Surge Coordinator (Internal Recruitment)

Bli en del av världens största humanitära rörelse

Röda Korset är världens största humanitära rörelse och finns i 191 länder. När katastrofen slår till är vi redan på plats för att hjälpa utsatta människor, inte minst tack vare 16 miljoner volontärer. 

Svenska Röda Korset driver verksamhet inom kris och katastrof, skyddsfrågor samt hälsa och vård. Vi har förtroendet att omsätta bidrag från individer, företag och myndigheter i konkreta insatser för de mest utsatta.

Vi kämpar för att rädda liv, och ge hopp, överallt och varje dag. Oavsett i vilken roll du jobbar är du med och bidrar – i just din profession och genom handlingskraft och mod. Välkommen till vår värld!

Surge Coordinator (Internal Recruitment)

About the Position

The main purpose of the role is to coordinate in-country and on-site response to emergency operations of the IFRC, ICRC or a National Society in the disaster or crisis affected country at the time of crisis. This is done by supporting the surge capacity of the Swedish Red Cross and enhancing localized capacities of volunteers and staff of National Societies. The role may include, but is not limited, to:

• Deployment into early onset of an IFRC or National Society led response operation.
• Short-term support to SRC bilateral and multilateral programs in various types of missions and roles.
• Representation of the Swedish Red Cross in the RCRC Movement forums on global tools.

You will be in charge to disseminate the International Guidelines for IFRC and National Society deployment of rapid response personnel and ensure the compliance of the SRC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for International Emergencies. You will work in close collaboration with other Thematic Advisors at the SRC International Department, with focus on Disaster Management, Emergency WaSH and Emergency Health.

You will be carrying out other duties including aspects of supporting the development of learning, of new or revised tools, organizing selection committees for candidates to participate in relevant trainings, contribute or coordinate the SRC’s contribution to trainings on relevant subjects and to support other delegates as well as give relevant and needed support to the work of the Global Response Unit.

As part of the Global Response Unit, you will be the liaison with Human Resources with the support of a Disaster Management Desk on disseminating alerts, coordinating international assignments and deciding on potential surge contractual modalities.

The main tasks 

Coordinate Swedish Red Cross Emergency Workforce Planning and Deployment 

• Host a pool of operational leadership and coordination talent in the Swedish Red Cross to strengthen ICRC, IFRC's ability to fill key operational roles in support of National Societies.
• Review and constantly improve the selection, onboarding, and readiness management of the Swedish Red Cross and Movement actors' operational pools: WASH, Health CEA and PGI
• Working closely with operations, surge and HR focal points, identify suitable candidates to staff operational leadership and coordination roles and other key positions as required enforcing compliance on safeguarding, inclusion, protection, security and labor conditions.
• Assess and support the rapid response personnel learning pathway in the Swedish Red Cross, including deployments, trainings and core competency development based on assessment and appraisals.
• Provide advice and guidance on methodologies for recruitment and selection, including support on the development of key tools and processes to enable efficient, effective and safe recruitment processes.
• Coordinate with Geographical Heads of Unit on their responsibilities in HR related tasks e.g., workforce planning, job profile design, interview, participation for emergency response
• Coordinate with other NS harmonizing agreements to cover emergency workforce gaps in the Swedish Red Cross in non-prioritized areas such as logistics and procurement.

 Staff onboarding

• Oversee the response staff on-boarding process to ensure compliance with required trainings and experience, including vetting together with the Security Advisory team, Sustainability Platform and Human Resources.
• Engage with in-country/regional HR and host National Society in the development and implementation of a tailored induction when required.
• Working in collaboration with QARMA and STAB, coordinate for debrief with relevant Swedish Partners.

 Disaster Management Support

• Provide in-country and on-site coordination and management assistance to emergency operations of the IFRC, ICRC or a National Society in the disaster or crisis affected country at the time of crisis.
• Connect the Disaster Management surge capacity of the Swedish Red Cross with global tools such as DREF, SIMS or other relevant response workstreams of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement

About You

You have a solid background in international disaster response, at a coordination level. Strong experience in the implementation of response programs is required as well as substantial management experience.

You are very strong in your ability to take the initiative to solve problems and create results. You thrive in a dynamic and unpredictable work environment; you are flexible and quickly adapt to new situations. You like a job where cooperation and dialogue are essential, and you can network. You are comfortable working in international settings and in different cultural environments, and you have capability to generate trust, encourage and give support to your colleagues. You also have good teaching and communication skills.

We highly appreciate your ability to analyze complex situations and reach logical conclusions. You should have a strong sense of organization, as well as ability to identify and define structures and connections. Ability to contribute to effective teamwork and to share knowledge and information with colleagues is of great value. You are stress resilient.

Required Qualifications 

• Higher academic education, preferably within Disaster Risk Management or in a relevant thematic area such as Emergency Health or Emergency WaSH
• A minimum of three (3) years’ of recent experience from international humanitarian settings and 
  disaster response including insecure settings
• Experience in setting up structures and operations in a disaster response context
• Experience in project cycle management including budget work
• Proficient knowledge of written and spoken English
• Experience from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• International Driving License (manual transmission)

Merit Qualifications

• HEAT (Hostile Environment Awareness Training), equivalent security training or demonstrated working experience in complex security environments
• Experience in Protection, Gender and Inclusion as well as Community-Based Approaches in response work
• Team leading and management experience from a disaster response context
• Knowledge of Swedish
• Knowledge of other languages such as Arabic, French or Spanish
• Experience of security assessment in emergencies

Additional Information

This is a full-time permanent position, starting in May 2025, or as soon as possible. Duty station is in one of our 4 SRC offices in Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, Göteborg, Umeå).

Due to an ongoing organizational review, this position is being advertised internally within the organization. You must be an employee of the Swedish Red Cross to be considered for the position. The deadline to apply to the position is March 24th, 2026.

The work involves travelling internationally, sometimes to complex and potentially dangerous areas of disaster and conflict.

How we recruit 

We welcome your application by March 24, 2026.

Please feel free to contact the hiring manager, Roger Alonso, Head of Unit for GRU if you have any questions about the position.

The Swedish Red Cross strives to be an inclusive organization with employees who contribute to diversity in terms of perspective, experience, and background. We believe this makes us more relevant. That is why we actively seek to recruit people with diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, gender identities and expressions, faiths, ages, functional variations, and sexual orientations.

Our recruitment process begins with an initial screening based on an established job profile, followed by online tests, interviews, and work samples (case studies), as well as background checks and reference checks.

Since the Swedish Red Cross participates in the “Inter-Agency Scheme for the Disclosure of Safeguarding-related Misconduct” to protect our sector from sexual abuse, we ask specific questions about this to your references. Final candidates may also be screened against EU and UN sanctions lists.

You need to be a resident in Sweden and carry a Swedish work permit to be selected for this position.

You find the contact data to the trade unions that are represented at the Swedish Red Cross, here.