What we do

Since 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has worked to relieve suffering and preserve human dignity during war and armed violence. Alongside our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners, we deliver life-saving aid across front lines and strive to reconnect families and locate missing people.

Engaging with authorities and armed forces on all sides, often confidentially, we advocate for humane treatment of detainees and urge compliance with international humanitarian law to protect civilians from harm, including online.

Context and Purpose of the role

The ICRC Library holds unique collections on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and international humanitarian law (IHL). It serves as an internal resource for all ICRC staff to help them find and access the literature they need. The Library also welcomes external researchers and practitioners interested in IHL and the ICRC’s work throughout the years. Its online catalogue is the gateway to the most recent scholarship on the subject, documents of diplomatic and international conferences, all ICRC publications, and heritage collections documenting the early development of international humanitarian law and action. 
The ICRC Library and Archives are currently rolling out an ambitious programme to enable global digital access to their collections and the long-term preservation of digital materials.

Under the supervision of the ICRC librarians, the associate in the ICRC Library will support the Library’s mission and take part in collections management, outreach, and reader services activities. 

Main duties and responsibilities

Collections Management and Outreach 

  • Describing and indexing documents in the library management system 
  • Supporting digitization projects with quality control, metadata enrichment, and promotion of newly digitized materials
  • Contributing to internal communications and broader outreach efforts

Reader Services 

  • Responding to research and interlibrary loan requests 
  • Welcoming and assisting patrons at the reference desk, with one to two shifts per week from Monday to Friday.
  • Training colleagues and researchers in the use of library tools and resources 

Experience, education and skills

  • University or higher education institution (HES) degree. 
  • A minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 2 years of previous work experience (including internships) is required. 
  • Interest in the management of library collections in the digital age
  • Excellent written and spoken English and French (minimum C1) 
  • Tech-savvy, with a strong interest in online research and collections management tools
  • Committed to providing a high quality of service to patrons and colleagues
  • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail 
  • Good research and writing skills

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
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