Delegate, Safe and Dignified Burials

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.

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.

The Ebola outbreak, declared mid‑May 2026, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, with hundreds of suspected cases and hundreds of deaths reported across Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces. It began with clusters of unexplained deaths in early May and is spreading in a context of weak health systems, population movement, insecurity, and community mistrust, which together increase the risk of sustained transmission and cross‑border spread to neighbouring countries such as Uganda and South Sudan. The absence of an approved vaccine or specific treatment for this strain makes the outbreak particularly complex and heightens the urgency of rapid containment.

IFRC is scaling up a national society‑led response centred on community engagement, surveillance, and infection control, supported by an emergency appeal. Red Cross volunteers are mobilized in affected areas to conduct door‑to‑door awareness, counter misinformation, encourage early care‑seeking, and support safe and dignified burials, key to breaking transmission. At the same time, IFRC is coordinating closely with governments and partners, strengthening cross-border preparedness, mobilising resources and surge capacity, and supporting logistics, infection prevention control, and community-based surveillance to contain the outbreak and reduce regional spread.

Under the supervision of the Health Coordinator, the Delegate, Safe and Dignified Burials (SDB) will work as part of a team of International Red Cross and Red Crescent health team and support staff. The position holder will ensure the external coordination of the SDB pillar and ensure that IFRC fulfils the co-lead role in the SDB sub commission.

The Delegate is expected to support the DR Congo National Red Cross Society (CRRDC) Ebola operation in planning, coordinating and supporting the implementation of SDB activities during the response phase of the current Ebola epidemic as well as the transition phase post-epidemic. The role has a strong focus on quality control and building further SDB capacities at national and provincial levels to expand the response in case of further spread and for any future outbreaks. The Delegate will coach, mentor and supervise both international and national staff involved in SDBs.

Technical leadership, partner liaison, coordination, knowledge management and organisational learning

• Ensure that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) protocols have been put in place, updated and followed.
• Oversee the development and implementation of the Quality Assurance framework for SDB including trainings, certifications, monitoring, etc.
• Ensure understanding of MOU including at the field level.
• Provide technical advice to DRC RC and partners in all matters related to SDB.
• Follow agreed upon KPIs for SDB activities.
• Support decision making at different levels including the sub-commission to preposition SDB teams to the at-risk health zones.
• Support development and monitor quality of decontamination basis for all SDB teams.
• Work closely with Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) teams to contribute to community engagement and documenting community feedback about SDB activities, collaborating with risk communications department at points of intersection with SDB activities.
• Establish SDB information management needs and call on additional Information Management, IM, resources as applicable in collaboration with IM and SBD Team
• Follow up with Plans of Action (PoAs) to ensure these are carried out in personnel, activities and budget lines.
• Work closely with the entire SDB team giving support when needed in planification and activities.
• Represent IFRC/RCRC in technical meetings, conferences, seminars and forums for strong positioning in SDB.
• Ensure IFRC fulfils all aspects of the technical co-lead role of the SDB sub-commission.
• Promote collaboration and communication between DRC Red Cross, the Ministry of Health and other relevant government sector partners.
• Facilitate appropriate SBD coordination in the field with the National Society.
• Support SDB coordination members to work collectively in a spirit of cooperation and through consensual decision making
• Promote timely, effective and coordinated SDB response actions while at the same time considering the need for early recovery planning and prevention and risk reduction concerns, based on participatory and community-based approaches

National Society Capacity Building

• Support CRRDC in emergency health preparedness and response as specifically related to SDB capacity consistent with the mandate and roles agreed upon with national authorities on epidemics.
• Provide technical support to the development of core capacities in the provinces in terms of preparedness and response to the epidemics.

Required:

• Degree in public health, epidemiology or other relevant public health area

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology or other relevant public health area
• Postgraduate training in public health
• IFRC Training Course on PHE, CBHFA, ECV, CEA or equivalent

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in coordination positions in complex operations or programs in a humanitarian organization in developing countries and/or in complex emergencies or similar context
• At least 2 years’ experience in managing health programs or projects
• Management of organizing and implementing EVD/SDB operations
• Experience in training of staff, volunteers and capacity building by mentoring and coaching individuals and groups, as appropriate

• Knowledge of good practices in participatory methodology, program planning and design, monitoring and evaluation, learning, and accountability
• Knowledge of safe handling of bodies and approaches for maintaining dignity and respecting local burial traditions
• Ability and willingness to follow strict infection prevention and control protocols
• Knowledge of the dissemination and implementation strategies for IPC materials
• Ability to build effective working relationships with National Society counterparts and leadership
• Flexible in responding to changing needs and fluctuating workloads and works well under pressure
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work well as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Cultural sensitivity
• Skills in training and developing staff and volunteers with the ability to lead a process, engage with others and create ownership
• Ability and willingness to travel and work in a demanding working environment
• 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.
• Understanding of and commitment to IFRC’s mission and values.
• Fluent spoken and written English and French
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic) is preferred

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