Top employers in emergency response

When disaster hits, emergency staff are deployed at a moment’s notice to assess, manage, and implement the response. Whether an outbreak of war, natural disaster, political unrest, disease, or famine, emergency response teams are the first on the ground to assist with relief efforts and help communities affected in the aftermath. Aid workers deployed in emergency situations face some of the harshest and most challenging living and working conditions — and can be deployed for any period of time, ranging from a few weeks to a number of months. Staff may also face their own challenges in such strenuous situations, particularly female responders who make up the minority of disaster response staff. Those deployed work in teams to deliver aid on the ground, while more senior staff manage operations and report back on progress to head offices. Emergency roles can range from doctors and medics to technical officers and emergency response directors. Here we round up some of the top organizations with over 1,000 employees deploying staff during emergencies. Be sure to also check out Devex’s job board for current openings in emergency response here. Action Against Hunger Type: NGO Staff: 6,500 Headquarters: New York, United States Deploys to: 45 countries Risk and disaster management is one of Action Against Hunger’s seven programs. The program provides a cross-sectoral approach of preparation, response, mitigation, and prevention measures to provide emergency relief. The NGO currently has emergency response teams operating in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Emergency teams are on call 24 hours a day with stocks of prepositioned essential supplies ready for deployment. View Action Against Hunger’s current openings here. CARE International Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Chatelaine, Switzerland Other offices: Multiple international and country offices Deploys to: 60+ countries CARE International focuses on four core humanitarian areas in its emergency responses: food; shelter; water and hygiene; and sexual and reproductive health. It also considers gender equality and hunger and malnutrition as key factors in emergencies. It has emergency response experts on the ground in over 60 countries and is currently responding to the crises in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Indonesia, among others. Catholic Relief Services Type: NGO Staff: 5,001-10,000 Headquarters: Baltimore, United States Deploys to: 52 countries With 71 years of experience in emergency programming, CRS provides disaster relief and recovery response to projects in 52 countries. The emergency program’s subsectors are categorized into market-based approach; shelter and settlements; food security and livelihoods; disaster risk reduction and resilience; and technology in emergency response. Immediately after a disaster hits, CRS distributes materials for short-term shelters — such as tarpaulin, rope, and other building materials — as well as rapidly assisting with transitional housing. In 2017, CRS reached 12.4 million people through its emergency work across 201 projects. View CRS’ current openings here. International Committee of the Red Cross Type: NGO Staff: 16,800 staff Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Deploys to: 80+ countries ICRC helps people affected by conflict and armed violence. Mobile field staff are hired at the headquarters-level and put into talent pools from which they can be deployed whenever and wherever they are needed. ICRC also offers jobs and traineeships at its headquarters in Geneva. View ICRC’s current openings here. International Medical Corps Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Los Angeles, United States Other offices: Washington, D.C., London Deploys to: 30 countries International Medical Corps has a roster of volunteer health care specialists on call ready to be deployed in an emergency response. It has experienced global staff and supplies prepositioned internationally prepared for fast response. View International Medical Corps current openings here. Médecins du Monde Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Paris, France Other offices: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States Deploys to: 44 countries Médecins du Monde provides medical care to populations affected by war, natural disasters, disease, famine, poverty, or exclusion. It has 73 programs operating across 44 countries with 2,000 volunteers in France alone. Its work spans four key themes: conflict and crisis; sexual and reproductive health; harm reduction and the fight against HIV/AIDS; and migrant health. Though it has ongoing projects across 44 countries, it currently has emergency response teams deployed in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Turkey. View Médecins du Monde’s current openings here. Médecins Sans Frontières Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Other offices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States Deploys to: 70 countries MSF provides medical humanitarian assistance in more than 70 countries across the world. In order to provide rapid response anywhere in the world, it has four logistical centers based in Europe and East Africa as well as stores of emergency materials in Central America and East Asia. From the logistical centers, planes can be loaded and flown into crisis areas within 24 hours. View MSF’s current opportunities here. Première Urgence Internationale Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Paris, France Deploys to: 21 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East Première Urgence Internationale — also known as Emergency First International — is a French nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonreligious international NGO. It provides rapid response to assist with the basic needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises. Its 200 projects are broken down into 10 sectors comprising camp management; economic recovery; education; food security; health; new technologies; nutrition; protection; rehabilitation and construction; and water, hygiene, and sanitation. Première Urgence Internationale recruits hundreds of people globally every year, both in its headquarters and in the field. View Première Urgence Internationale’s current openings here. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Type: Agency Staff: 16,765 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Other offices: Global service centers in Budapest, Copenhagen, Amman; country offices worldwide Deploys to: 138 countries UNHCR leads international emergency responses for refugees forced to flee their homes by delivering fundamental assistance such as shelter, food, and water. Nearly 90 percent of UNHCR’s workforce is based in the field. The agency can launch an emergency operation within 72 hours and currently has ongoing emergency operations in Syria, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Europe, Iraq, Nigeria, Bangladesh, South Sudan, and Yemen. View UNHCR’s current openings here. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Type: Agency Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: New York, United States, and Geneva, Switzerland Other offices: Five regional offices in Cairo, Thailand, Nairobi, Panama, Dakar, and 30 other country offices UNOCHA is the U.N. agency responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. It leads coordination, advocacy, policy, information management, and humanitarian financing tools and services with its partners. It has created a humanitarian program cycle consisting of five elements to coordinate with its partners to help prepare for, manage, and deliver an effective humanitarian response. UNOCHA currently has staff deployed in Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Indonesia. View UNOCHA’s current openings here. Other notable organizations working in this area also include: Concern Worldwide Type: NGO Staff: 3,900 Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland Other offices: New York, Chicago, United States, and London, Belfast, United Kingdom Deploys to: 24 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Middle East View Concern Worldwide’s current openings here. Mercy Corps Type: NGO Staff: 5,000+ Headquarters: Portland, United States Other offices: Edinburgh, Cambridge, London, Washington, D.C. Deploys to: 40+ countries View Mercy Corp’s current openings here. Norwegian Refugee Council Type: NGO Staff: 1,001-5,000 Headquarters: Oslo, Norway Other offices: Addis Ababa, Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, Amman, London, Washington, D.C. Deploys to: 27+ countries View NRC’s current openings here. Oxfam International Type: NGO Staff: 10,000+ Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya Other offices: Addis Ababa, Geneva, Brussels, Oxford, New York, Washington, D.C. Deploys to: Over 30 emergency situations at any given time. View Oxfam International’s current openings here. Solidarités International Type: NGO Staff: 1,975 Headquarters: Paris, France Deploys to: 17 countries across Africa, Asia, and Middle East View Solidarités International’s current openings here. World Food Programme Type: NGO Staff: 5,001-10,000 Headquarters: Rome, Italy Other offices: Country offices worldwide Deploys to: Currently deployed for emergencies in Bangladesh, DRC, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen View WFP’s current openings here. Did we forget any major aid organizations working in emergency response? Let us know by placing your comments below.