< BACK TO JOBS

We hire professionals with a strong humanitarian motivation for roles in over 90 countries to help people affected by armed conflict and other violence.

This page provides information about our employees on mobile contracts in the field. Employees on resident contracts are hired on local contracts to work in a specific position in a specific country. If you wish to receive specific details for a resident field position, please contact the ICRC delegation in your country of residence.

To learn more about our local opportunities, visit the Local Opportunities page.

  • What are the criteria for mobile positions?

- Fluent level of english

English and French are the official languages of the ICRC. Most of our field offices, known as delegations, are English-speaking, but a third are in French-speaking countries. A very good knowledge of both languages is therefore highly recommended and sometimes required. Exceptions may be made for some specific jobs.

- Unaccompanied assignments for the first 24 months

When you join the ICRC, you must be prepared to accept unaccompanied postings (i.e. no spouse, partner, children or dependents) for the first two assignments (minimum 12 months each).

- Being deployed where your skills are needed

When you join the ICRC, you must be prepared to go wherever your skills are most needed. With time, you will be given more say in determining your assignment and advice on how to develop your career.

- Manual driving licence

The ICRC works in volatile countries where there may be security concerns. You may need to drive a car with a manual gearbox to evacuate in an emergency. You must therefore have a valid manual transmission driving licence, and may be asked to physically prove that you can drive.

- Professionals only

We hire professionals with at least two years of experience. We work in emergencies and in potentially dangerous environments. For these reasons, we are looking for experienced professionals, who are ready to be deployed quickly and are operational from the first day of their assignment.

- International exposure

Our employees in the field work in challenging, multicultural environments. You must therefore have some international experience to show that you can adapt to and work in such conditions. Any professional experience abroad counts, but experience in a country whose culture is different from that of your home country is particularly sought after. Non-professional, long-term stays in a foreign country are considered an asset.

Please note that our recruiters evaluate applications as a whole. To succeed, you will need the right combination of motivation, professional and personal experience, language and soft skills.

  • How long do field assignments last?

Most of our field assignments last for a period of 12 months. However, depending on the type of work done and the context, they may last from a minimum of three months to several years.

  • What is the recruitment process for employees on mobile contracts?

To learn more about our recruitment process, please visit the page Our Recruitment Process.

  • What are our medical standards?

All new employees to the ICRC must submit to a medical examination. The ICRC Senior Medical Advisor recommends that certain medical conditions (cardiac diseases, respiratory diseases, severe allergies, mental health issues, severe obesity, severe immuno-suppression, for example) are considered with special attention. Indeed, in most contexts where the ICRC operates, necessary medical care may not be available, access to health care may be very limited or absent, and deployment in these conditions could endanger the lives of staff with these medical problems.

We recommend you check on attached list if you present a medical condition that could preclude your recruitment in ICRC.

In addition, all vaccines recommended for travel and long stay abroad are considered as mandatory in ICRC, including a WHO-recognized vaccine against COVID-19.

  • How do we onboard our employees on mobile contracts?

New employees on a mobile contract take part in an integration programme, in which they learn about the ICRC’s values, culture, environment, principles, modes of action and professional standards. This ensures a coherent and professional onboarding of new employees.

The programme is obligatory for all employees deployed in the field, including those seconded by National Societies, who deal directly with people affected by armed conflict and/or external contacts and partners. This covers all those working in an operational role (on protection, assistance, prevention or Movement cooperation programmes) or in a support capacity (e.g. in logistics, information technology, administration, human resources).

The programme consists of an online phase and a two-week face-to-face session in one of our regional centres, and is tailored according to the specific functions carried out in the field.

  • How do we ensure safety of our employees on mobile contracts?

The safety of our employees is the number one priority. Every effort is made to mitigate risks.

Finding a balance between staying involved and staying safe is one of the biggest challenges the ICRC faces today when working in conflict zones. We constantly strive to better understand our security environment and reassess and expand our networking efforts.

The ICRC’s security approach is based mainly on a regular dialogue with all players in the countries where we work, in order to be known and accepted as a purely humanitarian organization that does not have a political – or any other – agenda. Our security therefore depends on our being accepted and trusted by the parties to the conflict who are in de facto control of the areas in which we operate.

This means that a vital element in ensuring employee safety is the ICRC’s reputation as a neutral and impartial organization, which enables us to work in areas where we might otherwise be unwelcome.

Security conditions vary according to the context we are working in. In all our delegations, employees are well briefed and kept updated on the security rules on a daily basis.

  • How do we provide psychological support to our employees?

Stress can have an important impact on ICRC employees worldwide. The well-being and mental health of our employees are crucial in enabling the organization to carry out its work of protecting and assisting victims of armed conflict.

We provide psychological support to employees working in volatile and stressful places. In addition, all employees on a mobile contract attend a medical check-up and briefing before leaving on assignment and a medical debriefing on their return, both of which address psychological stress related to the nature of our work.

INTERVIEWS AND VIDEOS

Find below several testimonials from our colleagues.