# Red Cross and Red Crescent jobs: ICRC and IFRC

> Red Cross jobs come from three kinds of employer in one movement, the ICRC, the IFRC and the 191 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, and each hires on its own. A national society hires at home for its own services. The ICRC hires resident staff locally and mobile staff from Geneva.

Source: https://zorlya.com/blog/red-cross-and-red-crescent-jobs-icrc-ifrc-and-national-societies

By Zorlya. Published 2026-09-12. International and NGO jobs. 8 min read.

Red Cross jobs come from three kinds of employer in one movement: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Each one hires on its own, so the first step is to decide which of them you want to work for, and where.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a network of independent organisations that share one set of statutes and principles. The ICRC's [page on the Movement](https://www.icrc.org/en/about-international-red-cross-and-red-crescent-movement) counts 191 national societies. A job at one of them is a job with that society, under its own rules, and not with "the Red Cross" as a whole.

## How is the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement made up?

The [Statutes of the Movement](https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/external/doc/en/assets/files/other/statutes-en-a5.pdf), adopted in Geneva in 1986 and amended in 1995 and 2006, say in Article 1 that the Movement is made up of the recognised national societies, the ICRC and the IFRC. Article 3 calls the national societies the basic units of the Movement, and describes them as autonomous national organisations with voluntary members and staff.

| Part | What it is | Who it hires |
|---|---|---|
| National society | An autonomous organisation in its own country, auxiliary to the public authorities in the humanitarian field | Its own staff and volunteers at home, and in some countries delegates for work abroad |
| ICRC | Works on protection and assistance for people affected by armed conflict, in more than 90 countries | Resident staff hired locally, and mobile staff hired by its headquarters in Geneva |
| IFRC | The umbrella organisation for the national societies, working through them | Delegates that national societies deploy into its operations, among others |

So "Red Cross jobs" in a search can mean a care job at a national society in your town, a field post with the ICRC, or a deployment with the IFRC. The rules for each are different.

## What jobs does the ICRC offer?

The ICRC's [careers site](https://careers.icrc.org/content/what-we-look-for/) names four contract types: resident staff, mobile staff, associates and trainees, and staff on loan.

- **Resident staff** are hired locally for specific positions in specific regions of a country. The ICRC says they give operations continuity and local knowledge. Resident vacancies are in the local opportunities section of its site.
- **Mobile staff** are international professionals recruited by headquarters in Geneva, employed under Swiss employment standards and Swiss labour law.
- **Associates and trainees** are graduate positions, paid and full-time, lasting six to 12 months. The ICRC says it opens about 80 a year, based at its Geneva headquarters and open to all nationalities.
- **Staff on loan** come to the ICRC from national societies, described below.

The work is grouped into 18 job families on its [job categories page](https://careers.icrc.org/content/job-categories/?locale=en_GB), among them health care, logistics, water and habitat, forensics, tracing agency and protection, finance and administration, languages and the delegate family. A delegate represents the ICRC in field operations, works directly with communities affected by conflict and violence, and oversees aid programmes.

## What does the ICRC ask of mobile staff?

The bar is high and published. A university degree or equivalent professional qualification is generally required, and professional positions ask for at least two years of experience in the field. English is essential for most roles, and French, Arabic, Spanish or Russian is often a strong advantage.

The [ICRC's questions and answers](https://careers.icrc.org/content/questions-answers/?locale=en_GB) list the conditions for mobile positions:

1. A fluent level of English.
2. Unaccompanied assignments for the first 24 months, with the ICRC choosing where you go.
3. A manual driving licence, because mobile staff may need to drive a manual car to evacuate in an emergency.
4. International exposure, to show you can adapt to the conditions.
5. A full medical screening and a medical certificate, with the vaccines recommended for travel and long stays treated as mandatory.

In line with its principle of neutrality, the ICRC does not send staff to the countries of which they are nationals. Most positions start with a 12-month commitment.

## How do you apply to the ICRC?

Only to a published vacancy. The ICRC's [application process page](https://careers.icrc.org/content/Application-Process/?locale=en_GB) says all current vacancies are on its jobs page and that it does not accept unsolicited applications. The stages it lists:

1. Application.
2. Screening of your application.
3. A pre-recorded video and tests, where the role needs them.
4. Interviews.
5. Selection and hiring.

Background checks can cover criminal convictions, disciplinary sanctions and any situation of possible misconduct, and the ICRC takes part in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. For field roles it often needs, it keeps talent pools of pre-assessed candidates. If your country is under embargo, the ICRC warns that legal restrictions may make its HR system hard to reach.

## How do national societies hire?

Each national society is its own employer, and most of its jobs are at home. Two examples show how different they can be.

The [German Red Cross](https://www.drk.de/mitwirken/stellenboerse/) offers work in ambulance services, care, and social and education services. It is a registered association funded by donations, not part of the public service, and its pay is set by a collective agreement negotiated with the ver.di union, in force since 2007 and covering about 57,100 employees directly. It also trains apprentices, and when it works abroad, delegates from Germany often go with it.

[Australian Red Cross](https://www.redcross.org.au/careers/careers-in-international-aid/recruitment/) keeps a register of technical professions for international work, and recruits only where it has identified a gap. Its emergency responders must be ready to deploy anywhere within 48 hours, usually for one to three months. Deployments with the ICRC in conflict areas typically last six to 24 months. It says about six months can pass from the advertisement to a candidate being ready for deployment, and the process includes a one-day group assessment in Melbourne and two residential training courses. Its delegates are paid salary and benefits while deployed.

For its jobs in Australia, the society describes an online application, a behavioural interview, referee checks and background checks, including a National Police Check and a Working Rights Check for every role.

## Where does the IFRC fit?

The ICRC describes the IFRC as the umbrella organisation for the 191 national societies, which works and operates through them. That shapes how many people reach it. Australian Red Cross says most of its delegate deployments are fixed-term contracts in the operations of Movement partners such as the ICRC or the IFRC, and some of its roles are deployments directly with them.

The IFRC's own site turned our requests away when this post was written, so its vacancy pages and recruitment steps are not described here. Read them on the IFRC's site before you apply.

## Can a national society lead to an ICRC post?

There is a formal route. The ICRC's [staff on loan page](https://careers.icrc.org/content/Staff-on-loan-from-national-societies/?locale=en_GB) says national societies supply between five and ten per cent of its mobile workforce through secondments, a system that has run since the mid-1990s. In Sweden, the national society processes all ICRC applicants who are nationals of or resident in that country.

If your national society runs such a scheme, its delegate register may be the way to an ICRC field role. Ask the society directly.

## Is volunteering a route to a Red Cross job?

Volunteering and paid work are separate. The ICRC says it does not take volunteers and suggests contacting your country's national society instead. Australian Red Cross volunteer roles are unpaid, though the society arranges and pays travel and accommodation when a role needs them, and some roles take only one to three hours a week.

Volunteering can still help an application. Australian Red Cross asks for referees who can speak about your skills from paid or voluntary work. Describe volunteer work on a CV as you would a job, with the dates and what you did. [How to become a humanitarian aid worker](/blog/how-to-become-a-humanitarian-aid-worker-first-role-and-skills) covers the other routes into field work.

## Questions people ask

### Is the Red Cross one organisation?

No. The Movement is the ICRC, the IFRC and 191 national societies, and each one is a separate employer with its own vacancies.

### Can I work for the ICRC in my own country?

As resident staff, yes, because the ICRC hires resident staff locally. As mobile staff, no: it does not send staff to the countries of which they are nationals.

### Are Red Cross delegates paid?

Australian Red Cross says delegate deployments are not voluntary positions, and its delegates are paid salary and benefits while deployed. Check the terms of the society or the organisation you would work for.

### Do I need to speak French for an ICRC job?

Not for every role. English is essential for most roles, and French, Arabic, Spanish or Russian is often a strong advantage. Each posting states the levels it asks for.

## What we know and what we do not

The rules above come from the ICRC's own pages, the Statutes of the Movement and two national societies, read when this post was written. The IFRC's pages turned our requests away, and other national societies were not read, so their processes are not described. Each posting has the final word.

Zorlya does not apply for you. When a role is in your feed, Zorlya scores it against your resume, names its source and links to the original posting, where you apply. [How to read a job posting](/blog/how-to-read-a-job-posting) helps you check the contract and the conditions before you start an application, and [one resume for many countries](/blog/one-resume-for-many-countries-resume-or-cv) helps you adjust a CV for a society in another country.