Project Coordinator, Early Warning Early Action (EWEA)

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 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.

Please find here for the detailed organizational context.

Job Purpose

The Project Coordinator leads and coordinates IFRC’s implementation of relevant global early warning and early/anticipatory[1] action projects, grants, partnerships and funding opportunities, including the Water at the Heart of Climate Action programme, the GCF Multi-country Project Advancing EW4All and the CREWS initiative. The position combines strong programme and project management capabilities with solid technical expertise in early warning and anticipatory action.

The position holder is responsible for managing, coordinating and providing technical oversight for the IFRC component of relevant programmes and grants, ensuring high-quality implementation, compliance with donor requirements, effective reporting and delivery of results. The role provides quality assurance and implementation support across the IFRC network, working closely with relevant IFRC technical focal points, Regional Offices, Country Offices and National Societies, and supporting effective collaboration with other implementing partners.

The role also serves as a key coordination focal point for strategic partnerships, proposal development and resource mobilization related to early warning and anticipatory action, including CREWS, GCF and other relevant financing mechanisms. The position supports the identification and development of new funding opportunities, contributes to programme design and proposal development, and helps position IFRC and National Societies to expand their early warning and anticipatory action work.

The Project Coordinator will collaborate closely with IFRC technical colleagues (early warning and anticipatory action, climate, DRR and WASH) at Geneva and regional levels, along with other project implementing partners.

[1] IFRC uses the terms “early action” and “anticipatory action” synonymously.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Please find here the detailed job duties and responsibilities.

Education

Required

• University degree in climate change, disaster risk reduction, business administration, project management or related field.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in project management or related fields.
• Certification in Project Management.

Experience

Required

• 5-7 years of experience in programme/project management, grant management or related field.
• At least 5 years of work experience in early warning and early/anticipatory action.
• Experience working in humanitarian or development sector, with developing countries and/or with an international organisation.
• Experience developing or supporting funding proposals for major bilateral, multilateral or climate finance mechanisms.
• Experience coordinating complex, multi-country and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Experience working in an international or cross-cultural environment.

Preferred

• Experience working in a RC/RC National Society and/or Federation/ICRC/Climate Centre.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required

• Strong programme/project management skills, including planning, budgeting, monitoring, compliance and reporting.
• Strong technical knowledge of early warning and early/anticipatory action - and the ability to translate technical concepts into operational programming.
• Strong proposal development, partnership-building and resource mobilization skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, competing priorities and deadlines simultaneously.
• Ability to balance operational detail with strategic oversight, identifying risks, opportunities and priorities across a complex portfolio.
• Strong strategic thinking skills, including the ability to connect individual projects and initiatives to broader organizational objectives and opportunities for scale.
• Strong proposal development, partnership-building and resource mobilization skills.
• Ability to coordinate effectively across technical teams, regions, National Societies and external partners.
• Results oriented and demand driven individual, entrepreneurial, ability to lead in unprecedented and/or ambiguous situations.
• Demonstrated leadership and 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, communication and negotiation skills. An ability to be proactive and persuasive.
• Demonstrated track record in innovating, contributing to a learning culture, sharing knowledge and new approaches to engaging partners.
• Energetic and enthusiastic individual, engaging, brokering and facilitating learning and dialogue among diverse groups.
• Professional credibility, able to work effectively at all levels across the organisation.
• Proven good judgment and ability to work with complete integrity and confidentiality.
• High degree of discretion, tact and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to work within a multi-cultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary 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).

Preferred

• Knowledge of climate finance mechanisms, including GCF, CREWS and related funding processes.
• Familiarity with IFRC systems, procedures and approaches.

Languages

Required

• Fluent spoken and written English.

Preferred

• 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.

Application Instruction

Please submit your application in English only.