Emergency Health Advisor

Would you like to join our team?

As our Emergency Health Advisor, you are part of the Global Response Unit in our International Department. The primary function of the Swedish Red Cross (SRC) Global Response Unit is to provide capacity and support in emergency responses by responding to appeals for support from the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement - bilaterally or via the Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as well as supporting SRC’s regular programs. The team consists of Disaster Management Advisors, Disaster Management Desks, an Emergency WaSH Advisor, a Logistician, and an Emergency Health Advisor.

Your role

As Emergency Health Advisor you fill an important function in the implementation of the SRC operational response goals that have a scale-up of Emergency Health and Emergency WaSH as priority the coming years. Your role aims to ensure quality in SRC Emergency Health and clinical activities in regular programs, as well as to support the work on transitioning long-term programming into scalable programs that can serve as a foundation for bilateral emergency response. You will collaborate closely with other national societies within the movement, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) as well as with SRC Country Representatives, Program Managers, and other colleagues. As a Health Advisor in the International Department, you will partner with your counterpart specializing in Community-Based Health within the Policy and Thematic Coordination unit. Together, you will be responsible for developing policies, guidelines, and methods, as well as delivering foundational training in health programming for program staff.

The aim is to certify high quality standards in all SRC health interventions and capture relevant learning for improved programming. You will also play an important role in further developing the SRC pool of health delegates and matching them for deployment to relevant programs in the field.

Key duties and responsibilities:

• Ensure and maintain quality of SRC Emergency Health and clinical health activities through providing advice and support from decision to delivery and reporting.
• Ensuring the technical accuracy of SRC’s proposals to funders and supporting SRC’s country-level teams in designing robust health programs.Maintain and improve the IPC Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and continue to work with the international group on its development.
• Take an active part in the IFRC lead IPC thematic working group
• Provide technical expertise in the maintenance of a high standard health delegate pool for international deployment to SRC programs, secondment to the ICRC or the IFRC (recruitment and training).
• Support deploying health delegates (nomination, briefing, preparedness, mentoring, and coaching) and collect learnings from their experiences for improved programming (debriefing and learning).
• Coordinate capacity building for Health in Emergencies, including organization and facilitation of trainings for SRC program staff as well as for Movement partners.
• Develop policies, guidelines, protocols, and methods for SRC Emergency Health programming, and give support in the planning of programs.
• Monitor global development in Emergency Health and continuously analyze needs for new capacities and approaches for relevance, efficacy, and efficiency of SRC Emergency Health capacity.
• Represent SRC in Emergency Health within the Movement and the wider humanitarian sector, building alliances with relevant external actors, NGOs and academic institutions for continuous learning and capacity building in Emergency Health.
• Guest lecture at nursing / medical schools.

Mandatory:

• University Degree in relevant areas of expertise (nursing, medicine)
• Several years of professional experience, whereof a few years in the field in a country outside of your country, and preferably region, of residence
• Experience of international humanitarian work and health program design and implementation in emergency contexts
• Experience of project management and capacity building
• Experience of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), especially in low resource settings
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office Tools and other IT
• Proficiency in English, written and spoken
• Swedish work permit
• Valid driving license for manual transmission vehicles

Preferable:

• Experience of work within the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement
• Experience of MHPSS programs
• Volunteer work within the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement
• Experience of work with international non-governmental organizations
• Experience of medical quality assurance management
• Experience of representing an organization in seminars, panels, and the media
• Master’s degree in Public Health/Global Health/Epidemiology (or equivalent)
• Proficiency in Swedish, written and spoken
• Proficiency in additional languages is a strong asset (French, Arabic Spanish and/or Portuguese)

Personal competencies

You are an experienced thematic advisor who understands that to be successful you need to be able to work independently while at the same time being a constructive team player with the ability to coordinate with peers with various levels of experience and knowledge in your area of expertise.

You have strong analytical skills complemented by a proactive mindset and a natural ability to take initiative and assume responsibility. You are open to challenging conventional methods and championing innovative solutions. With excellent communication skills, you are an effective collaborator and a committed advocate for the values of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The role and the work culture

This is full-time temporary position for 9 months with start in mid-January 2025. The position requires international travel including high risk environments.

Most of the International Department staff is placed in Stockholm, except for those in our field programs, but we are open for a dialogue on working from any of our other offices in Gothenborg, Malmö or Umeå.

At SRC, we offer goal-oriented working hours and flexible arrangements, allowing you to work remotely up to two days a week. We actively promote a culture of engaged employeeship, where action and humanity are at the core. Our focus is on fostering learning, development, and collaboration across teams and departments.

About our recruitment process

Our recruitment process includes interviews, technical tests and in some cases online tests as well as background checks and reference checks. As the Swedish Red Cross is part of the "Inter-Agency Scheme for the Disclosure of Safeguarding-related Misconduct", we take references from recent employers with questions based on a set form. Final candidates will also be screened against the EU and UN sanctions lists.

Please let us know if you require any specific aid in the recruitment process to ensure an inclusive and fair experience for you.

Application deadline is 8/1 2025.

Please note that only applications made through our website will be considered.

For more information about the position, please contact our current Emergency Health Advisor Kévin Lasmi at [email protected] (available from 2/1) or the recruiting Manager, Mari Mörth, Head of Global Response Unit at [email protected] (from 7/1).

For more information about the local union clubs represented at SRC, please follow this link (in Swedish).