Join the world's largest humanitarian network.
The Swedish Red Cross is part of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, the world’s largest humanitarian network. The Red Cross/Red Crescent is working to improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters and emergencies. We support people whoever they are, wherever they are.
Tentative timeframe: January/February 2026- June/July 2026
Language: English
Location: Stockholm (preferred) or remote
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world’s largest humanitarian network. The Movement is neutral and impartial, and provides protection and assistance to people affected by disasters and conflicts. The movement is made up of almost 100 million members, volunteers, staff and supporters in 191 countries. It has three main components:
As partners, the members of the Movement support communities in becoming stronger, and safer through a variety of resilience projects and humanitarian activities. The Movement also works in cooperation with governments, donors, research institutions, private sector and other organisations to advocate for and assist vulnerable people around the world.
Background
Disasters have an impact on entire communities. The immediate effects include loss of life, damage to property and infrastructure, with people’s health and well-being impacted, uncertain of the future and less able to provide for their own welfare, at least in the short term. Often, there are needs for shelter, food, water and other necessities to sustain life and dignity, and rapid action is required to prevent further suffering. The Red Cross and Red Crescent aims to prepare for and respond to disasters as locally, rapidly and effectively as possible, by mobilising resources (people, money and other assets) and using its network in a coordinated manner so that the initial effects are countered and the needs of the affected communities are met. The primary aims of disaster response are rescue from immediate danger and stabilisation of the physical and emotional conditions of survivors. These go hand in hand with the recovery and restoration of essential services such as water, sanitation, hygiene (WaSH) and public health, sectors where Swedish Red Cross has technical and operational expertise and leadership in support to National Societies.
During disasters, the imperative for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is to save lives, reduce suffering, damage and losses, and to protect, comfort and support affected people. While life-saving interventions must always remain the priority of any emergency operation, the Movement recognizes that it must take action to minimize adverse impacts on the surrounding environment and ecosystems. The Swedish Red Cross has also led “Green Response” initiatives in the Movement, aiming at minimizing adverse impacts and improving environmental outcomes of activities.
Solid Waste Management
Solid Waste Management (SWM) is an increasingly critical issue in both emergency and long-term contexts. Inadequate waste management practices and infrastructure can contribute to disease outbreaks, environmental degradation, blocked drainage systems leading to increased flooding, and significantly impact dignity, livelihoods, and resilience. Poor solid waste management can also further contribute to climate change through uncontrolled burning and methane emissions from open dumping.
The Swedish Red Cross has been uniquely positioned to contribute to strengthen the Movement’s SWM practices in emergencies and long-term programming by leveraging its cross-cutting technical experiences, research, and partnerships exploring SWM gaps and potential solutions across WaSH, Health, Green Response, DRR and Logistics sectors for example.
Purpose
The purpose of the internship is to contribute to Swedish Red Cross’s analyses, documentation, and development of relevant resources to help address Solid Waste Management challenges across diverse contexts.
Tasks may include
The project will be done in person at the Swedish Red Cross (preferred) and in collaboration with colleagues across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
We offer
During your internship, you will be assigned a technical advisor. You will also receive introductory briefings with a network colleagues who you can turn to for questions you may have. You and your technical advisor will jointly go through expectations, outline important deadlines and create a draft workplan. At Swedish Red Cross, we operate in a dynamic environment, and the responsibilities of this role may evolve or be adjusted according to specific emerging needs and opportunities or skills/interests of the intern.
Your Profile
Preferred experience
Preferred Personal Qualities
Application
Please include the following documents with your application:
The last day to apply is Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Please note that only applications made through our website will be considered. For more information about the internship, please contact Roger Alonso, Head of Global Response Unit, Swedish Red Cross: [email protected].
Please note that the Swedish Red Cross are not able to provide any financial compensation for this Internship or Master's Thesis project.
References for further reading
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