Officer, Communications

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies (NSs). The overall aim of IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by NSs with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

The IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into four main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Coordination, (ii) Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization, (iii) Management and Accountability and (iv) People and Strategy.

The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. IFRC also has country cluster delegations and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

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.

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.

The 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, the 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.

To support the visibility of the Ebola response operation through the production of high-quality communication and multimedia content. The role is responsible for documenting field activities, producing compelling stories, photography and video content, supporting media engagement, and strengthening the National Society's capacity in storytelling and social media, thereby enhancing the visibility and impact of the Red Cross response.

• Produce high-quality communication products, including human-interest stories, operational updates, photographs, videos, testimonies and digital content highlighting the Ebola response.
• Capture and edit professional photographs, videos, interviews and B-roll in accordance with IFRC branding, ethical standards and consent procedures.
• Develop multimedia content showcasing the work of volunteers, affected communities and the impact of Red Cross interventions for use across IFRC digital platforms, media and donor visibility products.
• Support media activities by identifying stories, preparing multimedia assets, and facilitating media visits to operational areas, as required.
• Contribute communication content and visibility materials for situation reports, donor updates, operational reports and other IFRC communication products.
• Work closely with operational teams to identify compelling stories and communication opportunities from the field.
• Support the Congolese Red Cross in strengthening capacity on storytelling, content production and social media content development.
• Ensure all communication products are shared with the IFRC Africa Regional Office Communications team in accordance with established editorial and publication processes.
• Monitor media coverage, public conversations, and emerging rumours related to the Ebola response and escalate potential reputational issues to the relevant communications and operational teams.
• Support communication activities during field missions across the Democratic Republic of Congo, as required.
• Ensure all communication products uphold the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and IFRC standards on ethics, consent and the dignity of affected people.

Required

• University degree in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, Digital Communications or a related field

Preferred

• Additional training in photography, videography, multimedia production, digital storytelling, humanitarian communication or public health communication.

Required

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in communications, journalism, multimedia production or humanitarian communications.
• Demonstrated experience in photography, videography and multimedia storytelling.
• Experience producing communication content for digital platforms and social media.
• Experience working in emergency operations or humanitarian settings.
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders in multicultural environments.

Preferred

• Experience working with the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement or another humanitarian organisation.
• Experience supporting communications during disease outbreaks or public health emergencies.
• Experience training or mentoring colleagues or volunteers in content production.
• Knowledge of eastern DRC and operational context.

Required

• Professional photography and videography skills.
• Excellent writing, editing and storytelling skills.
• Video editing using Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut or equivalent.
• Photo editing using Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop or equivalent.
• Strong digital and social media content production skills.
• Ability to work independently in challenging operational environments.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure.
• Fluent spoken and written English and French

Preferred

• Knowledge of humanitarian communication
• Good command of another IFRC official language (Spanish or Arabic)

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