Our recruitment process

Learn more about our recruitment processes and what you can expect if you apply for a job, consultancy opportunity or internship with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Disclaimer

The IFRC does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process and applicants will never be asked to share banking details.

Stages of recruitment

Application

All vacancies for jobs, consultancy opportunities and internships with the IFRC are advertised on our jobs portal. The IFRC does not accept open applications.

Applicants select the role they want to apply for, fill out personal information online, respond to an online questionnaire and upload their CV and any other required documents. After completion of the application, an automatic email confirming receipt will be sent to the applicant.

Screening

Interview

Following the screening process, we shortlist the applicants who best match the requirements of the job description and who are deemed the most suitable for the position. We then contact shortlisted candidates to arrange a competency-based interview.

These interviews are held with a panel and can be conducted either over the telephone, via video call or in one of our offices. The aim of these interviews is to assess the candidates’ fit with the culture of our organization and to find out more about his/her achievements and motivations. The panel will ask for the personal experience of the candidate to be illustrated with real examples.

A possible follow-up interview may be scheduled depending on the position.

References

Employment offer

Who can apply?

Anyone can apply to posts that are open externally.

For posts open internally, only current IFRC employees, Staff-on-Loan seconded to the IFRC and National Staff are eligible to apply. Subject to the agreement of human resources and the hiring manager, certain internal vacancies may indicate that a 'candidate has been identified'. However, other employees, seconded staff and national staff are fully entitled to apply and will have their application considered in a fair and equitable manner.

Communication

All applications are handled online and every application is acknowledged immediately by an automatic email response. Communication between the shortlisted candidates and human resources will be primarily by email, though invitations to interview may be made by telephone. All unsuccessful candidates will be notified by email.

Recruitment principles

The guiding principle in the selection of candidates is to ensure the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity.

We are committed to promoting diversity in our workforce. We do not discriminate on any grounds

As a membership organization we aim to achieve a broad representation of nationals from member countries and to ensure gender balance.

We strive to provide a work environment where the contribution of each individual is valued.

As a rule, selection of staff takes place on a competitive basis.

Apart from these common features of the selection process, each vacant position has its own specific requirements. These can be found in the position’s vacancy notice, which is based on an approved job description.

Recruitment FAQ

What does 'contingent upon confirmation of funding' mean?

What is the grade?

Each position in our organization has a certain grade attached to it. The grade corresponds to the ‘weight’ of the position in the context of the organization, which is decided based on a range of factors such as the level of responsibility, knowledge and skills and competencies the role holder needs to have. The more responsibility, knowledge and skills are required for that post the higher the grade given to it. Higher grades correspond to higher salaries.

A new post is given a grade on the basis of its job description in which the responsibilities, required knowledge, required competencies and required skills are described. Our HR department decides on grades using a job classification method. Years spent in a given post do not change the grade of that post.

What do 'duty station status' and 'accompanied status' mean?

Duty station status is defined by whether it is a family posting or a non-family posting. This status depends on a number of factors, such as security conditions, availability of schooling facilities, availability of good health services, public amenities etc. It defines in the first instance whether a staff member’s partner or children are allowed to join them in the duty station. This also has consequences on some benefits such as partner allowance, hardship allowance, rest and relaxation days.

Whether a post is accompanied or unaccompanied depends first of all whether this is a family posting. If so, the staff partner and/or child can join the staff in that duty station, but only at the IFRC's expense if the duration of the contract is longer than one year.