Job Detail

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works worldwide to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict and armed violence. We take action in response to emergencies and at the same time promote respect for international humanitarian law. We are an independent and neutral organization, and our mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. 

Healthcare delivery worldwide is hindered by targeted violence and general insecurity, especially in the context of conflict and other emergencies. Since 2011, through its Health Care in Danger (HCiD) initiative, the ICRC has developed a number of practical approaches to improving the security of healthcare providers, facilities, and patients. While many of these approaches have translated into success stories of implementation in the field, promotion on a broader scale remains a challenge.

In an effort to address this gap, the ICRC is piloting an innovative initiative – Partnering Cities for More Secure Healthcare – which aims to leverage the concept of twin/partner/friendship cities for cross-border and cross-cultural exchange of learning and creativity. Over the last several decades, this concept has gained traction and demonstrated varied application, including for peace-making, driving business exchanges and economic development, and contextualized diplomacy.

Purpose

Partnering Cities for More Secure Healthcare seeks to create and foster partnerships between city pairs in order to share existing best practices and create new approaches to protecting healthcare delivery from violence in urban environments. This is to be achieved through three self-contained phases, with this post covering Phase 1.

The primary purpose of the post is to test the internal feasibility of the city networks approach through close collaboration with/travel to participating ICRC delegations, and gauge the level of interest of relevant city stakeholders to participate in such partnerships (confirmed to date: Mali, Brazil, US, Pakistan, and El Salvador). This will be done on the basis of ongoing research and extensive consultations with internal stakeholders (HQ departments, delegations, etc.) and external players (health authorities, hospital directors, national medical associations, etc.) at various levels.

In case of a positive outcome, the final deliverable will be a methodology for operationalizing the actual city pairings in Phase 2 and potentially incorporating into existing partnerships/larger platforms in Phase 3.  

Main duties and responsibilities

This post will involve the following main tasks and responsibilities, including through travel to participating ICRC delegations (approximately 20% travel):

• Contribute to the development of a conceptual framework for city pairings


• This framework should include a set of possible criteria (i.e. geographic distance, GDP, context, etc.) for twinning cities and consider issues of political feasibility, management ramifications, organizational added value, and cost-benefit ratio.


• Liaise with key internal and external stakeholders to test the feasibility of the conceptual framework


• Conduct a city landscape analysis and identify relevant networks to serve as vehicles for the proposed partnerships


• If favourable, propose possible  programmatic approaches/scenarios for operationalizing the actual city pairings in Phase 2 and present to ICRC management and concerned stakeholders for validation


• Produce a final report that captures key learnings/exchanges and provides recommendations for the way forward

Reports to (role)

• HCID Head of Project

Relationships

• Internally, interacts with divisions/units at HQ and various departments in the field related to the issue of violence against health care.


• Externally, interacts with a strong network of interlocutors (health-care professional organizations, States, academia, etc) interested or working on the issue of violence against health care.

Education and experience required

• University degree or equivalent.


• Previous ICRC experience and demonstrable knowledge of organizational programmes/operations.


• Demonstrable expertise in public health and health systems.


• Demonstrable expertise in urban issues.


• Demonstrable familiarity with key humanitarian issues and actors.

Desired profile and skills

• Ability to work in multi-cultural environments and travel to the field over the course of the contract.


• The delegate will be based in Geneva with extensive travel to the US, Pakistan, El Salvador, Mali and Brazil. S/He needs to be able to travel to all these countries.


• Comfortable with uncertainty, large volumes of information, and managing multiple relationships.


• Self-starter and self-managing.


• Strong writing and presentation skills in English. Knowledge of French/Spanish/Portuguese is an asset.

Additional information

• Location:                       Geneva


• Working rate:                100%


• Travel required:             20%


• Length of assignment:   6 months


• Type of position:            Resident


• Start date:                      ASAP


• Application deadline:  Sunday, 20 January 2019