NORCAP gender-based violence specialist, Felicité Molengar, helping a woman register for receiving a dignity kit after cyclone Idai in Mozambique.
NORCAP gender-based violence specialist, Felicité Molengar, helping a woman register for receiving a dignity kit after cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Photo: Ida Sem Fossvik/NORCAP

The five steps of NORCAP's recruitment process

The NORCAP recruitment process usually consists of the following five steps.

1. Screening all applications within deadline
At the deadline for submission, we will screen your application and assess its suitability against the requirements described in the advertisement. Some of the most important things we focus on at this stage is your work experience. This means the type of jobs you have been holding, the tasks you have been responsible for, your achievements in the various roles, where you have been located and language skills. We also verify that you have professional certifications or specific education if requested.

We receive many applicants for each vacant position an our ambition is to give feedback all candidates within one month of the submission deadline. If you have not received an answer by then, we apologise. Unfortunately, the lack of an answer means you have not been selected, as we make sure to connect with all shortlisted candidates. Please be aware that applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to a specific job advertisement will likewise not be considered.

2. Assessments and tests before final interviews
We proceed further with a small number of candidates who we believe are the best fit for that specific position. Our assessment approach normally consists of a variation of the following tools:

  • Video interview; we focus on your motivation, availability and technical skills.
  • Personality assessment to understand how you are likely to behave in certain situations and the personal characteristics you may bring to a role.
  • Technical tests to measure specific expertise.

3. Interviews of shortlisted candidates
Candidates that pass the initial assessments are invited for a personal interview. This can be conducted either face to face or by Skype/phone. The interview will normally be divided into two separate parts:

  • Job simulation; designed to your actual knowledge and ability to apply it in a realistic scenario.
  • Competency based structured interview; focuses primarily on interpersonal skills.

The interview is also an opportunity for you to learn more about the role you have applied for and what being one of our experts entails.

4. Background checks of final candidates
Our capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, displaced people and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct. We will do everything we can to ensure that suitable staff are recruited and comprehensive background checks will be conducted for all final candidates.

5. Admission to NORCAP - NRC's global provider of expertise
NRC has three mail pillars; field operations, advocacy and expert deployment. Our expert deployment activities are called NORCAP. NORCAP does not provide expertise to NRC country offices, but serves the UN and other international organisations, regional institutions and national stakeholders in need of expertise in the humanitarian, development and peace building sectors. When on a mission, NORCAP experts serve a host agency other than NRC.

We recruit new experts continuously. The recruitment process is the same as for NRC positions, however each recruitment is targeted towards certain areas of expertise, based on crucial needs in the humanitarian, peace and development sectors. In some cases, we also do recruitment for specific positions required at short notice.

Following a recruitment process, successful candidates are invited to register in our system as experts and thereby make themselves eligible for missions. Missions typically last for six months, but they can also be shorter or extended based on the needs of our partners. Our ambition is to have experts that are active and available for missions on a regular basis.

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