• Job Description

  Req#: req58278

  Before you start, please review the Temporary Transfer Assignment Guidelines on RescueNet to make sure you qualify to apply

  Title: TTA - Program Taxonomy Specialist

  Sector:Technical Excellence
  

  Location: Remote
  
  Start Date: As Soon As Possible
  

  Duration: 6 Months
  
  Scope of work & objectives:

  Please email CV to Betsy.Laird@rescue.org.You must Subject your email "TTA - Program Taxonomy". This Opportunity Is Intended for Current IRC Staff.

  Background

  In words and with data, we need to be able to tell compelling stories to each other and external audiences about our work. But who are the characters? And what are they doing? Without a common vocabulary to describe the basic facts of our programming, our teams are struggling to communicate.

  There are currently several ways of defining CRRD’s programming in active use including the Program Areas (D3s), Global Practice Areas, Country Technical Team structures, OEF Outcomes, Core Indicator List / Indicator Selection Tool Interventions, Impact at Scale, Program & Learn, and Emergency program priorities. These different ways of describing our programming are:

  • In various states of use/dis-use
  • Very meaningful to some teams, completely unknown to others
  • Incommensurable, meaning they often can’t be described in terms of each other
  • Range in scope from specific activities to categories of programming to potential consequences of programming

  To account for and report on its programming accurately and meaningfully, CRRD needs to develop a new common language to describe its programming that satisfies 3 key requirements:

  • Starts with a foundation of granular, concrete program activities[1] : the work that client-facing staff and partners do every day.
  • Layers on top higher-order concepts like interventions/program models, Practice Areas, Outcomes etc. such that we can change or add to those concepts in the future without having to start from scratch
  • Is legible to generalist managers and support personnel, in addition to sector specialists, so the different parts of our organization can work together efficiently.

  The new Program Taxonomy would include an exhaustive set of program activities (and descriptions) and then several sets of interventions or program models that reflect the most common ways CRRD combines those activities and relates them to outcomes. Bundled into the Global Practice Areas (and potentially realigning the D3s to the GPAs), we would use that new common language to systematically describe the activities of every grant and intervention in a way that we can roll up to the Country, Sector or Global levels.

  To move this work forward, we need a six-month full-time TTA to provide a consistent approach to documenting our activities and develop a functional taxonomy.

  Pathway to IRC’s Program Taxonomy

  1.Initial Assessment:

  • Conduct workshops with Global Practice Leads (GPLs) and MEAL Lead to understand and document the activities and interventions in their practice area. In advance of this workshop, Global Practice Leads will be given a template for prep work so that they can consult with TAs and Regional Leads. They will drill down to the lowest level of granularity (e.g. listing out all the activities – trainings on X topics, provision of medical supplies, etc. – rather than the bucket of activities – health systems strengthening). Global Practice Leads should bring exemplar grants for the activities they want to document.
  • Gather inputs from Emergency Senior Technical Advisors in QiE to understand and document the emergency activities and interventions in their practice area (they are currently (as of April 2025) going through an exercise to define their interventions).
  • Compare Emergency Interventions to descriptions provided by the GPL and identify discrepancies.
  • Conduct Focus Group Discussions and/or Key Informant interviews with country program staff (Technical Coordinators, DDPs, other “frontline staff”) to document daily activities and routines. These discussions will also explore how staff conceptually organize their work — including how they identify their work within specific sectors, cross-sectoral areas, or roles.

  2.Activity description validation with Country Programs:

  • Consult with country programs/response teams to validate the documented activities and ensure they reflect the reality on the ground.
  • Focus on countries with significant numbers in specific areas to gather comprehensive insights.

  3.Desk Review for Comparison and Analysis:

  • Compare documented activities with interventions listed in the Core Indicator List, Outcomes and Evidence Framework Theories of Change, and the Evidence for Impact and Scale deck to identify any activities not captured in the conversations and to assess for discrepancies. Seek clarifications and additional information from GPLs/QiE STAs as needed.
  • Review external resources from peer organizations and multilaterals including the International Aid Transparency Initiative. If our interventions list is starting to look like something that already exists, we should consider adopting it or make clear why we didn't.

  • Review a sample of proposals in each GPA to understand how activities are described in proposals and how that differs from the descriptions documented elsewhere.

  4.Development of Taxonomy:

  • Build Taxonomy based on the documented activities.
  • Identify overlaps in activities in different Global Practice Areas, including paying close attention to where different terms are being used to describe the same core activity. Propose single terms in lieu of multiple for the same activity.
  • Define terms such as intervention, activity, program model, modality, sector, sub-sector, context and bucket our programming accordingly to ensure consistent understanding across the organization.

  5.Taxonomy Validation

  • Test Taxonomy by asking Grants, MEAL, Finance, and other generalist staff to apply the taxonomy to existing grants. Compare to coding done by sector specialists improve descriptions where there are gaps.

  6.Review and Integration:

  • Share taxonomy with GPLs/QiE STAs, Regional Leads and representatives from Country programs/response teams for feedback
  • Incorporate feedback from GPLs/QiE STAs and country programs/response teams to refine the taxonomy.

  7.Finalization and Reporting:

  • Finalize the program taxonomy and prepare a comprehensive report detailing key learning from the process (e.g. significant points of disagreement/challenges, useful synergies, etc)
  • Present the taxonomy to relevant stakeholders for approval and implementation.

  Deliverables:

  • Detailed documentation of activities and interventions for each global practice area.
  • A comprehensive program taxonomy with defined terms and categories.
  • A final report summarizing the findings, methodology, and recommendations.

  Timeline:

  • The initial assessment and documentation phase is expected to take six weeks.
  • The entire project should be completed within six months, including validation, review, and finalization.

  Requirements:

  • Ability to analyze and synthesize complex information, including simplifying complex technical concepts.
  • Experience in MEAL, program management, and documentation.
  • Familiarity in facilitating Theory of Change development
  • Familiarity with the organization's global practice areas and core indicators.
  • Strong coordination and communication skills.
  • Fluency in English required; Fluency in French, Spanish, and/or Arabic highly desired Enter qualifications and minimum requirements here

• About the company

  The International Rescue Committee is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization.

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