Irish Aid seeks new recrtuis for the Rapid Response Corps

Irish Aid seeks new recruits for the Rapid Response Corps

The Government is recruiting volunteers to expand Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, TD, and the Minister of State for Development, Trade Promotion, and North South Co-operation, Seán Sherlock, TD, announced today. 

The Rapid Response Corps, which is managed by Irish Aid, the Government programme for overseas assistance,  is a roster of skilled and experienced volunteers who are available to deploy at short notice to respond to humanitarian crises.

Corps members work with Ireland’s key humanitarian partners, including the World Food Programme and UNICEF, to provide skills in areas including logistics, engineering, information management, water and sanitation supply, and humanitarian coordination, all of which are critical in responding to humanitarian emergencies. 

Six members of the Corps are currently deployed across South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Central African Republic and Jordan, responding to the needs of those affected in humanitarian crises such as the Syrian refugee crisis and the recent floods in Malawi. 

Announcing the recruitment drive Minister Flanagan said: 

“Since the Rapid Response Corps was first launched in 2007, there have been 256 deployments of the Corps to humanitarian emergencies in 45 countries. Corps members are making a valuable contribution to saving lives and rebuilding the livelihoods of people affected by emergencies around the world. For Irish Aid, the Corps has become an increasingly important additional means of response to international emergencies. 

“I pay tribute to the commitment and dedication by these Irish citizens when carrying out this vital work. I am encouraging suitably qualified people to apply to be part of this extremely valuable and rewarding work.” 

Minister Sherlock encouraged individuals with key specialist skills to sign up, adding: 

“The recruitment drive focuses again on the key skills most in demand by our partners. We continue to look for experienced professionals in areas that include protection, gender, water and sanitation, humanitarian coordination and engineering, particularly those with additional language skills. This year, we are also seeking nutrition specialists, an area of expertise in which I believe Ireland can develop a particular expertise. 

“I also want this year to recruit Information Management experts. We have seen that experts who can gather, analyse, map and present accessible information in emergencies are very much in demand among our humanitarian partners.” 

ENDS
Press Office
23 March 2015 

Notes to editors:

• Irish Aid is the Government’s overseas development programme. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 

• The Rapid Response Corps currently comprises 93 individuals with specialised skills in logistics, engineering, water and sanitation, humanitarian coordination and protection. Most will have worked extensively overseas in humanitarian and/or development settings. 

• Most recently, an electrical engineer has been deployed to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide support for the installation of electricity in refugee camps in Jordan. 

• The closing date for applications is 10 April, 2015. 

• Candidates should be available for deployment for periods of 3-6 months, usually at short notice, and have personal and employment circumstances that allow for emergency deployment at least once over a two year period. They should also be willing to deploy to a humanitarian/emergency situation including in an armed conflict situation.

• Information about the recruitment process, together with the full list of skills profiles being recruited, is available on the Irish Aid website: https://www.irishaid.ie/get-involved/rapid-response-corps/