ISGlobal Launches Job Bank for Global Health Professionals

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has launched an online job bank to help global health organisations and speed up the response to health emergencies. The job bank, which will put specialised workers in contact with global health organisations working in the field, is now fully operational and available at http://www.isglobal.org/en/bolsa-de-trabajo.

The new platform offers information on both supply and demand. Health professionals willing to travel to emergency zones can upload their CVs to the platform so that organisations requiring their services can find them as quickly as possible. Job openings of all sorts—including both paid and volunteer positions—will also be posted, and priority will be given to field work opportunities.

In creating this platform, ISGlobal has been motivated by a desire to help build a cooperation model based on knowledge exchange. For such a model to be possible, qualified professionals must have the flexible working conditions they need to allow them to provide support when and where the need arises. The new online platform will also support the Catalan Government's forthcoming mobility plan for health professionals, which—thanks to a framework agreement with professional associations and health care providers—will allow health professionals to travel to emergency zones or work on projects requiring specialised collaboration.

The job bank was created as a consequence of ISGlobal's Ebola response plan. The plan included support for the institutions playing key roles in addressing the Ebola crisis, which provided information on the types of professionals needed urgently in the field. The new ISGlobal platform follows the same lines as earlier initiatives implemented by organisations such as the Fundación Red de Colegios Médicos Solidarios (FRCOMS). Save the Children and FRCOMS are among the organisations that have already joined this ISGlobal-coordinated initiative, and other health institutions and non-profit organisations working in the health field are expected to join in the coming weeks.