Reports to (role)

• Digital Health Coordinator

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works worldwide to provide protection and humanitarian assistance and protection to people affected by conflict and armed violence. We take action in response to emergencies and, at the same time, promote respect for international humanitarian law. We are an independent and neutral organization, and our mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We work closely with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and with their International Federation in order to ensure a concerted, rational, and rapid humanitarian response to the needs of the victims of armed conflict or any other situation of internal violence. We direct and coordinate the international activities conducted in these situations.

Context

Digitalization provides a way to bypass constraints, strengthen humanitarian response, and increase healthcare access for millions of people. This is especially pertinent in developing and fragile contexts, where the transformative potential of leveraging digital technology can significantly address significant unmet health needs. 

The Digital Health Program is a transversal program that leverages digital health innovations and intelligence to sustainably improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of healthcare services of the six ICRC Health programs:

• Trauma
• First aid and prehospital emergency care;
• Primary health care;
• Hospital care;
• Mental health and psychosocial support,
• Physical rehabilitation and health care in detention.

Context (continued)

The Digital Health Team builds and integrates new digital health solutions into health operations that are evidence-based, scalable by design, open-source, and relevant for the low-resource settings where the ICRC operates. 

The Digital Health Team works in close collaboration with all ICRC stakeholders concerned (Innovation, Health, Digitops, Policy & Humanitarian Diplomacy, Protection, Data Protection, T&I, etc.) as well as external partners.

The Digital Health Program has a number of solutions deployed in the field (e.g., Pharmacy Stock Management, Digital Center Management System, Medical Activity Databases, ALMANACH, etc) and others in development (e.g., Telehealth). It aims to unify these into a platform approach and augment them with breakthrough technologies.

These efforts are organized across three pillars:

AI4Health: leverage advanced machine learning to simplify processes and augment current solutions and analyses to support a data-informed and evidence-based approach to decision-making. 
Point-of-care (POC): bridging proximity to patients by integrating patient-facing solutions into a single point-of-entry that supports clinical decisions, including ALMANACH, Telehealth, and augmented reality, and enables real-time data entry, insights, and decision-making.
Emergency Shelf: identify solutions across the movement that are proven in one country with potential for cross-context relevance and elevate them into global solutions that can be deployed quickly in novel emergency contexts.

Purpose

We are seeking a dynamic and results-oriented professional to lead the Point-of-Care (POC) and Emergency Shelf pillars within our Digital Health Program. The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of driving impactful results through collaborative efforts in the humanitarian or global health sector, including joint fundraising initiatives. This role is pivotal in advancing our vision of leveraging digital health solutions to improve healthcare access and quality, particularly in the areas of patient-facing solutions and emergency response.

Main duties and responsibilities (1/2)

• Strategic Management:
  • Lead and design a 5-year plan to realize the POC and Emergency Shelf initiatives, ensuring alignment with the overarching digital health strategy, Institutional Strategy, Health Strategy, and other relevant policies at ICRC.
  • Lead the business process transformation - Drive the displacement of pen and paper/excel (where possible), lower duplication of tasks such as data entry, shift needs for training to in-app tutorials, deliver a one-stop shop for user-facing solutions through intuitive interfaces, enable a more digital-first health delivery of services and support sustainable exits to local partners.  
• Digital Health Expertise:
  • Stay abreast of the latest digital health trends and innovations, applying design thinking principles and user-centered design to ensure intuitive experiences in mobile solutions and ensure all activities and documentation comply with legal, ethical, and medical standards.
  • Deliver greater coherence across existing digital health solutions at ICRC in close collaboration with other digital health team members and leveraging open-source communities. Ensure standards and guidance are created and respected for a coherent approach to mobile solutions, device deployment, and management.
  • Navigate considerations surrounding the generation of intellectual property from technology (incl. licensing models) and address challenges related to the financial sustainability of solutions and in terms of handover to partners, ensuring the long-term success and impact of digital health interventions.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to generate shared value partnerships necessary for successful implementation across the movement. Build trust with key stakeholders to demonstrate the value of digital health solutions accompanying change through best practices in change management (incl. monitoring adoption and engagement, feedback, etc) and maximize the impact of activities at scale.
  • Where needed, demonstrate success in driving collaborative efforts, including joint fundraising activities in the humanitarian or global health sector.

Main duties and responsibilities (2/2)

• Project Management
  • Guide the integration of solutions within existing infrastructure according to internal policies (e.g., ICRC data protection standards, framework for free and open-source software, IP framework, etc.).
  • Manage relevant projects (e.g., ALMANACH), adhere to budget procurement, and drive development work from internal teams or external vendors, as necessary. 
• Communication:
  • Effectively communicate complex subjects to expert and non-expert audiences, promoting understanding and engagement via engaging presentations and storytelling.
  • Design and implement promotion and communication plans for sponsors and users to foster widespread adoption and understanding of the workstreams. 

Education and Experience Required

• Advanced degree in a relevant field such as medicine, public health, computer science, healthcare informatics, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5-7 years implementing and managing digital health solutions in humanitarian or development contexts. 
• Familiarity with mobile user experiences, open-source solutions, and their integration into digital health infrastructure.
• Track record in promoting a digital-first approach to healthcare delivery, optimizing user-facing solutions, and driving sustainable exits to local partners.
• Strong project and change management background with a history of delivering initiatives within budget constraints and reporting to internal organizational processes.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively in dynamic environments, building trust and consensus within large global organizations with complex internal dynamics and managing change effectively.
• Previous experience working at ICRC in the field across various regions is an asset.

Desired profile and skills

• Expertise in digital health and open-source solutions (Digital Public Goods). A plus is knowledge of DHIS2, OpenMRS, Odoo, CommCare, and/or CHT. 
• Ability to work independently within a team structure, ensuring effective collaboration with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, fostering positive relationships and teamwork within the digital health team and building trust with external partners.
• Quality and solution-oriented mindset committed to achieving impactful results in digital health service delivery and takes pride in consistently delivering the highest quality work.
• Analytical thinking, with the ability to evaluate complex problems and proactively recommend creative solutions. 
• Demonstrates an entrepreneurial spirit by approaching challenges with an optimistic mindset, consistently recommending solutions, taking initiative, and embodying a start-up mentality.
   

Our Values

• At the ICRC, we value impact, collaboration, respect, and compassion. We seek candidates who demonstrate behaviors based on these shared values. For more information on the ICRC values, please visit this

Additional Information

• Location: Geneva, Switzerland (HQ). Relocation support is not provided for this role.
• Type of position: Long-Term Assignment
• Length of assignment: 12 months, renewable
• Grade: C1
• Activity rate: 100% FTE
• Estimated start date: ASAP (January 2024)

The ICRC values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.