Co-Directors of Programmes

The Role

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for two highly cooperative leaders to spearhead the shaping of impactful programmes in a highly respected, connected and innovative think tank that aims to place sustainable development at the heart of international relations as well as in public and private policies. The role of the Co-Directors of Programmes is to ensure the relevance of IDDRI’s work on both the international scene and the European
strategy for sustainable development.
Job summary
Mission

The Directors of Programmes are responsible for IDDRI’s operational activities, i.e. research and influence activities.
Under the supervision of IDDRI’s Deputy Director and working in close collaboration with the Executive Director, the role of the Co-Directors of Programmes is to contribute to IDDRI’s general strategy and to implement the Institute’s strategic projects in terms of influence and research activities, by:

ensuring policy relevance and impact of activities;
anticipating emerging issues and building policy implementation strategies;
ensuring the scientific and analytical robustness of the work underpinning the Institute’s activities;
ensuring coherence and synergies between research teams and influence networks;
managing change and developing the Institute’s capacities (teams, partners, funders).

Directors of Programmes are members of IDDRI’s Executive Committee and work closely with all of the Institute’s functional directors to jointly deploy a coherent, relevant and impactful strategy.
The Co-Directors of Programmes supervise Heads of Units and Cross Programme Experts who are responsible for the management of programmes - they provide support and guidance in developing impact strategies, support for management and fundraising, and support
in developing skills and careers.

There are two Directors of Programmes, who have complementary profiles in terms of their preferred arena (e.g. international governance, sectoral
transformation) and/or experience (e.g. research, decision-making).
Impact Strategy

Under the direction of the Executive Director, to prepare IDDRI’s strategic plan to be submitted to the Board of Directors (every 5 years).

Together with the Deputy Director, to develop an operational version of this project in terms of new programming choices, structural unit changes, investigations launched, and changes in teams and associated resources.
To guarantee the relevance and negotiate the priorities for the annual programming of IDDRI’s work with the Heads of Units and the Cross Programme Experts.

To carry out these roles of defining impact strategies, the Director of Programmes will:

Actively gather scientific and policy intelligence to understand and anticipate sustainable development issues.
Identify new issues on which it would be relevant for IDDRI to intervene and steer investigative activities.
Actively discuss and collaborate with all research teams and influence networks to develop the impact of their activities and strengthen their influence and audience, particularly by significantly developing their networks.
Working very closely with the other Co-Director of Programmes to ensure a cross-cutting approach between teams and to develop common approaches.
Be responsible for a part of the Institute’s programming (i.e. research and influence activities) and its implementation: propose, obtain approval (from the Deputy Executive Director by delegation from the Executive Director and ultimately from the Board) and implement the programming with the Heads of Units they supervise.
Represent IDDRI to partners, stakeholders and the media on a broad range of issues (in addition to the advocacy work done by the Heads of Units and teams).

Candidate Profile
Qualifications required

Master’s degree in a field relevant to IDDRI’s work. (economy, political / social sciences; law, natural sciences, environment etc.). A PHD would be an additional asset.

15 years of experience in a similar organization (think tank, NGO) or in the public or private sector. A combination of experiences would be an asset.
Fluent in English (native or C1 level) and reasonable command of French (with the potential for holding debates in French within a year).

Required thematic expertise

The Co-Directors should have a strong knowledge of sustainability issues.
Together, they should combine expertise relevant to the work of IDDRI in terms of arena (European policies, international cooperation), purpose (public policies, economic sectors) and/or environmental issues (climate, biodiversity, environment etc.) 
Required skills and competencies

Very strong strategic and system thinking skills, with the demonstrated experience of developing strategies for impact;

Strong evidence-based influencing skills and experience of engagement in high policy debates at national or international levels;

Familiarity with, and experience of, working with research;

Successful team and programme leadership experience, including change management experience;

Very strong collaborative approach, strong team player combining scientific rigor with cooperative spirit;

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral) including engagement with media, debating and public speaking skills;

Open to debate, answerable, and able to take a step back to ensure greater overall insight.