Senior Officer, Supply Chain

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.

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 IFRC Kinshasa Delegation covers four countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, the Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. The Delegation supports National Red Cross Societies across a complex, multi-country context characterized by recurrent shocks, cross-border risks, and diverse humanitarian programmes including disaster risk management, anticipatory action, epidemics response through in kind or cash modalities.

This position is based in Kinshasa, and, depending on current and anticipated needs, requires frequent deployments to support National Red Cross Societies as well as IFRC programmes and operations within the cluster. The Supply Chain Senior Officer plays a strategic and operational role at the intersection of programmes and operations, ensuring that logistics and supply chain services enable timely, efficient, and accountable delivery of humanitarian assistance before, during, and after emergencies.

The Supply Chain Senior Officer reports to the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Coordinator based in Kinshasa. The Technical manager of the position is the Head, Global Humanitarian Services & Supply Chain Management based at the regional office in Nairobi.

The Supply Chain Senior Officer provides strategic leadership to deliver efficient, compliant, and responsive end‑to‑end logistics and supply chain support across cluster programmes, including Health, WASH, Food Security, CEA, PGI, Anticipatory Action, and Emergency Response. The role supports anticipatory planning, cross‑border preparedness, hotspot pre‑positioning, and emergency response through optimized procurement, warehousing, transport, and distribution systems. It ensures timely, accountable, and cost‑effective delivery of humanitarian assistance. The position also provides technical support to National Red Cross Societies, strengthening supply chain capacity in line with IFRC standards and contributing to localization, readiness, and operational effectiveness across the cluster

Supply Chain strategy, planning and coordination

• Contribute to the development and implementation of logistics and supply chain strategies, plans, and procedures in line with IFRC global frameworks and regional operational strategies.
• Translate programme and operational priorities, including anticipatory action, preparedness, and emergency response, into realistic and proactive supply chain plans.
• Work closely with Disaster Risk Management, Operations and Support Services teams to anticipate project needs, align timelines, and ensure integrated planning.

 Operations and end-to-end supply chain management

• Coordinate and oversee end-to-end supply chain operations for food, medical and NFI programming, including procurement, transport, customs clearance, warehousing, pre-positioning, distribution, and last-mile delivery.
• Ensure operational readiness for cross-border responses, and rapid scale-up in disaster contexts.
• Support or directly manage less complex supply chain operations in accordance with IFRC policies, SOPs, and internal control frameworks, with emphasis on quality, risk mitigation, loss prevention, and cost efficiency.

Procurement, logistics services, assets & fleet management

• Perform procurement processes and supplier management to ensure value for money, compliance, and timely delivery of goods and services for the purchases up to 50k CHF with support from Regional SCM unit
• Demonstrate strong understanding of IFRC procurement governance and procurement committee processes, and provide sound technical inputs, analyses, and recommendations to Procurement Committees to support compliant, transparent, and well‑informed decision‑making.
• Provide strategic and operational oversight of IFRC fleet management, ensuring vehicles are available, safe, compliant, and cost-effective in support of operations, administration, trucking activities, and leasing.
• Ensure fleet provisioning aligns with programme priorities, emergency response requirements, and anticipatory action planning, including surge and cross-border operations.
• Supervise fleet utilization, maintenance planning, fuel management, insurance, and asset tracking in accordance with IFRC fleet policies and procedures.
• Manage fleet-related service providers and leasing arrangements with partners, ensuring clear agreements, accountability, and compliance.
• Support the management of other service providers, including transporters, ports, corridors, and warehouses, to promote safe and efficient operations.
• Ensure proper management of import/export procedures, customs clearance, fleet documentation, and logistics records.

Key Interfaces - Fleet

• Finance, fuel management, leasing arrangements, asset capitalization, and financial reporting related to fleet operations.
• Human Resources: Support the Driver recruitment, , duty of care, and enforcement of fleet-related HR policies and codes of conduct.
• Security: Vehicle security risk assessments, movement tracking, compliance with security procedures, and incident reporting. With support from regional fleet hubs in Dakar and _Nairobi
• Partners: Coordination with National Societies and external partners on vehicle deployment, trucking services, leasing arrangements, handover protocols, and accountability requirements.

Warehousing, pre-positioning & inventory, management

• Coordinate warehousing and inventory management for food and NFI stocks, including preparedness hubs and hazard hotspots pre-positioning.

• Ensure stock accuracy, including receipts, physical inventories, quality control (including fumigation and pest control), loss/damage tracking, and compliant disposal of spoiled commodities.
• Oversee the use of logistics management systems and reporting tools to maintain real-time visibility of stock and movements.

Analysis, Reporting & Decision Support

• Conduct operational, market, and supply chain network analyses to inform sourcing strategies (local, regional, or international).
• Perform financial analysis and budget monitoring of logistics and supply chain activities, providing recommendations to management to improve efficiency and resource utilization. Produce accurate, timely reports, dashboards, and operational visuals on supply chain performance and trends to support evidence-based decision-making.

Partnerships and coordination

• Establish and maintain strong operational partnerships with National Red Cross Societies, Movement partners, government counterparts, UN agencies, NGOs, and private sector actors.
• Promote information sharing, coordination, and harmonization of logistics and supply chain approaches, particularly in emergency and cross-border contexts.

Capacity strengthening and people management

• Provide oversight and leadership to drive the digitalization of logistics, fleet, and warehouse operations, ensuring the consistent use of approved standard digital tools to enhance data accuracy, strengthen record‑keeping and reporting, and improve overall efficiency, visibility, and operational decision‑
• Guide, supervise, and mentor logistics and supply chain staff on NSs and support National Society personnel and volunteers through coaching and training.
• Act as a technical focal point for logistics and supply chain matters, supporting teams with complex operational and analytical challenges.

Emergency preparedness & response

• Contribute to contingency planning, preparedness actions, and anticipatory logistics arrangements.
• Be available for rapid deployment and support early emergency response to ensure timely and effective delivery of relief items and resources at the onset of crises.

Support National Red Cross Societies

• To support, train and develop National Society staff, volunteers, local staff employees, as required.

Compliance & accountability

• Ensure adherence to IFRC policies, procedures, audit requirements, and ethical standards, including safeguarding and prevention of misconduct.
• Monitor internal controls and support audits and reviews related to logistics and supply chain activities.
• Perform any other related duties as assigned by the line manager

• University degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration
• Relevant professional training courses

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in logistics, supply chain, or operations management, preferably within humanitarian or emergency response contexts.
• Experience working with Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners, especially National Societies
• Experience in emergency preparedness, anticipatory action, or response operations, including pre-positioning and cross-border coordination
• Experience managing or supporting end-to-end supply chain operations, including procurement, warehousing, transport, and distribution
• Demonstrated experience working closely with programme teams and aligning logistics to operational and project needs
• Experience with food and NFI programming, including sourcing, storage, transportation, and distribution
• Proven experience supervising, mentoring, or coordinating staff.
• Proven experience in conducting trainings and developing training materials

• In-depth knowledge of humanitarian supply chain systems, including procurement, warehousing, fleet, transport, and distribution.
• Strong analytical, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Solid understanding of financial processes, budgeting, and cost control
• Familiarity with IFRC internal logistics and supply chain systems, including ERP for procurement workflows and D360 for tracking and reporting.
• Ability to work effectively in cross-cultural, multilingual, multi-functional, and high-pressure environments
• Excellent communication, coordination, and reporting skills
• Able to prioritize and meet deadlines (timely and appropriate program and financial reporting)
• Drive for change and improvement and ability to deliver in a challenging environment
• Self-supporting in key IT platforms (Windows, Microsoft Office, Teams, etc)
• Fluency in French; working knowledge of English is a strong asset

VALUES: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

CORE COMPETENCIES:   Communication; Collaboration and Teamwork; National Society relations - Strategic orientation - Communication - Teamwork

Applications from women are strongly encouraged