Deputy Director, Arms

FULL-TIME JOB VACANCY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ARMS
Crisis, Conflict and Arms
Multiple Office Locations Considered
Application deadline: November 2, 2025

The Crisis, Conflict and Arms (CCA) Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) documents, exposes, and seeks to prevent or end violations of human rights and the laws of war during armed conflicts and severe social or political unrest. The Arms Program within the division works to advance humanitarian disarmament and enhance protections for civilians from various weapons that are indiscriminate or inflict unnecessary harm. The Arms Program focuses its research and advocacy on the establishment, strengthening, implementation, and enforcement of international treaties and norms.

The CCA Division is seeking a Deputy Director for Arms to manage and lead the work of the Arms Program within the division. Key responsibilities will include coordinating a team of highly experienced Arms experts, joining Arms staff members in international advocacy related to disarmament norm-setting, and representing HRW on leadership committees of humanitarian disarmament campaigns. The Deputy Director for Arms will also help develop and implement the broader strategy of the division with an eye to Arms issues. The individual will ensure that CCA and HRW respond to conflicts and crises in timely, effective, and strategic ways that take into account Arms as well as other relevant issues.

The Deputy Director will oversee and support individuals who are often involved in stressful and disturbing work and who may be conducting research in high-risk security environments. The Deputy Director should help to ensure respect for security protocols; encourage resilience, well-being, and a healthy work/life balance; and work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the division and broader organization.

The full-time position will preferably be based in one of the following HRW offices: Amman, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Nairobi, New York, São Paulo, Stockholm, Toronto, or Washington DC. This position reports to the Director of the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division based in Washington, DC.

Responsibilities: 

1. Develop, oversee, and implement the Arms Program’s strategy and identify innovative new opportunities and approaches to advance humanitarian disarmament and to prevent or restrict the use of weapons that inflict unnecessary harm to civilians, including related to emerging technologies.
2. Lead HRW’s continued high-level engagement in the international coalitions and networks focused on landmines, cluster munitions, explosive weapons, and killer robots, including by playing roles on governance bodies.
3. Coordinate and participate actively in our advocacy and media work, especially during relevant treaty, convention, and declaration meetings, in order to create, strengthen, implement, and enforce humanitarian disarmament norms.
4. Conduct rigorous reviews of the division’s research products and other publications, ensuring that the highest research standards are adhered to while also working to improve the quality of the writing and serving as a sounding board for staff working on projects.
5. Draft own opinion and analysis pieces as possible.
6. Guide and advance HRW’s broader work on crisis, conflict, and arms including by supporting with the design of strategic projects and work plans and by editing and reviewing different products. 
7. Act as a senior representative and advocate internally for Arms Program priorities, including by participating in various coordination meetings.
8. Act as a senior spokesperson and liaise with external actors to advocate on the work of the division, including the Arms Program.
9. Assist the Director in regularly monitoring the budget and ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately.
10. Assist the Director in developing and implementing effective systems for team coordination and communication.
11. Work with the Director and HRW’s Development and Outreach Department in identifying and cultivating new fundraising opportunities for the division’s work. 
12. Undertake other responsibilities as required.

Managerial Responsibilities:

1. Lead, motivate, and mentor direct reports, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely constructive feedback, ensuring balanced workload, providing guidance on professional growth, and monitoring staff well-being as it pertains to stress and resilience issues and staff care.
2. Work with the Director and the Security Team to support the development and implementation of physical and digital security and safety plans, and to ensure that staff in the division adhere to security protocols, especially when traveling to high-risk environments.
3. Assist the Director in ensuring that the management, staffing, and culture of the division are suitably aligned with evolving goals and strategic ambitions.
4. Assist the Director in managing the implementation of performance management processes that measure and evaluate progress against operational goals for the Division.
5. Promote an inclusive, creative, positive, and trauma-informed work environment including by soliciting diverse points of views, encouraging staff to participate in efforts to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion, and proactively addressing bias, discrimination, and microaggressions.

Qualifications: 

Education: An advanced (graduate) degree in law, international relations, journalism, social science or other relevant field, or equivalent work experience, is required. 

Experience: A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant work experience with at least four (4) years in a management position is required. 

Required Skills and Knowledge: 

1. Deep knowledge of and experience related to humanitarian disarmament, weapons that cause unnecessary harm to civilians (such as antipersonnel landmines, cluster munitions, incendiary weapons, explosive weapons in populated areas, and killer robots), and efforts to ban or restrict them.
2. Experience establishing, strengthening, implementing, and/or enforcing norms, and working with global civil society in coalitions to advance such goals.
3. Excellent English writing and editing skills in various formats (such as in-depth reports, press releases, op eds, newsletters, etc.), with an ability to edit documents for factual and technical accuracy and precision, while also working to make the writing as compelling and impactful as possible.
4. An ability to analyze relevant international law and apply it to disarmament and conflict situations.
5. Recognized management experience, and an ability to supervise a team of talented professionals with significant experience, in multiple global locations.
6. Ability to use the findings of conflict-related research, such as interviews, open-source data, and physical evidence, to build an advocacy case, with direct experience conducting human rights investigations in crisis and conflict settings desired.
7. Ability to defend and explain complex issues and positions to internal and external audiences, including senior officials in governments and intergovernmental bodies; media outlets; donors and board members; partners in the various coalitions and networks; and colleagues gathering during internal coordination meetings and other ad hoc meetings.
8. Demonstrated experience in strategy, project management, and systems development.
9. Problem-solving skills and proven flexibility to navigate dynamic internal and external environments and to remain calm and focused when managing crises. 
10. Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and experience applying DEI values in the workplace. 
11. Ability to think creatively and strategically, initiate projects, identify advocacy goals, develop short- and long-term plans, and follow through on plans. 
12. Interpersonal skills in order to work collaboratively within HRW as well as with partners, government officials, private companies, media and other interlocutors. 
13. Capacity to appropriately plan, prioritize and manage multiple, often competing, demands efficiently in a challenging, fast-paced environment. 

Salary and Benefits: HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive compensation and employer-paid benefits. HRW offers a relocation assistance package and will assist employees in obtaining necessary work authorization where we have the ability to do so if required; citizens of all nationalities are encouraged to apply. If based in the United States, the salary range for this position is USD 121,000-133,000. Salary ranges outside of the United States vary based on location.

How to Apply: Please apply immediately or by November 2, 2025, by visiting our online job portal at careers.hrw.org and attaching a cover letter and resume. No calls or email inquiries, please. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your application submission, or if you require a disability related accommodation, please email recruitment@hrw.org. Due to the large response, application submissions via email will not be accepted and inquiries regarding the status of applications will go unanswered.

Human Rights Watch is strong because it is diverse. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds based anywhere to apply. Human Rights Watch does not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or criminal record. We welcome all kinds of diversity. Our employees include people who are parents and nonparents, the self-taught and university educated, and from a wide span of socio-economic backgrounds and perspectives on the world. Human Rights Watch is an equal opportunity employer. 

Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization known for its in-depth investigations, its incisive and timely reporting, its innovative and high-profile advocacy campaigns, and its success in changing the human rights-related policies and practices of influential governments and international institutions.