Manager, Operations

Organizational Context

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 Lumpa); 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 in Ituri province (declared mid‑May 2026) is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, with hundreds of suspected cases and dozens of deaths reported across Mongbwalu, Rwampara and Bunia. 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 outbreak 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, and community‑based surveillance to contain the outbreak and reduce regional spread.

The Operations Manager manages the IFRC-coordinated operation. Due to the nature of emergency response operations, this role profile is an outline of the likely responsibilities applicable to the Operations Manager, deployed in a Federation co-ordinated operation.

The operations manager is reporting to the Head of Delegation in Kinshasa and integrates the management team of the delegation. The technical manager of this position is the Head of Head of Health, Disasters, Climate and Crisis in Nairobi. S/he integrates the country, regional and global Head of Health, Disasters, Climate and Crisis teams.

If a Deputy Operations Manager is deployed, she/he will take on the responsibility of the coordination and design of the operational strategy.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Head of Delegation, the Operations Manager provides the technical lead to ensure the optimal coordination and direct management of resources required for the effective, and efficient, sustainable and context-driven planning, implementation and monitoring of the emergency operations responses, aligned with humanitarian and organizational standards and priorities, as well as the IFRC Emergency Response Framework.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Operational Strategy and Programme Management:

• Negotiate, plan and mobilise IFRC resources in support of the NS(s) in the assessment, planning, and implementation of the emergency response.
• Ensure that the response is based on frameworks and approaches that are consistent with or have considered national and international standards and guidelines, as well as IFRC policies, procedures and tools.
• Supervise IFRC technical leads to ensure they work closely with the managers of relevant NS departments in all related programming roles and responsibilities, providing advice and recommendations that carefully consider local capacity and context and ensuring mitigating actions of the identified risks are being implemented.
• Ensure a robust and coherent monitoring of the situation and its potential evolution and ensure that humanitarian interventions are responsive to current and emerging needs and threats.
• Advise on the need of additional human resources and support deployments in coordination with the Country and Regional IFRC offices, HR departments and/or surge desk.
• Ensure sound financial management is applied to all Federation-assisted programmes within the NS(s), that budgets are monitored, and any problems identified, and solutions implemented in timely and effective manner.
• Manage operational budgets to ensure that expenditure relating to IFRC-supported operations is within income and approved ceilings, in compliance with IFRC finance procedures and in line with donor earmarking requirements.
• Lead, direct and motivate staff to ensure the highest level of performance in their respective areas of responsibility, ensuring quality service, compliance and timeliness.
• Leads the development of a Risk Management Plan as per the IFRC’s Risk Management Policy, consults the IFRC Emergency Response Framework (ERF) to ensure identified risks are within the established elevated risk appetite for Red Level Disasters and Crises, and coordinates the risk management process (risk identification, assessment, treatment, escalation, monitoring and reporting), including the development of a risk register and clear identification of responsible people for each mitigation measure.
• Conduct strategic analysis of the situation to identify humanitarian issues and potential risks by gathering relevant information, evaluating its impact and managing sensitive information discreetly and professionally
• Establishes a frequency for risk reviews and reporting to line supervisor. Escalates increasing AND emerging risks as well as challenges in the implementation of identified mitigation measures.
• Ensure the safety and security of staff in the operation by taking operational decisions based on changing risk levels, providing relevant updates to stakeholders and factoring in risk management into planning, through existing security structures when possible.
• Promote and ensure the integration of the response into longer term programs.
• Lead and ensure the effective operationalisation of safeguarding policies and practices across the operation, fostering a culture of safety, and holding staff accountable for maintaining high standards of conduct for all personnel and vulnerable individuals in line with IFRC`S Code of Conduct, policies and Principles.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Coordination:

• Assist the NS(s), Movement and external partners in the achievement of planned outcomes and deliverables following quality standards, in a timely fashion, and within budgets, ensuring alignment of all IFRC network activities.
• Support the NS(s) in setting up the structure needed to ensure that all components of the response are identified, planned and carried out in a coordinated, collaborative and integrated manner with Movement and external partners.
• Promote and support membership coordination: Support the NS(s) in efforts to establish and maintain effective membership coordination structures at operational level and ensure these structures facilitate collaboration and shared leadership among all members.
• Together with the NS(s) and the Head of Country Office/Delegation, represent IFRC in coordination meetings and forums, involving national authorities, national and international agencies, donors and other partners in the country.
• Collaborate with NS(s) technical teams to support and promote a common context, needs, and situational analysis. Support the alignment of IFRC Network activities.
• Assist the NS(s) in creating operational objectives and priorities for emergency operations; ensure that IFRC Network activities align with these objectives.
• Support common planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting framework. Support a single data collection mechanism and promote a common accountability framework.
• Support the NS(s) in developing and implementing operational standards, tools and procedures that ensure quality, consistency and sustainability of emergency response interventions.
• Work with PMER leads in IFRC and the NS(s) to ensure that planning and reporting requirements are met in a timely and efficient manner.
• Work with the regional Health, Disasters, Climate and Crises (HDCC) Department to develop, implement and review contingency planning for identified threats in operational areas, as well as the development of capacities within the NS(s) for emergency response.

National Society Capacity Strengthening

• Support IFRC network technical leads to develop programme approaches which strengthen and develop the NS(s)’s structures, capacity and performance; analyze and understand their current strengths and weaknesses and to ensure provision of necessary technical and material support particularly in relation to the crisis.
• Ensure existing data on the National Society response capacity is analysed alongside the context and the NS mandate to incorporate relevant resources to support.
• Support, the NS(s) to enhance their position vis a vis the national and international coordination mechanism.
• Along the NS(s), build alliances and partnerships with other stakeholders to enhance the implementation of the operational strategy.
• Promote and assist the integration of humanitarian priorities and interventions within all relevant programming divisions in the NS(s).
• Review operational learnings from previous operations and utilize findings to analyse and adapt response options and prioritization and identify NS Response Capacity strengthening opportunities.
• Support the NS(S) in establishing an effective information management system for the response, including statistics

Education

• University degree in relevant area
• IMPACT training or equivalent

Experience

• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in disaster management, including managing staff
• Min. 3-5 years of field experience in coordinating and managing disaster and crisis management projects and activities especially population movements
• Work experience with RC/RC
• Experience in project cycle management including proposal development, budgeting and reporting, monitoring and evaluation
• Good knowledge and relevant work experience in the regional context

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

• Results oriented and demand driven individual, entrepreneurial, ability to lead in unprecedented and/or ambiguous situations.
• Demonstrated management skills, including the ability to lead within a matrix management structure and utilise talent and experience of team members in a productive way
• Outstanding networking, representational and negotiation skills. An ability to be proactive and persuasive
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Effective project management skills.
• Excellent analytical skills and solution-oriented mindset.
• Good mentoring, coaching and capacity development skills.
• Ability to work well in a multicultural, multilingual and cross-functional team setting.
• Excellent stress management skills.
• Demonstrated accountability.
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

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
• Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others
• Managerial Competencies: Managing Staff Performance; managing Staff Development.