DIRECTOR OF HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Position Purpose

A versatile position within a dynamic nonprofit that helps communities recover after disasters and gets children back in school. The Director of Humanitarian Response position is full-time and provides strategic and operational leadership for emergency deployments, ensuring rapid, effective, and principled humanitarian action in disaster-affected areas. This role is central to maintaining organizational readiness and leading field teams in high-pressure environments.

Reporting Relationships

• Reports to Chief Operating Officer
• Roles reporting to position US Response Managers, International Response Manager
• The approximate number of repo****rts  3- 4

Essential Functions

• Deployable within 24 hours of a disaster, within the United States and Internationally, to lead emergency response efforts, ensuring rapid, organized, and impactful field operations.

• Lead the development and implementation of new rapid response activities and modalities to support AHAH growth both domestically and internationally.

• Serve as the organization’s lead representative on the ground during deployments, engaging with affected communities, government officials, UN agencies, NGOs, and media.

• Provide operational leadership during the critical emergency response phase, making real-time decisions to ensure effective service delivery in dynamic, high-pressure environments.

• Oversee the full scope of response activities —including needs assessments, strategy development, program implementation, and safety planning.

• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure a smooth transition from emergency response to recovery operations.

• Lead the development of scalable response models, including light vs. full deployment approaches, adaptable to disaster size, geography, and available resources.

• Develop and maintain a cross-departmental surge roster of deployable staff, AHAH alumni, and DART-trained volunteers, and coordinate readiness through regular training, drills, and inter-team collaboration.

• Ensure field operations align with donor requirements, humanitarian standards, and internal protocols, including monitoring, evaluation, and reporting

• Ensure that all response activities are grounded in the Core Humanitarian Standards, promoting quality, accountability, and continuous improvement across program design, delivery, and stakeholder engagement.

• Oversee the allocation and management of response funds, ensuring the effective and transparent use of resources, and adherence to financial reporting requirements.

• Lead after-action reviews and debriefs following each deployment, distilling key lessons and supporting the integration of improvements into future tools, trainings, and strategic planning.

Position Requirements

• Education - Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in international development, humanitarian assistance, emergency management, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.

• Related Experience - 8+ years in humanitarian response, with  3–4+  years in a leadership or decision-making role. Proven experience leading field-based disaster response operations in complex and high-stress environments. Strong familiarity with humanitarian coordination mechanisms and standards (e.g., Sphere, CHS, IASC). Experience collaborating with local governments, international NGOs, and UN agencies is highly desirable.

• Special Competencies/Certifications - Must be able to secure and maintain appropriate visas. Demonstrated ability to lead rapid response teams and manage multi-sector emergency interventions. Strong organizational, communication, and decision-making skills. Proficient in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office Suite. Confident public speaker and media spokesperson. Culturally sensitive, emotionally intelligent, and committed to upholding humanitarian principles. Familiarity with security risk management in unstable settings is a strong asset. Fluency or working proficiency in a second language such as French or Spanish is desirable.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

• Must be available to deploy globally within 24 hours and remain in the field for extended periods.
• Frequently works in high-stress, unstable, and resource-constrained environments with limited infrastructure.
• Constant exposure to challenging outdoor conditions, including extreme weather and post-disaster debris.
• Must be comfortable living and working in communal, low-resource settings.
• Frequent travel by air, road, and boat, sometimes under difficult or insecure conditions.
• May be exposed to emotionally distressing situations and must be able to maintain composure and sound judgment in crisis contexts.
• Expected to travel and be away from home up to 60% of the time, balancing field operations with necessary coordination and preparedness activities.

Compensation & Benefits

• Compensation:
  Typical starting salary is $71,250 - $77,500 USD based on skills and experience, and up to $90,000 for highly qualified candidates.
• Flexible working hours
• Unlimited PTO
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance plans (US Employees)
• Flex Spending Account (US Employees)
• 401K with safe harbor match for U.S. staff (US Employees)

Diversity is the acknowledgment, promotion and celebration of our differences and similarities. All racial identities, ethnicities, sexes, nationalities, gender identities and expressions, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientations, ages, spiritualities, points of view and socioeconomic statuses can fit in with us. We support individuals from around the world and serve communities affected by disasters with purpose. Response, recovery, resilience and renewal are why we exist. Respect for the value of diversity, inclusion and social justice drives us forward every day. Everyone is welcome.

All Hands & Hearts is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic.