Health care professionals work  both in emergency as part of Emergency Response Clinics & field hospital which are deployed to support international operations. Health care professionals also work for long-term development cooperation projects.   

Individuals with versatile experience in primary and acute health care in a hospital setting, first aid and treating patients of different ages are needed. Health care staff are also required to have expertise in health education planning and implementation, and thus we are also looking for professionals with knowledge and experience in Public Health and Global Health 

Red Cross needs staff with strong and versatile experience in special health care in their field (e.g. surgery, deliveries, childhood diseases) who are able to work in tasks outside their own area of expertise in different wards. In the field hospital, work is focused on applying clinical skills, work organisation and training local colleagues.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross deploys aid workers to conflict areas. Teams working in conflict areas, such as surgical teams, require skilled experts that are able to apply their skill sets to changing circumstances.   

Comprehensive clinical skills are essential in patient work, because work is often carried out in changing roles and circumstances lacking in the tools and staff that are characteristic of Finnish health care. Health care professionals work with different patient groups in tasks that might be new to them. Red Cross trains health care professionals in the aid worker reserve to be able to conduct their profession in disaster and conflict environments. 

All health care professionals must have comprehensive work experience, fluent language skills, excellent teamwork skills and the ability to make decisions independently. Health care professionals also need to be ready to work in a multicultural work environment, with the help of an interpreter, if necessary. Important qualities also include training, leadership, coordination and coachking skills, as well as a participatory approach to work.  

Promoting gender equality, diversity and non-discrimination, taking persons with disability into account and involving them, as well as comprehensively understanding vulnerabilities and taking them into account, are key themes in all operations. Knowledge of these themes is beneficial to all professionals.  

Red Cross disaster health units need  

• physicians (especially professionals in general medicine who work in health care centers/occupational health care, surgeons, gynaecologists/obstetricians, as well as anaesthetists, infectious-disease specialists, emergency physicians and paediatricians)  
• nurses (especially operation theatre and anaesthetic nurses, as well as paediatric nurses)  
• instrument technicians 
• midwives 

• medical laboratory technologists 
• radiographers 
• pharmacists / medical logisticians 
• physiotherapists 
• psychosocial support professionals 

Other Red Cross health care missions need people from different educational backgrounds with 

• experience in project management 
• experience in operation management 
• experience in planning and implementing health programs 
• interest in supporting and developing health activities with the local Red Cross or Red Crescent 

We are looking for disaster preparedness and response workers with language skills for comprehensive expert tasks. Disaster Management (DM) experts are needed in operative tasks of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and as support workers in operation coordination. 

Disaster management experts are also needed to support Red Cross preparedness programmes (so-called Disaster Preparedness / Disaster Risk Reduction, DP/DRR programmes)  

Aid workers working for preparedness programmes benefit from mastering at least one technical area, which may be connected to climate change, meteorology; 

• Risk mitigation,  
• Livelihoods,  
• Food security,  
• CVA-cash distribution 
• WASH-water and sanitation. 
• Shelter 

Cooperation skills and the ability to work as part of networks are key. We do not require aid workers to have experience of official duties, but experience from the field is seen as an asset. 

Financial administration experts support short-term Red Cross disaster relief operations, long-term development co-operation projects and the development of the financial management and economic sustainability of Icelandic RC partner national societies. Financial administration professionals must have a university degree (e.g. Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration or Bachelor of Business Administration). 

The key selection criteria for financial administration professionals are strong competencies in bookkeeping and cost accounting. Experience in budgeting and project management are considered to be assets as well as versatile language skills (apart from english, French and Arabic). 

In operations and projects, the environments and situations may be particularly challenging in terms of financial administration. Thus, financial administration professionals selected into the aid worker reserve must have good cooperation skills, patience and decisiveness. They must be able to manage the entire range of operations from individual receipts to investor reports. 

When National Societies implement humanitarian and development programmes, there is significant requirement for procurement, transportation, warehousing and handling of relief supplies. The IFRC responds to this need by providing Logistics and Procurement Services, Fleet Services, country Level logistics services through its Logistics Procurement and Supply Chain Management (LPSCM) set up.  See more info here.  

Logisticians should master several sectors of logistics, such as inventory management, transport management, import/export or supply chain management. Logisticians in the aid worker reserve should have a bachelor’s degree.  

Information Management (IM) professionals are needed for for data and information collection, analysis, processing, storage, visualisation and reporting to support e.g. decision-making and coordination of operations. 

Typical tasks include planning and supporting the implementation of beneficiary surveys or collecting data from various sources and refining it into infographics, narrative reports or maps. 

IM experts need to have good cooperation and communications skills, a strong ability to analyse qualitative and quantitative data, strong IT skills, especially in spreadsheet computation software and geographic information software, as well as sufficient visual skills to produce infographics and other visualisations. 

We are looking for multitalented people with excellent technical skills and the ability to maintain and repair various devices, pitch tents, build furniture and fences from locally sourced materials, build electrical networks in the field using readymade cables and power rooms, as well as participate in the construction of water tanks and networks to support Red Cross Emergency Response Units, especially health care units. 

Specialised professional competence is especially needed in electric installation and water treatment and distribution. Other technical skills may be acquired through hobbies in addition to studies and working life. 

Technical staff need excellent teamwork skills and flexibility, independent initiative and the ability to apply their skills and the material at hand in challenging environments. Knowledge of hospital technology is considered an asset. 

IT experts work in Information Technology and Telecommunications Emergency Response Units and support Health Emergency Response Units. We most need radio amateurs with an understanding of how HF and VHF radio waves travel, the ability to install and repair mobile units and base stations and plan radio networks.  

The Red Cross organises complementary training on the use of satellite phones and other Red Cross devices, but IT aid workers are required to already have good knowledge of the Windows operating system and PC computer troubleshooting and repairs.   

IT aid workers should also be able to build and configure computer networks. They must be skilled in communication control protocols and, preferably, also databases.  

We are looking for multitalented communications professionals with strong cooperation and negotiation skills. A flexible attitude is crucial, as work is often carried out in challenging and rapidly changing circumstances.  

An audiovisual expert must master both photography and video production (e.g. filming, editing, sound production and post-editing of images). Many tasks include video production. We value the ability to experiment with and innovate new concepts (incl. on different social media platforms) and produce high-quality material even on a tight schedule.  

Communications professionals must produce journalistic content at least in in Icelandic and English, plan and target communications as well as utilise social media. Experience of working in a newsroom and publishing across multiple channels are considered assets. We value the ability to plan and execute communications training as well as photography and manuscript writing skills.  

The Red Cross is committed to putting communities at the centre of our aid operations. Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) is both our commitment and our process for working with communities based on their needs and feedback, supporting communities in highlighting issues that are important to them, providing information as a form of aid and supporting communications aiming for behavioural change. 

An expert in community engagement and accountability promotes the involvement of various members and groups of communities in aid operations, both during disaster situations and when preparing for them. 

Assets in CEA work include expertise and experience in social change, behavioural sciences, community communications, the collection and processing of qualitative information, and feedback systems. Expertise in gender equality and disability inclusion are considered assets 

We are looking for experts with strong expertise in promoting gender equality and inclusion of disabled people (PGI, Protection, Gender, Inclusion) in development cooperation and/or humanitarian aid operations. 

We particularly value expertise in gender issues and the inclusion of people with disabilities as well as experience in activities to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and support the victims of such violence. 

PGI experts are involved in the preparation of community and needs assessments and analyses, among other things. They ensure that funding applications, programmes and operations comply with both the policies and guidelines of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the requirements of donors. 

PGI experts support and monitor the implementation of programmes and operations and participate in their reporting and evaluation. Key tasks include the training of staff and volunteers and cooperation with other actors. 

A PGI professional benefits from a comprehensive understanding and consideration of vulnerabilities, as well as knowledge of other cross-cutting themes (e.g. climate change, community engagement) and sectors (health, disaster preparedness / resilience). 

PGI professionals always support the local Red Cross or Red Crescent, meaning that we value knowledge of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. PGI experts can act both in support of the Finnish Red Cross’s long-term programmes and in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement’s emergency response operations. 

Useful qualities also include communication and presentation skills, as well as a participatory approach to work. Familiarity with the most important sponsors (e.g. Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, EU/ECHO) is a great asset. Expertise in community engagement and accountability is considered an asset. 

The Red Cross provides security management support to any Movement partner requesting  security support in operational contexts where the Red Cross has the required capacity and the country office is deemed to be in compliance with the IFRC Minimum Security Requirements. The services are detailed within the Red Cross security management support to Movement partners' procedures and are based upon 4 Levels of security coverage, depending on the modality of service requests. Movement partners can contact relevant IFRC Regional or Country offices for further information. 

We are looking for university-educated people with versatile language skills who are suitable candidates for International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) tasks. Working for the Committee often requires committing to employment in a conflict area for at least one year. The tasks vary and may contain visits to prisoners of war and political prisoners, family reunification assignments, organising the delivery of emergency aid or serving as a humanitarian law expert. Learn more about the tasks and requirements here.  

The Finnish Red Cross also deploys health care and logistics professionals in its reserve to work in ICRC operations in conflict areas.