Deputy Program Director

Deputy Program Director

Human Rights Watch is an American-founded international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.

Posted: Sep 18, 2026

Deadline: Oct 11, 2026

The Deputy Program Director should be an effective leader and people manager, and a strategic thinker with deep knowledge of human rights issues, research methodologies and advocacy in the field of international human rights. The successful candidate will have experience in implementing writing, research and ethical standards in accordance with best practices in the human rights field, fostering the engagement and effectiveness of staff, promoting diversity, equity and inclusion; fostering staff resilience and well-being, and participating in designing and implementing strategy.

The Deputy Program Director will oversee four of HRW’s research divisions (regional and thematic), facilitate programmatic implementation of HRW’s global strategy, participate in developing strategies at the project and divisional levels, and undertake additional responsibilities within the Program office as outlined below. The Deputy Program Director will work with the Program Office, comprised of a Global Program Director, three additional Deputies, an Associate Director for research training and standards, two Senior Editors, Senior Officer and Coordinator. The Deputy Program Director will report to the Global Program Director, and will preferably be based in any of the following locations where HRW has an office: New York, Washington, Toronto, Sao Paulo, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Beirut, or Amman.

Responsibilities

• Managerial responsibilities include coordinating with Program Office to manage divisional directors to lead and support staff worldwide, modeling inclusive leadership, managing performance fairly, overseeing financial management, supporting staff resilience, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Strategy and innovation include overseeing development of strategies and operational plans for designated research divisions, ensuring clear goals and benchmarks, alignment with organizational priorities, annual and multi-year planning, leading implementation of global strategy, developing theories of change, and facilitating intra-organizational strategy meetings.
• Systems for effective, impactful work include facilitating information flow across regional and thematic divisions, upholding rigorous research and internal fact-checking guidelines and ethical standards, enabling cross divisional collaboration, and addressing blockages.
• Partnerships include fostering sustainable relationships with human rights partners outside HRW and promoting visibility of partnership work.
• Quality control includes upholding high standards of research, writing, and fact-checking, reviewing divisional products, ensuring compliance with vetting guidelines and policies.
• Security includes designing and reviewing security protocols with the Security team, approving security plans, and resolving security issues, escalating to Global Program Director as needed.
• Additional responsibilities include cultivating relationships with leadership of other departments, undertaking special projects, participating in fundraising, and other tasks as required.

Education

• An advanced degree in international relations, law, journalism, social sciences, or a related field or equivalent work experience, is required.

Experience

• A minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant experience in international human rights or related work, with at least five (5) years in a management role.
• Other skills
• Experience with and commitment to rigor; knowledge of international human rights, interviewing, fact-finding and advocacy; fluent English; track record in leading teams; high emotional intelligence; experience managing senior managers; sensitivity to diverse identities and cultures; ability to collaborate across levels.
• Experience with delivering results
• Track record of measurable contributions to complex projects, promoting inclusive work culture, prioritization, delegation, resource allocation, and culturally competent practices.
• Other
• Experience working on the United States or Latin America is desired.