Director of Global Refugee Leadership

Director of Global Refugee Leadership

Rainbow Railroad

Reports to the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer

Full-time, permanent (40 hours/week)

Location: Toronto, ON (with international travel)

Start date: March 23, 2026

About Rainbow Railroad

Rainbow Railroad is an international human rights organization that creates pathways to safety for at-risk LGBTQI+ people and strengthens policies and systems that support their protection and integration. We are one of the few organizations that work as direct service providers, advocates, thought leaders, and movement strategists to address global queer forced displacement. Our mission is guided by a commitment to becoming a refugee-led organization that centres the experiences, leadership, and authority of LGBTQI+ refugees.

Founded in 2006, Rainbow Railroad is a registered charity in Canada and a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization with offices in Toronto and New York.

Position Overview

Rainbow Railroad is seeking an experienced and strategic leader to serve as Director of Global Refugee Leadership. This is a mid-level leadership position that will contribute to advancing Rainbow Railroad’s transformation into a refugee-led organization. Reporting to the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer, and working closely with the Chief Impact Officer, the Director will lead internal and external efforts that integrate refugee leadership in the organization’s response to queer forced displacement. This role is not focused on speaking on behalf of refugee communities, but supporting the creation of structures, policies, and leadership pathways that enable queer refugees to exercise influence, legitimacy, and authority. The Director will also play a role in the design, launch, and governance of Rainbow Railroad’s planned Queer Refugee Leadership Institute (QRLI), envisioned as a global platform for cultivating and positioning queer refugee leaders as public, political, and institutional actors and researchers. This position operates at the intersection of institutional change, movement accountability, and lived experience. It involves navigating political complexity and the emotional dimensions of power-shifting work. Rainbow Railroad recognizes this labour as real work and is committed to resourcing it through shared leadership, organizational accountability, and structured support.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Transformation and Refugee-Led Governance

• Working closely with the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer and the Chief Executive Officer, lead organizational change efforts to advance Rainbow Railroad’s commitment to becoming a refugee-led organization.
• Design and support governance models, policies, and practices that embed refugee leadership, accountability, and decision-making authority across all departments.
• Advise departmental directors on integrating refugee-led approaches into their respective portfolios.
• Work closely with the Chief Impact Officer to support internal learning and alignment related to refugee leadership across the organization.

Queer Refugee Leadership Institute

• Work closely with the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer and the Chief Impact Officer to co-design the structure and governance model for the Queer Refugee Leadership Institute.
• Support early-stage planning, stakeholder engagement, and operational design for the Institute, including defining its purpose, scope, and long-term objectives.
• Support the development of leadership pathways, public engagement opportunities, and institutional partnerships connected to the Institute.
• Ensure the Institute is governed in alignment with principles of shared power, accountability, and refugee leadership.

External Leadership and Influence

• Build pathways for queer refugee leaders to participate in high-level advocacy, media, policy, and movement spaces, in coordination with peers in the Communications and Advocacy department.
• Support refugee leaders’ engagement in conferences, public forums, legislative and multilateral processes, and donor and partner engagements.
• Represent Rainbow Railroad externally on issues related to refugee leadership and lived expertise.

Movement Building and Partnerships

• Work closely with the Chief Impact Officer to develop and maintain strategic relationships with refugee-led organizations, networks, and leaders globally.
• Support partnership models that prioritize resourcing and long-term collaboration with refugee-led initiatives.
• Contribute to the implementation of the Queer Forced Displacement Initiative (QFDI) and other movement building strategies that centre queer refugee leadership.

Operational Excellence and Team Leadership

• Establish an internal mechanism to regularly brief colleagues on portfolio developments.
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team to define and track portfolio-related outcomes and impact in Salesforce.
• Contribute to a healthy and desirable team culture by modeling collaborative and inclusive leadership practices.
• Ensure effective work planning, delegation, and regular performance feedback for staff under your leadership that is aligned with organizational policies, priorities, and capacity.
• Collaborate with the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer to identify opportunities for team growth, resource allocation, and skill development.

Required Skills & Experience

• Lived experience of forced displacement, with demonstrated ability to translate that experience into strategic leadership, public engagement, and institutional decision-making.
• Undergraduate degree in International Relations, Political Science, Law, Education, Public Policy, Human Rights, or a related field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in refugee rights, advocacy, movement-building, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with displaced or refugee communities.
• Strong strategic leadership skills, with knowledge of designing systems and leading organizational change.
• Deep understanding of global refugee protection frameworks and human rights advocacy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational, project management, and judgment skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-growing, mission-driven organization with international impact.
• Excellent data management skills and proficiency in Salesforce and Google Workspace.
• Willingness to maintain a flexible schedule to support international engagement.

Application Details

Application Deadline

February 10, 2026

Compensation Package

$90,000 - $120,000 CAD plus a comprehensive benefits package including HSA, health and dental insurance, three weeks’ vacation, 16 wellness days, and a two-week holiday closure at the end of the year.

Application Process

Please submit your application through the portal link here:

https://secure.collage.co/jobs/rainbowrailroad/59218

Rainbow Railroad is dedicated to building an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. This includes diversity across race, ancestry, culture, languages spoken, immigration status, age, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and socioeconomic background. Requests for accommodation due to disability can be made at any stage in the recruitment process. Please email hire@rainbowrailroad.org for inquiries.