Nurses Pool

The German Red Cross is expanding the surge capacity of its Clinical Health Pool and welcomes applications from qualified, licensed nurses who have the skills and expertise to be deployed as delegates in an emergency response anywhere in the world for a minimum of six weeks and up to three months.

GRC nurses are typically deployed as part of a clinical Emergency Response Unit (ERU) team. A clinical ERU provides primary and/or secondary healthcare to disaster or crisis affected communities together with sister National Societies overseas. An ERU is a standardised package of trained personnel plus modules of equipment ready to be deployed at short notice by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In certain circumstances nurses may also deploy in response to an alert from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

As a nurse deployed overseas you will either work in a clinic or hospital. In a clinic you will provide basic prevention and curative healthcare services (e.g., stabilisation, non-surgical cases, etc.), while an emergency hospital (WHO EMT type 2) is equipped with one or two surgical units and healthcare services and therefore has a focus on surgical patient care. Please find a 360-degree view of an ERU hospital here. Our German-language page provides you with additional information about the mobile hospital.

When deploying with the German Red Cross, you will work as part of a team led by a Head Nurse to support affected communities in collaboration with Movement partners and delegates as well as local staff, volunteers and health authorities.

You will undertake medical duties in accordance with professional standards of practice to ensure safe, high-quality care to inpatients and outpatients. When deploying as a nurse, there may be instances where you need to work outside your regular work scope, meaning that as a paediatric nurse you might also need to support as a general nurse.   

Working together with international and national health personnel is key. Your work will therefore likely include the supervision, mentoring and training of local nurses and other health professionals. Some of your duties may be similar to those in a regular hospital setting, while others will differ.

Your field of activity may, among other things, include the management, organisation and quality assurance of nursing services, patient flow and bed occupancy. In addition, you and your colleagues will ensure documentation of nursing care, implementation of national and international nursing guidelines as well as the maintenance and inventory of medical equipment, drugs and consumables.

Please note that the technical equipment at your disposal as well as the set-up of the medical facilities may significantly differ from what you are accustomed to in your home country, even though they comply with international WHO standards.

You can read the full generic job profile here:

Nurse job profile

Does the following profile sound like you? If yes, we encourage you to apply and look forward to guiding you through the admission process.

• You are available for deployment for a minimum duration of six weeks up to a maximum of three months within the coming two years.
• You have completed your professional qualification in general nursing followed by specialised training.
• You hold a valid licence to practise and have practised as a nurse within the last two years.
• You have at least three years of post-qualification clinical working experience managing adult and /or paediatric patients.
• You are willing to face the challenge of providing nursing services in low-resource and emergency settings.
• You have experience in the training and/or mentoring of health personnel.
• You can work autonomously but collaborate well within a multidisciplinary team.
• You enjoy working with people from diverse cultures and can communicate with them in an effective, respectful, and courteous manner.
• You are keen to optimise clinical processes and are open to improvising when necessary.
• Your English level is C1 or higher. Further languages are an asset.
• You preferably have previous work experience overseas in a low-resource setting e.g. assignments, internships, and volunteer work.
• Previous voluntary or work experience within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is an asset.