A degree in emergency management or disaster preparedness might help you obtain one of the emergency management jobs available with the Red Cross. The Red Cross consists of a number of agencies located across the country that respond after a disaster such as a fire, earthquake or hurricane. Emergency workers help coordinate volunteers and support victims in different ways. The right job for you within the Red Cross depends on your skill set and experience.
Mobile Responders
After an emergency situation occurs, the Red Cross will often send out mobile response vehicles with two or more mobile responders inside. These vehicles go right into the heart of the disaster site and help those who need support. Workers can hand out supplies, including clothing, fresh water and food. They can also pass along information that lets residents know where they can find shelter and what they need to do next. Mobile responders will generally visit these sites a few times a day to check for any residents that might need additional help.
Relief Coordinators
When a hurricane or another disaster strikes a town, residents typically need clothing, food, water and other supplies. Some of the emergency management jobs available with the Red Cross include those who help provide those people with those supplies. Relief coordinators are the Red Cross workers who create survival kits for individuals. Those kits might include garbage bags, a small supply of food, bottled water and emergency blankets or clean clothing. Relief coordinators may also work behind the scenes to request donations from others and put together relief packages. They can also work in disaster stricken areas to hand out supplies to those in need.
Medical Workers
If you have a medical background, think about becoming one of the medical workers who assist the organization. According to the Red Cross, the organization sends workers and relief to more than 60,000 disaster sites every year. Many of those who survive a natural disaster need some type of medical help, but depending on the severity of the disaster, there may be a significant lack of medical facilities nearby. Doctors, nurses and other workers and volunteers will attend to immediate medial needs and help victims feel more comfortable until transportation arrives to take them to a hospital. Workers can also monitor those with certain health conditions.
Site Supervisors
Site supervisors are another of the emergency management jobs available with the Red Cross. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, locals found themselves living in the local football stadium for months. Site supervisors were the ones who kept things running as smoothly as possible and helped ensure that everyone got the help that they needed. Supervisors might pass out supplies, help victims get medical attention and arrange cots and sleeping mats for victims. Supervisors must also know how to command attention and make others listen to them, and they may be called upon to handle conflicts between victims, other workers or volunteers.
Related Resource: FEMA Reservist
The Red Cross helps millions of people every year. They arrange for medical help, find places for victims to stay and provide supplies for victims too. Depending on your background and what you study in school, you might apply for some of the emergency management jobs available with the Red Cross that include site supervisors, medical workers, mobile responders or relief coordinators.