The ICRC is always eager to recruit fresh talent - people and skills that will further its mission, the success of which depends largely on the motivation and professionalism of ICRC staff. The ICRC must always be able to call on appropriate people who can be rapidly deployed. Because of the special nature of working conditions in conflict zones, expatriate personnel are quite naturally rotated. Every year, therefore, the ICRC hires about 300 people for expatriate duties. During the same period, about 200 staff members will leave the organization after several years' experience, giving a new direction to their professional lives. Local personnel are recruited as a function of the conflict situation, of developments in it and of the possibilities for ICRC action.

Applicants are carefully scrutinized

The ICRC goes about recruiting its staff with great care. It takes account of the heavy responsibilities they will have to shoulder and the conditions in which they will work. It carefully screens and selects from the 5,500 applications it receives every year for expatriate work.

During the recruitment process, the applicants' professional profile and skills and their personal qualities and experience are assessed. The process comprises as a minimum the followings steps:

• the establishment of a personal file (curriculum vitae, letter of application, copies of diplomas, testimonials and documents, references, an extract from police records);

• one or several interviews with one or several ICRC representatives (administrative and/or operational staff);

• language tests.

Depending on the post the candidate is applying for, the procedure comprises other steps, such as an assessment or technical tests.

Criteria and procedures

The recruitment criteria and procedures differ for expatriate posts and delegation employees. Expatriates are recruited by the Human Resources Department at ICRC headquarters in Geneva. National staff are hired in the field, under the responsibility of the ICRC's delegations.