Why is a Rapid Response Corps needed?
 
It was widely recognised, following, in particular, the 2004 Asian Tsunami and the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake, that the UN needed to improve its surge capacity in order to respond more effectively to such large scale, international humanitarian crises. To reflect the lessons learned from these enormous crises and as part of its overall reform plan, the UN launched its Humanitarian Response Review. The Review identified that the humanitarian system requires not only the pre-positioning of goods and funds, but also pre-identifying appropriate personnel who can be made available at short notice for short term deployments to fill the gaps in human resource capacities of implementing agencies. 

Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps responds to this particular need. It reflects the recognition that the requirement for adequate emergency expertise can only be met with recourse to temporary standby personnel.

How does the register work?

Ireland’s four current UN standby partner agencies – UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and UN OCHA - submit requests to Irish Aid for additional expertise, in particular where their own skills capacity is weak. The skills required have been identified and agreed with those partners and correspond to the profiles listed in the current recruitment round.

Irish Aid is also facilitating the deployment of members of the Corps to our main Irish NGO partners, as needed.

As the agencies submit requests to Irish Aid, we match their needs in terms of skills and experience with those available through the Corps.

Why should employers co-operate with the register?

We fully accept that releasing employees may cause disruption.  However the number of those on the register is limited, and the number of register personnel drawn from any one private company or government department is likely to be very small in any particular case.

Membership of the Corps is, in the first instance, dependent on the approval of the existing employer. Any deployment of a Rapid Response Corps member will depend on the authorisation of their line manager releasing them from their current employment obligations.

In addition, not all members of the Corps need be ‘active’ at the same time. Members do not need to be available all year round, although we would ask that they be available for call up at least three months in any one year. On that basis, flexibility exists for employers to plan ahead.

The Rapid Response Initiative represents a fantastic opportunity for your organisation to participate in a very tangible way to Ireland’s humanitarian response. The expertise of your staff will be invaluable during a humanitarian crisis. Few Corporate Responsibility strategies could have as much impact at an international level.

As well as the experience and knowledge they bring with them, people who work in emergency situations overseas will also gain an important opportunity to develop invaluable personal and professional skills. The humanitarian environment obliges a rapid strengthening of skills in areas such as management, team participation, and conflict resolution, and their application in multicultural contexts.

Who will have access to my details? 

Your details will go on file in the Emergency and Response Section of Irish Aid. Obviously, they will, in advance of a possible deployment, be shared with Ireland’s standby partners. They will not otherwise be shared, except with your express permission.

The application form includes a section where you are able to indicate whether you agree to your details being shared should any of the following agencies request the expertise that you can offer: Irish NGOs, other Irish government departments, and the Irish Red Cross.

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The people we are looking for