, and HIAS’ U.S. Policy & Advocacy efforts.
• Drives coordination between programming and operations with the objective of improving the quality of HIAS programs and the impact on the populations that HIAS serves.
• Provides guidance to the Vice President, Resettlement & Integration, the Vice President, Legal & Asylum, the Vice President, U.S. Policy & Advocacy, the RSC Director and the Director, Third Country Solutions in the planning, development and execution of applications for funding, needs assessments, developing program implementation plans, reporting, strategies and policy setting for program activities.
• Provides thought leadership to North America regional programs as it implements systems to ensure that HIAS provides effective and high-quality services to refugees and other forcibly displaced populations, and ensures the region is able to fulfill the needs of changing populations and other programmatic shifts in new and existing programs.
• Ensures benchmarks monitoring protocols across programs to ensure high quality operations and appropriate frameworks in place.
• Identifies and manages human resources needs, supervises and evaluates direct reports and provides professional development opportunities that aligns staff with programmatic needs; reviews job descriptions and executes performance reviews among direct reports.
• Fosters a culture of accountability to all HIAS policies and procedures including but not limited to the code of conduct, PSEA and safeguarding, ethical conduct and effective and quality delivery of humanitarian assistance in the region.
• Promotes good practices in risk management across all programs and teams, supporting a risk intelligent approach and culture in relevant HIAS policies, procedures, systems and capacities.
• Provides direction and focus to the team ensure compliance with donor requirements including effective stewardship of resources, budgets, program delivery and performance management.
• Coordinates efforts with the other regions to promote unified approaches in programs, operations, advocacy, etc.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

PROGRAMMATIC DEVELOPMENT & COLLABORATION

• Initiates and develops relevant interdepartmental and cross-regional collaboration and structures to support joint efforts and to enhance collaboration efforts between all departments of the North America region.
• Leads and facilitates the development, strengthening and expansion of partnerships, and positions HIAS as a key actor and partner of choice in the region through alliance building.
• Supports the steady growth of the HIAS legal network and provides guidance on the development of programming responsive to potential new policies that directly affect refugees, asylum seekers and asylees.
• Collaborates with technical staff on ways to build partnerships and strengthen capacities of local civil society organizations and other stakeholders, which will position HIAS as a valued partner.
• Coordinates with grants management staff to track program and system performance through assessments and performance measures.
• Supervises the execution of the grants and works to fix the variances.
• Works with the Internal Audit function for the continued improvement of controls in the area.
• Supports the development of HIAS’ potential deployment schemes and global resettlement work.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

AMPLIFICATION OF THE NORTH AMERICA PROFILE

• Represents HIAS at major resettlement and integration and other durable solutions events and forums, and acts as the formal POC for the U.S. and Canadian government, and with any other state with durable solutions programs, on issues regarding overseas and domestic resettlement and complementary pathways processing, reception, placements and integration of refugees and humanitarian parolees.
• Promotes, facilitates and advises on alliance-building initiatives through the engagement of the private sector, academia and other potential partners.
• In collaboration with the Global Policy & Advocacy Division, leads the coordination of contributions to policy, advocacy, messaging and strategies that focus on the North America region at the international, US, EU, and regional level.
• Represents HIAS’ North America Programming on a global level when needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

DONOR DIVERSIFICATION & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

• Works to diversify funding to support HIAS’ strategic direction and collaborates with teams across divisions to successfully broaden the partnerships and funding that supports HIAS’ U.S. programs, overseas durable solutions and complementary pathways programming.
• Works closely with the Institutional Development, Budget & Fiscal Compliance and Finance teams to mobilize resources for the region and provide business development support.
• Contributes to the program design, drafting, budget development, and editing for high-quality proposals that are competitive and align with HIAS’ theory of change.
• Seeks and scopes potential opportunities to expand HIAS’ work in other areas within North America, and works with relevant divisions on strategic plans under the guidance of the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

• Graduate degree in Public Policy, Law, International Relations or a relevant field required.
• 10-12+ years of relevant experience, with demonstrated knowledge of refugee resettlement and integration and the U.S. asylum system; previous supervisory and administrative experience required.
• Excellent leadership skills and interpersonal, oral and written communication skills; ability to develop written resource materials on refugee-related topics for funders and relevant stakeholders; ability to read, analyze and interpret reports and legal documents, develop and proofread grant applications, and ability to disseminate new information from such materials.
• High emotional intelligence, exceptional accountability and strong collaboration skills across all departments and teams.
• Substantive experience and knowledge of the global resettlement structure and dynamics, specifically as it relates to the U.S.
• Expertise in recent developments around complementary pathways and labor mobility, as well as a demonstrated track record in integration programming within the U.S.
• Able to engender the support of a strong staff so that they have the space to excel in their areas of focus.
• Adept at managing multiple budgets, some from federal agencies, required.
• Excellent problem-solving skills; ability to organize, coach and guide staff.
• Extensive experience with refugee resettlement programs and prior experience with federal grants and private foundations; familiarity with techniques and methodologies used in anti-poverty, employment and integration programs.
• Solid experience with resettlement processes overseas and familiarity with resettlement processes of countries beyond the U.S.
• Knowledge of Office 365 Suite.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of the time.
• Travel, to include travel to insecure operating environments, may be required.

HIRING PROCESS:

We are committed to a fair and respectful hiring process, and we do our absolute best to respond to every applicant. We prioritize communication and transparency with all candidates, even those who are not moving forward. Here’s a snapshot of our hiring process:

Step 1: Submit your application!

Step 2: Phone screen with a HIAS recruiter.

Step 3: Video interview with the hiring manager.

Step 4: Video interview with a panel of HIAS employees.

Step 5: In-person interview with the hiring manager.

Step 6: Online reference check with SkillSurvey.

Step 7: Offer and background check with Shield Screening or HireRight.

Step 8: Start your professional journey with HIAS!

Note: Some of our hiring processes may vary, and not all candidates will advance to each step.

ABOUT US:

Over one hundred years ago, the Jewish community founded HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) in New York City, the immigrant gateway to America. Supporting Jews fleeing persecution and poverty in Eastern Europe, our founders were guided by the traditions, texts and history of the Jewish people—a history of oppression, displacement and diaspora. HIAS has since helped generations of Jews facing violence because of who they were, and HIAS remains committed to helping Jewish refugees anywhere in the world. Today, our clients at HIAS come from diverse faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds, as do our staff. We bring our experience, history and values to our work across five continents, ensuring that refugees today receive the vital services and opportunities they need to thrive.

HIAS is a learning community, committed to diversity and inclusion. We do our work with integrity, accountability, transparency and a commitment to the highest ethical standards. We seek employees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences to join our teams located in the United States and across the globe. People who identify as BIPOC, people with disabilities, people from the LGBTQ+ community and people with lived experiences of forced displacement or immigration are all encouraged to apply. We are committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects our vision, mission and values.

VISION:

HIAS stands for a world in which refugees find welcome, safety and opportunity.

MISSION:

Drawing on our Jewish values and history, HIAS provides vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world and advocates for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.

VALUES:

Welcome • Acogimiento • Hospitalité • Hachnasat Orchim

We Welcome the Stranger

Justice • Justicia • Justice • Tzedek

We Pursue Justice

Empathy • Empatía • Empathie • Chesed

We Approach our Clients with Empathy

Partnership • Compañerismo • Coopération • Chevruta

We Believe in Changing the World through Partnership

Courage • Coraje • Courage • Ometz

We Act with Courage to Build a Better World

Resilience • Resiliencia • Résilience • Ruach

We Adapt and Thrive, Continuously Demonstrating our Resilience

DIVERSITY:

HIAS is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. As an equal opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnic background, ancestry, citizenship status, religious creed, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner or civil union status, familial status, pregnancy, childbirth, military status, protected veteran status, political orientation or other legally protected status.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. We strongly encourage applicants of diverse identities, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to apply even if you do not meet all required qualifications but have other qualifications relevant to the role that would make you a great fit for this role with HIAS!

SAFEGUARDING:

HIAS is committed to the protection of children, vulnerable adults and any other person from any harm caused directly or indirectly due to their coming into contact with HIAS. We will not tolerate sexual exploitation, abuse or any form of child abuse or neglect by our staff or associated personnel. Any candidate offered a job with HIAS will be expected to sign and adhere to HIAS’ Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policies. All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records. HIAS 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. Likewise, HIAS will share this information when other organizations inquire about current and former HIAS staff as part of their recruitment process. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.