Officer, Health

Organizational Context The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a membership organisation, consisting of the world’s 191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, acting through more than 160,000 local branches or offices and with 14 million community-based volunteers. They are supported by the IFRC Secretariat, which works to support, coordinate and represent the action of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide. Together, the members and their Secretariat are known as the “IFRC network”. Each National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society is an independent national organisation dedicated to saving lives, promoting community health, safety resilience and well-being, and building inclusive societies. As auxiliaries to the public authorities in the humanitarian field, National Societies support their authorities to reduce risks, protect human dignity, delivery assistance and improve the lives of vulnerable people, while always acting in conformity with the Fundamental Principles. Their unparalleled local presence, combined with the IFRC Secretariat’s role in global coordination and response, brokering knowledge, strengthening capacities, mobilising resources and representation, form the world’s largest and most effective humanitarian network. The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. In the Americas, the IFRC Secretariat supports 34 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies through the Americas Regional Office (Panama) and Country Delegations across the region. The Country Cluster Delegation (CCD) for Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, also referred to as the Latin Caribbean, is responsible for ensuring the provision of effective technical support services to its membership while promoting membership adherence to strategies, policies, and agreements which will maintain and uphold the image and integrity of the Federation and Movement. This requires that effective coordination mechanisms be established in all stages of the programme management cycle and includes information management and external relations coordination. Based in the Santo Domingo Office in the Dominican Republic, the Health Officer will support the CCD Team with particular focus on the Emergency Appeal Hurricane Melissa Cuba and HIP funding (DG-ECHO). The Health Officer operates under the technical guidance of the Strategic Lead, Health and Wellbeing (Americas Region Job Purpose The post holder provides support across the priority program areas, especially: epidemic preparedness and response; climate change health adaptation and response to emergencies and disasters; and basic health resilience (community health with a strong focus on mother and child health and sexual reproductive health, First Aid, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, delivered in coordination with relevant global reference centres). The post holder supports the health interventions during emergencies, focusing on Emergency Appeal Hurricane Melissa Cuba (MDRCU013) providing technical support related to mother and child health for the implementation of the HIP funding (DG ECHO) related to Strengthening Access to Essential Health Services for Vulnerable Populations in Ciego de Avila and Matanzas, Cuba. S/he will support and follow up on capacity building efforts, including the technical supervision of, and follow-up on, advice provided to country-level health staff, and will ensure that health interventions maintain IFRC standards and are implemented using an integrated public health approach under the guidance of the Strategic Lead. The post holder supports health interventions during emergencies as well as in development projects, programmes, and plans, including the design and delivery of training materials and the facilitation of trainings as a core activity. S/he provides support and assistance on aspects of health and care, including MHPSS, according to the needs identified by the Strategic Lead. S/he is expected to work closely with the regional team to ensure a consistent approach tailored to the needs of National Societies within the Country Cluster Delegation, in preparedness, anticipatory action, readiness, response, and recovery, as well as in development health projects, programmes, and plans — prioritizing efforts that contribute to National Society Development and long-term capacity building in health matters. The post holder reports to the IFRC Head of Country Cluster Delegation. S/he coordinates and collaborates with other technical colleagues, especially the Disasters, Climate and Crisis (DCC) team. Job Duties And Responsibilities Health in Emergencies
• Monitor and follow up on epidemiological trends, outbreaks and country health risk profiles, and advise on potential health emergency interventions
• Contribute to risk and readiness assessments, including epidemic/pandemic risk and climate health risks
• Review and contribute to DREF operations and other response operations from a health perspective, promoting integrated interventions linking with other sectors (e.g. CVA) and sub-sectors (e.g. WASH, MHPSS)
• Support the development of early action protocols related to health (especially for arboviral diseases), including coordination with National Societies, Participating National Societies, the Climate Centre, Ministries of Health, etc.
• Support implementation and monitoring of health operations in outbreaks, emergencies and disasters (emergency appeals and DREFs)
• Contribute to specific interventions in emergencies such as Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), vaccination campaigns, infection prevention and control
• Participate in initiatives to strengthen NS-led health service provision in emergencies (e.g. mobile units) Community Health and Universal Health Coverage
• Support National Societies to develop, update and support dissemination of key health messages with communities
• Support National Societies regarding the set-up, implementation and monitoring of community health programmes with health promotion and health promotion focus (especially using the Community-based Health and First Aid tools, eCBHFA/SPAC), addressing topics such as injuries and medical emergencies, communicable and non-communicable diseases, healthy aging, sexual and reproductive health, child health, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), climate health programming, among others
• Support Cuban Red Cross for the implementation of the DG ECHO HIP funding under Emergency Appeal (MDRCU013): Strengthening Access to Essential Health Services for Vulnerable Populations in Ciego de Avila and Matanzas, Cuba.
• Participate (face to face or remotely) at the health technical meetings organized by the UN system in Cuba.
• Support National Societies in community health resilience initiatives including community health assessments and resilience plans, community-based surveillance, health promotor programs, among others
• Participate in initiatives to strengthen NS-led health service provision through permanent health programs and facilities (e.g. first aid, pre-hospital care, health facilities, blood services, services for elderly persons)
• Support National Societies to systematize best practices and build case studies on health initiatives to support quality, scalability, and cost-effective actions shared within the Membership Job Duties And Responsibilities (continued) Capacity Building and Technical Support
• Provide technical support to National Societies and IFRC Latin Caribbean CCD, including through technical guidelines, procedures, methodologies, and tools for the effective health intervention planning and implementation
• Contribute to capacity mapping and training needs identification for the CCD
• Design and implement training materials on physical and mental health, under the supervision of the Strategic Lead and in coordination with IFRC reference centres (e.g. CREPD and CADRIM Regional Reference Centers, MHPSS Hub and First Aid Reference Centre) and other partners
• Coordinate and facilitate trainings for National Society staff and volunteers in the Latin Caribbean CCD, especially on Public Health in Emergencies (PHiE), Community-based Health and First Aid (CBHFA/SPAC), community-based surveillance, and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) Project and Program Support
• Provide input into health-related project and programme proposals across the region and advise Project Managers on technical aspects for adjustments of operational strategies particularly related to HIP funding (DG ECHO).
• Contribute to project and programme reporting for health-related programs and projects
• Check projects for consistency and compliance with policies, procedures, standards, methodologies, and practices related to health
• Support the medical procurement for Cuba and the strategy to support Cuban RC within the new regulatory framework in Cuba. Knowledge and Learning
• Contribute health information for monitoring instruments in coordination with relevant technical colleagues
• Participate in the compilation of information (e.g. capacity or stakeholder mapping, needs assessments), consultations, and intervention design for donor proposals across the region
• Contribute to knowledge and information management of the Health Department (e.g. resource repositories, websites, toolkits etc.)
• Maintain Health Department rosters/databases of NS focal points and training graduates
• Support in documenting lessons learnt and good practice, and share these with internal and external partners
• Support the coordination of the regional health network and peer-learning initiatives among National Societies Professional Relationships, Expertise, and Professional Development
• Establish and maintain effective professional working relationships with national and international staff in country, regional and global offices, and with counterparts in National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, government offices, academic institutions, and donor agencies
• Participate in external partnerships relevant to regional health programming
• Maintain a high degree of skill and knowledge in health and care; be an expert and a person of reference for health and care Education Required:
• Medical degree or professional nursing degree
• Specialization or postgraduate diploma in Public Health, Mother and Child Health, Sexual Reproductive health or similar Preferred:
• Master's degree in Public Health or a related field Experience REQUIRED:
• 5 years of experience in Public Health or Emergency Health with a strong focus on mother and child health and sexual reproductive health
• 2 years of experience in the humanitarian or development sector
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation of health projects/programs
• Experience in designing training materials and facilitating trainings
• Demonstrated experience in report writing and presentations
• Experience in stakeholder coordination (including remotely) Preferred:
• 2 years of working in health interventions with a CEA approach (designing, developing and/or implementing RCCE strategies, building trust, infodemic, etc.)
• Curriculum development for volunteers and staff
• Experience with a government department, national/state level NGO or international bilateral or multilateral organization
• Experience working within the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
• Experience in resource mobilization and partnership development
• Work experience across the Latin Caribbean region
• Experience working with national health systems
• Experience in epidemiology and data analysis Knowledge, Skills and Languages Required:
• Demonstrated skill in analytical and strategic thinking
• Understanding of health trends and priorities in the Americas
• Demonstrated core proficiency in (a) digital communication & collaboration, (b) basic digital content creation, (c) digital safety & security, (d) data literacy, and (e) problem solving with technology (including responsible use of AI assistants).
• Ability to work in a cross-cultural and cross-functional environment
• Independent, proactive, results
- and solution-oriented working style
• Flexible, creative, and open to learning
• Collaborative working style, with openness to working across sectors and different ways of working
• Effective communication, respect, and intercultural competence
• Understanding of and commitment to IFRC’s mission and values.
• Valid passport
• Ability to travel at short notice within the region
• Team building skills
• Fluent in spoken and written Spanish
• Strong working knowledge of English and/or French Preferred:
• Budgeting and financial skills
• Ability to work under stressful conditions, meet deadlines and travel extensively to support field operations or training
• Good knowledge of disaster management and humanitarian assistance concepts and debates
• Knowledge of mechanisms, tools and guidelines for programming and coordination at different levels
• Advocacy, representation and negotiation skills Competencies, Values and Comments
• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
• Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust