Health Coordinator At At International Rescue Committee (IRC) – Democratic Republic of the Congo

CONTEXT

On May 15, 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its seventeenth Ebola outbreak after confirmation of cases in Ituri province. The epidemic has since spread to other affected and at-risk areas, increasing the pressure on an already fragile health system. The response takes place in a complex humanitarian, conflict-ridden, population displacement context, limited access to health services and persistent gaps in infection prevention and control (ICP), water, hygiene and sanitation (HAE), surveillance, SEO systems and essential medical supplies. These challenges increase the risk of transmission of health care and disruption to essential health services.

The IRC launched an integrated response to the Ebola outbreak in collaboration with the Department of Health and the relevant national, provincial and health response structures, including COUSP, Provincial Health Divisions (PHDs), Health Zone Executive Teams (HVCs), health training and other response partners. The IRC response brings together the Health, PCI/EHA, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (CREC), Protection, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (SMSPS) sectors. The health response aims to strengthen the capacity of health training to safely detect and refer suspected cases of Ebola, improve ICP and patient safety, strengthen surveillance and SEO channels in health training, and support continuity in complete safety.

OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION

The Health Coordinator provides overall technical leadership and programmatic oversight of the IRC health response to Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the DRC. Attached to the Deputy Director of Ebola Programs (DPR), the position is responsible for ensuring that the IRC’s health response is technically sound, operationally feasible, followed against agreed results, and aligned with the Ministry of Health (MoH), national EVD response structures and IRC standards.

The Health Coordinator provides technical guidance for EVD programming at the level of health training, including infection prevention and control (ICP), screening, temporary triage and isolation, monitoring of health training, prevention of occupational exposure and safe continuity of essential health services. The position directly oversees senior PCI Managers and provides technical oversight, mentoring and quality assurance to health PCI teams across response sites. The role works closely with the EHA, CREC and Protection teams to ensure an integrated and accountable response.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical leadership and program quality

• Ensure overall strategic and technical leadership of the IRC’s EMV health response, translating the epidemiology of the epidemic, response priorities and field data into clear programmatic priorities and technical directions.
• Ensure that health interventions are implemented in accordance with MoH protocols, national EVD response guidelines, donor commitments and IRC technical standards.
• Provide technical supervision of prevention and response measures to EVD at the level of health training, including screening and triage, temporary isolation, patient circulation, standard and transmission-related precautions, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and disinfection, biomedical waste management, use of PPE and prevention of occupational exposure.
• Ensure that IRC-supported health training can safely identify, isolate and refer suspected cases of EVD while maintaining safe access to essential health services and reducing the risk of healthcare-related transmission.
• Guide the development, adaptation and application of technical protocols, standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, checklists, assessment tools and quality improvement approaches for the EVD response.
• Ensure that programmatic priorities and support for health training are based on risks and responsive to the evolution of epidemiology, risks in health training, exposures of health care personnel, trends in service utilization and identified gaps in IBP/HAE.
• Provide technical guidance in meaningful clinical incidents or IBDs, ensure appropriate escalation and follow-up, and support program adaptation based on lessons learned.

Program management, monitoring and quality improvement

• Oversee the implementation of IRC health/EVD programs in relation to approved work plans, performance frameworks, performance indicators, spending plans and donor commitments, ensuring timely corrective action when implementation deviates from objectives.
• Conduct field visits and regular technical reviews to assess program quality, mentor teams, verify implementation and track agreed corrective actions.
• Work with MEAL teams to ensure the implementation and consistent use of appropriate data monitoring systems, databases, indicators and quality processes across the health response.
• Review and analyze programmatic data, PCI evaluation scores, monitoring and screening data, service utilization trends, training and mentoring outcomes, infection/exposure events of caregivers, and input information to guide program decisions and improvement.
• Ensure timely production of programmatic updates, internal reports, reporting to donors and technical contributions to accurate and high-quality status reports, clearly documenting achievements, gaps, risks, corrective actions and priorities.

Supervision, leadership and staff development

• Directly supervise senior PCI Managers and other assigned senior health staff, setting clear priorities, evaluating performance and ensuring accountability for program quality and implementation.
• Provide regular technical supervision, coaching and mentoring to senior PCI Managers and ensure consistent standards and technical approaches across all response sites.
• Lead the recruitment of key health/EVD positions in coordination with the RFP, HR and Field Management.
• Identify capacity gaps and ensure structured technical training, mentoring and professional development for health teams.
• Ensure that appropriate due diligence measures are applied for teams working in the context of an outbreak, including compliance with personnel security protocols, prevention of exposure and reporting of incidents

Business development, grant management and budget supervision

• Actively participate in the development of concept notes and proposals for Ebola response, providing technical leadership for needs analysis, program design, activity packages, indicators, targets, implementation approaches and narrative technical notes.
• Travailler avec les équipes Subventions, Finance, Opérations, MEAL et techniques afin d’élaborer des budgets de proposition réalistes, des structures de dotation en personnel, des besoins en approvisionnement et des plans de mise en œuvre alignés sur la conception du programme.
• Oversee the health component of the implementation of grants and assume responsibility for the management of the program budget, including regular budget review versus Actual Spending (BvA), expenditure plans, budget consumption rates, forecasts and identified variances.
• Ensure that health teams maintain updated procurement plans and forecasts for PPE, IBD inputs, medical supplies, equipment and other programmatic inputs, in relation to business and expenditure plans.
• Ensure that quantification is based on the type of health training, volume of services, risk level, consumption data and programmatic plans, with early action to avoid stock outs or inappropriate use.
• Contribute to grant review meetings, donor reporting and program closures, ensuring alignment of technical deliverables, expenditures and programmatic outcomes.

Coordination and representation

• Représenter l’IRC dans les forums de coordination pertinents aux niveaux national, provincial et de zone de santé, y compris le Cluster Santé et les structures techniques de réponse à la MVE.
• Entretenir des relations de travail constructives avec le MoH, les DPS, les autorités des zones de santé, la direction des formations sanitaires, les agences des Nations Unies, les bailleurs, les ONG et les autres partenaires de la réponse.
• Renforcer la qualité des activités de PCI par une supervision formative régulière avec les DPS et les zones de santé.

Partnerships

• Serve as an IRC Health Technical Focal Point for partnerships supporting the response to EVD in Ituri and North Kivu, working in collaboration with partner technical managers.
• Contribute to joint technical planning, review and adaptation of the response, ensuring that the IRC’s health activities are complementary to those of the partners and aligned with the agreed priorities of the response.
• Represent the IRC in relevant technical discussions with partners and ensure that agreed technical actions related to the IRC are communicated and monitored internally.

Sécurité, sauvegarde et redevabilité

• Travailler avec le service Sécurité et la direction de terrain pour surveiller les risques affectant les équipes santé et la mise en œuvre des programmes, et veiller à ce que les incidents ou préoccupations soient signalés et traités rapidement.
• Promouvoir une programmation centrée sur les clients et redevable, y compris la sensibilisation et l’utilisation appropriée des mécanismes de retour d’information et de plainte dans les services appuyés.
• Intégrer l’analyse des risques de sauvegarde et les mesures d’atténuation des risques pertinentes dans la conception et la mise en œuvre des projets.
• Maintenir à jour une cartographie multisectorielle des services et une filière de référencement pour la réponse aux violences. (Ceci sert des objectifs programmatiques mais sous-tend également les procédures opérationnelles standard de l’IRC pour la réponse à tout préjudice lié à la sauvegarde.)

PROFIL RECHERCHÉ

• Professionnel(le) de santé ayant une solide formation en santé publique (un master en santé publique serait un atout).
• Au moins 3 à 5 ans d’expérience progressivement responsable dans la programmation santé humanitaire ou d’urgence, y compris la gestion de programmes de santé complexes et la supervision de personnel technique senior.
• Une expérience opérationnelle avérée dans la réponse à la maladie à virus Ebola, à une autre fièvre hémorragique virale, ou à une épidémie de maladie infectieuse comparable est fortement souhaitée.
• Compétences avérées en leadership, communication et facilitation.
• Expérience de la gestion d’équipes multidisciplinaires sur plusieurs sites de terrain, avec de solides compétences en coaching, gestion de la performance et résolution de problèmes.
• Maîtrise de Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint et des outils courants de suivi de programme.
• Fluency in French is required, with a good level of English; knowledge of relevant local languages is an asset.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The post requires regular travel to IRC-supported health training, health zones and response sites in the DRC.
• The role may require visits to clinical environments, including screening areas, strictly in accordance with approved IBD and security protocols.
• The position requires flexibility to respond to the rapid evolution of epidemiological, operational and safe conditions.

Employer guaranteeing equal opportunities: The IRC is an equal opportunity employer. The IRC assesses all candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of race, gender, skin colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by current legislation.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee (IRC) employees must adhere to the core values and principles set out in the “IRC Way – Standards of Professional Conduct” document. Our standards are integrity, service, equality and responsibility. In accordance with these values, the IRC implements and enforces policies relating to the protection of individuals, conflicts of interest, financial integrity, reporting of irregularities and protection against reprisal. The IRC undertakes to take all necessary preventive measures and to create an environment where everyone feels safe, as well as to take all necessary and corrective measures in the event of harm. The IRC is teams of professionals who promote critical thinking, shared responsibility, debate and objectivity in order to provide the best possible services to our beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND

On 15 May 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared its seventeenth Ebola outbreak following confirmation of cases in Ituri Province. The outbreak has has since expanded to other affected and at-risk areas, place pressure on an already fragile health system. The response is unfolding in a complex humanitarian context by conflict, population displacement, limited access to health services, and persistent gaps in infection and prevention control (IPC), WASH, surveillance, referral systems, and essential medical supplies. These challenges increase the risk of healthcare-associated transmission and disruption of essential health services.

IRC has launched an integrated Ebola response in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and relevant national, provincial, and health zone response structures, the COUSP, including Provincial Health Divisions (DPS), Health Zone management teams (BCZ), health facilities, and other response partners. IRC’s response together together health, IPC/WASH, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Protection, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). The health response focuses on strengthening the capacity of health facilities to detect safely and suspected refer Ebola cases, improving IPC and patient safety, strengthening facility-based surveillance and referral pathways and supporting the continuity of safe.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Health Coordinator provides technical overall leadership and program oversight for IRC’s Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) health response in DRC. Reporting to the Ebola Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), the position is responsible for ensuring that IRC’s health response is technically sound operational,lyly, observed against agreed results, and aligned with Ministry of Health (MoH), national EVD response structures and IRC standards.

The Health Coordinator leads the technical direction of the facility-based EVD programming, including Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), screening and triage and temporary isolation, facility-based surveillance, occupational exposure prevention and safe continuity of essential health services. The position directly supervises Senior IPC Managers and provides technical oversight, mentoring and quality assurance to health IPC teams across response locations. The role works closely with WASH, RCCE and Protection teams to ensure an integrated and accountable response.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Leadership and Program Quality

• Provide overall strategic and technical leadership for IRC’s EVD health response, translating outbreak epidemiology, response priorities and field evidence into clear program priorities and technical direction.
• Ensure health interventions are implemented in accordance with MoH protocols, national EVD response guidance, donor commitments and IRC technical standards.
• Provide technical oversight of facility-based EVD prevention and response measures, including screening and triage, temporary isolation, patient flow, standard and transmission-based precautions, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and disinfection, healthcare waste management, PPE use and occupational exposure prevention.
• Ensure IRC-supported health facilities can safely identify, isolate and refer suspected EVD cases while maintaining safe access to essential health services and reducing healthcare-associated transmission risks.
• Guide development, adaptation and application of technical protocols, SOPs, checklists, job aids, assessment tools and quality-improvement approaches for the EVD response.
• Ensure program priorities and facility support are risk-based and responsive to evolving epidemiology, health-facility risks, healthcare-worker exposures, service-utilization trends and identified IPC/WASH gaps.
• Provide technical guidance during significant clinical or IPC incidents, ensure appropriate escalation and follow-up, and support program adaptation based on lessons learned.

Program Management, Monitoring and Quality Improvement

• Oversee implementation of IRC health/EVD programs against approved work plans, results frameworks, performance indicators, spending plans and grant commitments timely, curating corrective action implementation where is off track.
• Conduct regular field visits and technical reviews to assess program quality, mentor teams, verify implementation and agreed up follow corrective actions.
• Work with MEAL teams to ensure appropriate monitoring systems, databases, indicators and data-quality processes are in place and consistently used across the health response.
• Review and analyze program data, IPC assessment scores, surveillance and screening data, service-utilization trends, training and mentorship results, healthcare-worker infection/exposure events and commodity information to guide decisions and program improvement.
• Ensure timely, accurate and high-quality program updates, internal reports, donor reports and technical inputs to situation reports, clearly documenting achievements, gaps, risks, corrective actions and priorities.

Staff Supervision, Leadership and Development

• Directly supervise Senior IPC Managers and other senior health staff as assigned, setting clear priorities, reviewing performance and ensuring accountability for program quality and delivery.
• Provide regular technical supervision, coaching and mentoring to Senior IPC Managers and enurance consist of technical standards and approaches across response locations.
• Lead recruitment of key health/EVD positions in coordination with the DDP, HR and field management.
• Identify capacity gaps and ensure structure technical training, mentorship and professional development for health teams.
• Effective duty-of-care measures for teams working in outlet settings, including adherence to staff safety protocols, prevention exposure and incident reporting

Business Development, Grant Management and Budget Oversight

• Participate actively in development of Ebola-response concept notes and proposals, providing technical leadership for needs analysis, program design, activity packages, indicators, targets, implementation approaches and technical narratives.
• Work with Grants, Finance, Operations, MEAL and technical colleagues to develop realistic proposal budgets, staffing structures, procurement requirements and implementation plans aligned with program design.
• Oversee the health component of grant implementation and maintain responsibility for program budget management, including regular review of Budget versus Actuals (BvA), spending plans, burn rates, forecasts and identified variances.
• Ensure health teams maintained update procurement plans and forecasts for EPP, IPC commodities, medical equipment, supplies and other program inputs, with with appropriate linkage to spending and plans.
• Ensure quantification is informed by facility type, service volume, risk level, consumption data and program plans, with early action to prevent stock-outs or inappropriate use.
• Contribute to grant review meetings, donor reporting and program close-out, ensuring technical deliverables, expenditure and program results remain aligned.

Coordination and Representation

• Represent IRC in national reporting, provincial and Health Zone coordination forums, including Health Cluster and EVD-response technical structures.
• Maintain constructive working relationships with the MoH, DPS, Health Zone authorities, health-facility leadership, UN agencies, donors, NGOs and other response partners.
• Strengthen the quality of IPC activities through regular supportive supervision with the DPS and Health Zones.

Partnerships

• Serve as IRC’s health technical focal point for partnerships supporting the EVD response in Ituri and North Kivu, working collaboratively with partner technical leads.
• Contribute to joint technical planning, review and adaptation of the response, IRC’s health complementary activities are to to partners of those aligned and with with response agreed priorities.
• Represent IRC in relevant partnership technical discussions and sure agreed technical actions relevant to IRC are communicated and internally followed up.

Safety, Safeguarding and Accountability

• Work with Safety and Security and field leadership to monitor risks health teams and program delivery and enure incidents or concerns are reported addressed and tity.
• Promote client centered and accountable programming, including awareness and appropriate use of feedback and complaint mechanisms in supported services.
• Build safeguarding risk analysis and relevant risk mitigation measures into project design and implementation.
• Maintain updated, multisector service mapping and referral pathway for violence response. (This serves programming purposes but also underpins IRC’s standard operating procedures for response to all safeguarding harm.

REQUIRED PROFILE

• Health professional with a strong public health background (MPH desirable).
• At least 3- 5 years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian or emergency health programming, including management of complex health programs and supervision of senior technical staff.
• Demonstrated operational experience in Ebola Virus Disease, another viral haemorrhagic fever, or comparable infectious-disease outbreak response is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and facilitation skills.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across multiple field locations, with strong coaching, performance-management and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and routine program monitoring tools.
• Fluency in French is required with strong English proficiency; local languages are an asset.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• The position requires regular travel to IRC-supported health facilities, Health Zones and response locations in DRC.
• The role may require visits to clinical environments, including screening areas, strictly in accordance with approved IPC and safety protocols.
• The position requires flexibility to respond to rapidly changing epidemiological, operational and security conditions.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and outlined principles in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In compliant with these values, the IRC Operating and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm harm. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.