Irish Red Cross: Outreach and Emergency Preparedness Officer
JOB DETAILS
Title: Outreach and Emergency Preparedness Officer
Duration: Fixed Term contract for 12 months
Location: Hybrid
Salary: €43,000 – €48,000 per year. DOE
Reporting to: Branch and Volunteering Development Manager, with additional technical support from the Disasters & Emergency Manager Programme Manager
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Irish Red Cross Society is part of the world’s largest independent humanitarian network, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The IRC is committed to and bound by, its Fundamental Principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality. The vision of the Irish Red Cross is to be a leading humanitarian organisation, providing impartial services and support to vulnerable communities both at home and abroad. Our mission is to identify and deliver humanitarian assistance to those who are most in need.
Domestically, a significant part of our programmes are delivered by our 4,000+ members and associated 70+ branches around the country.
SUMMARY OF ROLE
One of our strategic objectives in our strategic plan 2025-2030 is to ensure “people and communities to have access to relevant, timely and coordinated supports to help them prepare for emergencies, respond when they happen and recover in a way that makes them more resilient”. To that end, this role is responsible for building capacity among staff, volunteers, and community partners, developing impactful projects in collaboration with fundraising teams, and supporting emergency response coordination. The postholder will also provide targeted support to branch teams, administer flood scheme operations, and assist in the implementation of preparedness and evaluation processes, contributing to the Irish Red Cross’s mission of resilient, community-driven humanitarian action. The ongoing regular work additionally involves engaging and supporting volunteers with broadening and deepening the quality of their volunteer experience as well as with their compliance-related engagements with head office.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES
Primary responsibilities
- Support to Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) Implementation
- Act as the key support to the Disasters & Emergency Programme Manager in the roll out of the PER plan of action
- Coordinate logistics, documentation, and follow-up actions for PER workshops and related activities.
- Keep abreast of best practice in PER in IFRC
- Branch Support
- Provide in-person support to branch outreach and engagement teams (regional focus).
- Facilitate efficient face-to-face collaboration by attending local meetings in branches on behalf of colleagues.
- Capacity Building & Training
- Support Disasters & Emergency Programme Manager with the development of emergency preparedness training materials and support the creation of digital and in-person learning resources, including public Moodle trainings
- Organize and deliver training sessions for staff, volunteers, and community partners on disaster and emergency preparedness, and community engagement and accountability (CEA)
- Emergency SURGE
- Support Disasters and Emergency Programme Manager with surge capacity planning so that immediate support for emergency response coordination during natural disasters can be prioritised. This will involve cross-training existing staff for certain tasks, and coordinating with Senior Management Team on role tasks that can be we paused and or adapted during emergencies to ensure effective collaboration with emergency teams as needed.
- Project Development & Fundraising Collaboration
- Collaborate closely with the Fundraising Department to co-develop project proposals focused on preparedness, community engagement, and climate adaptation.
- Contribute to the design of scalable, impactful projects that align with IRC’s strategic priorities and donor requirements.
Secondary responsibilities
- Flood Scheme Administration
- Administer the implementation of the Flood Scheme when activated, ensuring efficient processing, transparent communication, and coordination with relevant internal and external stakeholders.
- Actively engage in the development of a CRM for improving the flood scheme efficiency and capacity.
- Community Engagement & Accountability
- Promote and supervise IFRC’s Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) standards across all relevant projects. This involves formal and informal training for our members.
- Lead the design and delivery of community engagement activities, ensuring that local knowledge and needs shape preparedness and response programming.
- With future project managers, co-facilitate community climate risk assessments, preparedness planning, and the integration of marginalized and vulnerable groups in IRC initiatives.
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
Essential Criteria
- Proven experience (minimum 3-4 years) in disaster or emergency management, including project management and the development, implementation, and monitoring of emergency plans or community preparedness initiatives.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with a track record of building collaborative relationships with community groups, local authorities, and internal teams to deliver shared objectives.
- Demonstrated project coordination skills, including planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, with the ability to deliver projects on time and within scope.
- Experience developing and delivering public awareness campaigns, training, or educational content for disaster preparedness.
- Proficiency in relevant computer applications (e.g., MS Office, project management tools, CRM systems for scheme management).
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team, managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Commitment to the humanitarian principles and values of the Irish Red Cross.
Desired Criteria
- Qualifications in community development, emergency management, communications, or a related field.
- Experience supporting or facilitating the roll-out of preparedness frameworks (such as IFRC’s PER process) or similar capacity-building initiatives.
- Experience as a media spokesperson in crisis situations is an advantage
- Experience collaborating with fundraising teams to develop project proposals and donor communications.
- Data collection and analysis skills, including use of qualitative, quantitative, and participatory research and evaluation methods.
- Knowledge of climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and community resilience strategies
- Experience in volunteer management or working within a membership-based organisation.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Irish Red Cross is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and aspire to reflect this in our workforce. We welcome applications for people from all sections of the community, irrespective of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community. This role requires applicants to have the right to work in Ireland.
- This is a hybrid employment role with travel within Ireland related to project activities.
- This is a full time or 4 day a week position depending the selected candidates preferences
- The appointment may be subject to Garda Vetting clearance.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply for this role, please forward a copy of your CV, together with a cover letter (both in English) setting out how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for this role to:
jobs@redcross.ie
Your email should contain Disaster and Emergency Manager [NAME] in the subject line. Applications should be in .pdf or MS Word format, and with file names in the following format: <Surname>, <First name> - CV and <Surname>, <First name> - Cover Letter
The closing date for applications is 6pm 14th September 2025.
Shortlisting for interview will be on the basis of the essential and desirable criteria for this role. It is intended to hold initial interviews for this role week beginning 22nd September 2025.
Please note that there may be a second round of interviews.
This role is assigned to the Job Family of: Coordinator. The Irish Red Cross has 6 Job Families: Secretary General; Senior Manager; Programme/Project Manager; Coordinator; Development & Admin; Administration
JD-Outreach-and-Emergency-Preparedness-Officer-Aug-27-2025.pdf