Its policies are geared towards raising professional standards, developing the particular skills required for humanitarian work and promoting and supporting management of staff through its professional hierarchy. The Department strives to promote inter­nal cohesion within the ICRC by encouraging staff to identify with the organization’s visions and objectives. The ICRC is an equal opportunity employer.

The Human Resources Department recruits staff, plans their assignments and supervises their management and career devel­opment. In 2007, an average of 9,768 national employees [1] (a slight decrease since 2006) and 1,491 expatriates (no change) were working in the field.

In response to staff expectations and the demands placed on the organization by an increasingly complex and unpredictable operational environment, the ICRC continued to implement RH2006, an ambitious programme launched in 2004 to restructure human resource management and enhance the development of staff skills and the management of assignments.

The career assessment commissions (COMOR and COMCA), which provide career guidance to middle and senior managers, gave 62 managers feedback in 2007. The mandate and functioning of these commissions was under review by the end of 2007 in order to streamline career-path management in relation to institutional needs. Work started to review the capacities and skills required to embark on various career path.

Furthermore, owing to the existence of a pool of personnel, no more than one or two per cent of field posts were ever vacant at any one time.

Another aim of RH2006 is to improve the management of national employees, who represent 80 per cent of ICRC personnel, by providing them with greater opportunities to develop their skills. In 2007, the Department reviewed its management policy accordingly and began implementing the new version.

The project launched by the Department in 2005 to replace its 12-year-old IT tool is now in its final phase. The tool was deployed in 2007 and will be fully operational by 1 January 2008.

In 2007, the ICRC remained a highly attractive employer, even though the number of job applicants fell from 6,000 in 2006 to 4,500. The need for first-mission delegates fell slightly, however, and the number of newly hired staff therefore decreased accordingly, from 280 in 2006 to 260.

In keeping with the ICRC’s policy of enhancing the international character of its expatriate staff, 84 per cent of newly recruited delegates came from countries other than Switzerland. Overall, 65 per cent of expatriates were non-Swiss.

Although 53 per cent of the delegates recruited in 2007 were women, women nevertheless remained under-represented among senior field staff. Pursuant to the gender equality framework established by the Directorate in March 2006, the Department made every effort to meet targets for the promotion of women to senior positions, using the career assessment commissions and other means to identify and encourage women with the potential to take up such positions. It also participated in discussion of the second annual assessment of gender equality within the ICRC, which was submitted to the Directorate by the Office of the Director-General in December 2007 and endorsed additional measures to be considered with a view to further improving gen­der equality at the ICRC.

In 2007, the Department’s senior managers implemented the new reference framework for ICRC training. Major innovations include the establishment of a steering group and a board of trainers to improve the coherence of all training activities within the organization.

The Department also launched the management course entitled People Leadership and Management. The first groups of mid-level (67 participants: 49 men and 18 women) and senior managers (89 participants: 67 men and 22 women) attended seven sessions in 2007. Over the coming four years, more than 600 middle and senior managers will take the course, including all ICRC directors.

The ICRC continued to reassess its introductory training course, adapting it to changes in the organization’s operational environ­ment. In 2007, almost 500 people – all either newly recruited expa­triates or national employees – attended a session of the course either at headquarters or at one of the decentralized training units in Amman (Jordan), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dakar (Senegal) and Nairobi (Kenya).

In addition, more than 450 managers attended various in-house training courses covering such diverse topics as security and stress management, protection and IHL, team leadership and management, train-the-trainer methods, communication and presentation techniques.


ICRC Annual Report 2007.

note :

1. Daily workers not included.