IRC Emergency Response Team Supply Chain Coordinator (Global Roving)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is hiring an Emergency Response Team (ERT) Supply Chain Coordinator — the IRC ERT Supply Chain Coordinator is a global roving role: instead of one office, you deploy to crisis zones around the world and make sure life-saving supplies — from medicines to vehicles — reach people in time.

Before you get excited, read this carefully. You must be able to deploy to a crisis site within 72 hours of notification, spend up to 65% of your time in the field, and be fluent in both written and spoken French and English. These are hard requirements, not preferences.

The Honest Truth About This Job

Most supply chain jobs mean one warehouse, one country and one routine. This is the opposite. The ERT is a specialized team inside IRC’s Emergency Unit that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises — conflict, displacement, natural disasters and complex emergencies. When a crisis hits, members are sent to support an existing IRC country programme or to start a new response in the crisis zone.

Your life will be unpredictable by design. On deployments you work under the Emergency Response Director or the designated emergency lead, then hand over to long-term staff to continue. Between deployments you report to the Director, Emergency and Health Supply Chain. If you want a stable desk job, stop here — this suits professionals who already live the emergency humanitarian life, such as those following the humanitarian access advisor role in Nairobi on this site.

What You Will Do on Deployment

You will lead the entire emergency supply chain response — procurement, warehousing and inventory, fleet and logistics, and medical and pharmaceutical supply chains during emergencies and outbreak responses — as a member of IRC’s Global Supply Chain team and the Emergency Unit.

Your major responsibilities include:

• Procurement: keeping purchases — including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment — compliant with IRC and donor policies, and managing emergency procurement plans and waivers.
• Inventory, warehousing, assets: enforcing inventory policies such as cycle counts and pharmaceutical quality assurance, keeping warehouses safe, and maintaining assets to IRC standards.
• Fleet and logistics: vehicle safety, fuel management, registration and insurance, driver management, and vehicle movement planning.
• Training and leadership: mentoring supply chain and programme staff, and becoming the subject matter expert in IRC’s ERP system, Integra, which runs all procurement end to end.
• Compliance and partnerships: identifying supply chain risks, leading audit processes, and supporting local partners in emergency supply chain work.

In short: when an emergency starts, you build or rescue the supply chain that everything else depends on. Nothing moves without it.

IRC ERT Supply Chain Coordinator: Role at a Glance

Do You Qualify? An Honest Self-Check

You need an advanced degree with 3 to 6 years — or more — of progressive supply chain experience, or equivalent education and experience. You must have proven experience running supply chain and logistics functions in an international NGO, including in emergency or conflict areas. Hands-on knowledge of medical logistics — the procurement, storage, transport and distribution of pharmaceuticals — is explicitly required.

IRC also asks for proven leadership of multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural teams, remote management experience, and strong budgeting skills. You must be licensed and able to drive a manual transmission 4WD vehicle. Compare this with field coordinator roles in humanitarian operations to judge whether this lifestyle suits you.

The language rule is stated twice on the official page: fluency in written and spoken French and English is mandatory, while Arabic and Spanish are only advantageous. In a crisis you cannot wait for a translator to negotiate with suppliers and authorities, so expect your French to be tested.

Why This Role Stands Out

Few humanitarian supply chain jobs carry this much authority. You provide technical oversight of every supply chain function in an emergency, contribute to strategic workplans, and lead donor and internal audits. You are not maintaining a machine — you are often building one under pressure where none existed.

The breadth is rare too: pharmaceutical cold chains one month, vehicle fleets the next, emergency procurement waivers after that. Medical logistics in emergencies is a skill few professionals hold, and IRC enforces professional standards of Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability.

How to Apply

Applications go through the IRC careers portal on MyWorkday. Open the official listing with the button below and upload your CV with supporting documents. No closing date is stated on the official page — emergency roving roles can close without notice once a strong pool is formed.

Frequently Asked Questions